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Fundamental Research: Developing a Rubric to Assess Children's Drawings of an Engineer at Work

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Conference

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Publication Date

June 26, 2016

Start Date

June 26, 2016

End Date

June 29, 2016

ISBN

978-0-692-68565-5

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Research Methods I: Developing Research Tools and Methods

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/p.26985

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/26985

Download Count

1076

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Paper Authors

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Julie Thomas University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Julie Thomas is a Research Professor of science education in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Thomas’ research has focused on children’s science learning and teacher professional development. Proud accomplishments include collaborative efforts – such as No Duck Left Behind, a partnership with waterfowl biologists to promote wetland education efforts, and Engineering is Everywhere (E2), a partnership with a materials engineer to develop a an efficient model for STEM career education. Thomas has been active in professional associations such as the School Science and Mathematics Association (SSMA-Past Executive Director and the Council for Elementary Children International (CESI-Retiring President).

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Nicole M. Colston Oklahoma State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-7623-1188

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Nicole M. Colston is currently an NSF Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) Fellow. Her interests in K-12 engineering education include engineer role models and early-aged career awareness. Her current work focuses on blending informal and formal engineering education in the context of climate adaptation and resiliency in rural communities.

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Tyler Ley P.E. Oklahoma State University

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I have had more than 15 years of experience in the fields of structural and concrete materials engineering. I have worked as an engineer with a design consultant, construction contractor, government agency, and as a professor. I feel that my practical experience has made me a better teacher and researcher. I enjoy teaching, and regularly receive positive feedback and evaluations from my students (3.86/4 average rating as an instructor). I was also fortunate to be awarded the Halliburton Excellent Young Teaching Award in 2011, the Williams Foundation Professor in 2013 for the College of Engineering, the ACI Walter P. Moore Faculty Achievement Award in 2014, the Researcher of the Year Award from the College of Engineering in 2014, Halliburton Excellent Young Professor in 2014, and the OSU Regents Research Award in 2014.

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Beverly DeVore-Wedding University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Bev DeVore-Wedding is a doctoral student in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). In her second year, DeVore-Wedding works with Nebraska Indian Community Colleges (NICC) teaching chemistry, bringing community topics into the classroom for chemistry content and laboratory connections, and coordinating the NSF grant between UNL NICC. DeVore-Wedding previously taught high school math and science for 28 years in northwestern Colorado in a rural setting. Research interests include bringing more science instruction to the elementary level, incorporating engineer practices into pK-12 classrooms, literacy in science and science literacy, and using case studies to enhance science instruction. DeVore-Wedding currently serves on the National Science Teachers Association Board of Directors as the High School Division Director. Previously, DeVore-Wedding taught high school math and science for 28 years in rural, northwestern Colorado.

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Leslie R. Hawley University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Leslie R. Hawley, Ph.D. is a research assistant professor in the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research interests include educational measurement, psychometrics, multilevel modeling, and test validity.

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Juliana Utley Oklahoma State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2850-6148

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Juliana Utley is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Director for the Center for Research on STEM Teaching and Learning (CRSTL) at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include affective issues in mathematics education, professional development of preservice and in-service teachers, and engineering education.

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Toni Ivey Oklahoma State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-3725-7649

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Dr. Toni Ivey is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership at Oklahoma State University. She serves as the co-director for the Center for Research on STEM Teaching and Learning and the program coordinator for the Science and Mathematics Education program. Her research interests include science teacher professional development, science teacher preparation, engineering education, and geoscience education.

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Abstract

Research in elementary engineering education focuses on the ways a developing body of curricula enhances children’s conceptions of engineers. To this effort, researchers have focused on exploring children’s knowledge, interests, and attitudes related to the work of an engineer. Given that currently available measurement instruments are defined by check-lists, we hoped to expand available assessments to include a research-based tool to measure children’s conceptual understanding about the work of an engineer. The purpose of this research study was to develop a way to assess children’s drawings of engineers at work. Specifically, we wondered: What defines the varied range of children’s contextual understanding about the work of an engineer as it relates to applied science and mathematics? Research efforts were informed by others’ work with children’s drawing prompts: the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) and the Draw-an-Engineer Test (DAET). Grounded theory methods guided our query about how 4th and 5th grade students (from rural, Midwestern schools) described their knowledge and understanding about the work of an engineer. Our data consisted of children’s drawings (n=940) of engineers at work and written explanations about the engineer’s gender, work effort, and applications of science and mathematics. Data were analyzed by seven researchers through a constant comparison of data. The resulting theoretical propositions were organized into a rubric that captures the continuum of children’s understanding about the work of engineers. Here we describe the development and controlled application our draw-an-engineer assessment tool. The rubric and scoring guide (to manage inter-rater reliability and insure objectivity) will be defined in a future manuscript.

Thomas, J., & Colston, N. M., & Ley, T., & DeVore-Wedding, B., & Hawley, L. R., & Utley, J., & Ivey, T. (2016, June), Fundamental Research: Developing a Rubric to Assess Children's Drawings of an Engineer at Work Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26985

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