“That Cross-Curricular Business”: The Engineering Design Process in Mathematics and Science Classrooms

The engineering design process (EDP) is one tool teachers can use to facilitate STEM integration. As part of a larger three-year longitudinal research project regarding engineering identity development among middle school youth in a summer robotics outreach program, this study aims to understand tea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Qualitative report Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. Cov20 - 376
Main Authors: Vomvoridi-Ivanovic, Eugenia, Lane, Tonisha, Cain, Leia, Shmad, Salam, Willis, Selene, Gaines, Jonathan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Fort Lauderdale Nova Southeastern University, Inc 01.01.2024
The Qualitative Report
Subjects:
Adolescent development
Case studies
Classroom management
Classrooms
Curriculum Design
Engineering
Engineering design
Engineering Education
Identity formation
Learning
Literature Reviews
Mathematics
Mathematics education
Methods
Qualitative research
Science Curriculum
Science education
Science Teachers
Sciences education
Students
Study and teaching
Teacher Educators
Teachers
Teaching
Thinking Skills
United States
United States > US
ISSN:2160-3715, 1052-0147, 2160-3715
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The engineering design process (EDP) is one tool teachers can use to facilitate STEM integration. As part of a larger three-year longitudinal research project regarding engineering identity development among middle school youth in a summer robotics outreach program, this study aims to understand teachers’ willingness to incorporate engineering design in their classrooms through an exploration of their perceptions of the EDP, its applications to their subject matter and classroom context, methods of enacting the EDP, and perceived challenges to and supports for doing so. We conducted a qualitative case study and drew our results from focus groups and semi-structured interviews with eight teacher participants. Participants were successful in describing the EDP and its cyclical nature. However, classroom enactment of the EDP was predominantly indirect and often used to solve non-subject-specific classroom problems. Direct enactment was limited to projects already part of the existing curriculum. Issues with instructional resources, lesson planning, time, and student background were the EDP enactment barriers most frequently noted, while supports described were all responses to the identified barriers. The EDP offers a promising way to integrate engineering with math and science. However, additional support is needed for more meaningful classroom enactment of the EDP.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:2160-3715
1052-0147
2160-3715
DOI:10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6065