Collaborating for Early‐Age Career Awareness: A Comparison of Three Instructional Formats

• Published in: Journal of engineering education (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2017-04, Vol.106 (2), p.326-344
• Main Authors: Colston, Nicole, Thomas, Julie, Ley, M. Tyler, Ivey, Toni, Utley, Juliana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: asynchronous distance learning; Attitudes; Career Awareness; careers; Classrooms; Collaboration; Curricula; elementary school; Elementary School Students; engineer role models; Engineering; Engineering Education; Engineers; Grade 5; Instructional Design; Instructional Effectiveness; Partnerships in Education; Questions; Science Teachers; Students; Teacher Educators; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Video Technology; Vocational Interests
• ISSN: 1069-4730; 2168-9830
• DOI: 10.1002/jee.20166

Background Early‐age engineering education can enhance preparedness and generate interest in engineering careers prior to college. This article reports on collaboration between a university engineer and science teacher educators to introduce engineering career awareness in elementary classrooms. The resulting elementary school curriculum, Engineering is Everywhere, features video instruction by the engineer, a teacher activity guide, and a materials kit. Purpose/Research Questions Our research question was, “How might engineers and educators best collaborate in elementary engineering outreach efforts?” We co‐developed curricula, prepared classroom teachers, and compared fifth‐grade student learning outcomes to determine the most beneficial type of engineer instruction. Design/Method A quasi‐experimental research design assessed the effectiveness of three instructional formats: engineer‐led, engineer‐visit, and engineer‐video. Pre‐ and post‐tests captured changes in fifth‐grade students' understanding about the work of engineers and attitudes about engineering. Results Findings indicated significant gains in all students' understanding, with some differences across the three instructional formats. The engineer‐led students did not show significant changes in overall engineering attitudes. Only the engineer‐video students demonstrated significant gains in engineering job interests. Conclusions A qualitative comparison of the costs and benefits of each instructional format raised important considerations for planning engineer outreach. We recommend that engineers collaborate with science teacher educators in the design of video instruction and assist in preparing elementary classroom teachers to administer the lesson activities.