Eliciting Underserved Middle School Youths’ Notions Of Engineers: Draw An Engineer
- Conference
- Location
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Austin, Texas
- Publication Date
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June 14, 2009
- Start Date
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June 14, 2009
- End Date
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June 17, 2009
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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K-12 & Pre-College Engineering
- Page Count
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14
- Page Numbers
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14.525.1 - 14.525.14
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--5796
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/5796
- Download Count
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481
Paper Authors
Tirupalavanam Ganesh Arizona State University
Tirupalavanam Ganesh, Ph.D., has degrees and experience in engineering, computer science, and education. He has brought this experience to bear in previous research that examined the use of technologies in K-12 settings with diverse students. He has worked with the Children’s Museum of Houston on the development and implementation of Robotics-based STEM programming for urban youth. He is the Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation Award# 0737616, Learning through Engineering Design and Practice.
John Thieken Arizona State University
John Thieken, MEd, is a PhD student in the Mathematics Education concentration in Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University. He has a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and currently works as a high school mathematics teacher in Arizona.
Monica Elser Arizona State University
Monica Elser, M.S., M.Ed., is the education manager for ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS). She has expertise in ecology and sustainability education, and administering after-school science clubs. She developed and administers the award-winning Ecology Explorers program and Service at Salado project. At GIOS, she directs the sustainability education programs for the National Science Foundation sponsored Decision Center for a Desert City.
Stephen Krause Arizona State University
Stephen Krause, Ph.D., is professor of Materials Science and Engineering. His research in engineering education has focused on misconceptions and he has expertise in the development of concept inventories to assess student learning.
Dale Baker Arizona State University
Dale Baker, Ed.D., is an international expert in equity issues in science education. She was honored in 2006-07 as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for this body of work.
Chell Roberts Arizona State University
Chell Roberts, Ph.D., is an expert Engineering educator and Department Chair of Engineering at the Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus. He is the founder and developer of the Engineering Studio at the Polytechnic that is a model for hands-on engineering education at the high school and college levels.
Sharon Kurpius-Robinson Arizona State University
Sharon Kurpius Robinson, Ph.D., is an expert in counseling youth and adults in educational and career pathways.
James Middleton Arizona State University
James Middleton, Ph.D., is Professor of Mathematics Education and Director, Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology. He is an expert in middle school mathematics curriculum development and research in student cognition.
Jay Golden Arizona State University
Jay Golden, Ph.D., is a faculty member in ASU’s School of Sustainability and codirector of the National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy. He works with the Global Institute of Sustainability education team to bring current engineering research on sustainability in the urban environment to this effort.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Eliciting Underserved Middle-School Youths’ Notions of Engineers: Draw an Engineer Abstract
Learning through Engineering Design and Practice is an after-school program designed to engage female and traditionally underserved youth, in technological design and problem solving experiences. This NSF funded project combines after- school inquiry based activities with cognitive apprenticeships, opportunities to practice workplace skills, and experiences with technology to engage and educate junior-high school youth in the fields of engineering. Cohorts of 24 students were selected from two junior-high schools from a large district in the Southwest. Activities were offered for 78 contact hours during the academic year and 48 contact hours during the summer. Students engaged in after-school meetings (twice a week), fieldtrips, parent nights, and internships related to program content. As part of the evaluation portion of the program students were given a “Draw an Engineer” (DAE) assessment to determine individual preconceived conceptions of engineers and engineering. The DAE assessment was administered at the beginning and end of the school year. Analysis of the pre and post student produced drawings indicated the emergence of three main categories: 1) Engineers in Action, 2) Occurrence of Gender, and 3) Engineers’ Clothing. Differences in pre and post drawings showed a shift in student conceptions of engineers by both male and female participants. Drawings produced at the start of the program showed a majority, in both genders, conceiving engineers as individuals who build or repair mechanical apparatus. The post-drawing analysis illustrated a shift in this type of thinking. Students shifted their conceptions from engineers who build to the engineers who think. Data also suggested that students are subconsciously learning that engineers are men. Even though the female participants in this program more than double the number of male participants, the majority (71%) of the pre-assessment drawings depicted a male engineer. This number decreased with the post-assessment drawings indicating only 61% of engineers drawn as male. The overall analysis of the data produced from these student-produced drawings suggests that students have learned a great deal about engineering and engineers throughout the first year of the project. Their experiences with the curriculum and with the volunteer engineers have proved to be an effective resource.
Acknowledgement
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Youth-based Project, Award# 0737616, Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings, National Science Foundation. Opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Ganesh, T., & Thieken, J., & Elser, M., & Krause, S., & Baker, D., & Roberts, C., & Kurpius-Robinson, S., & Middleton, J., & Golden, J. (2009, June), Eliciting Underserved Middle School Youths’ Notions Of Engineers: Draw An Engineer Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5796
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