Understanding and Improving K-12 Engineering Education in the United States

Project Status
Completed
August 02, 2013
to
April
16
2007
Sponsor
S.D. Bechtel, Jr., Parametric Technology Corporation, Inc., National Science Foundation
Final Report
Engineering in K-12 Education
Authoring InstitutionNational Academy of Engineering & National Research Council
Publication DateJanuary 01, 2009
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Events
  • Sep82009
    Symposium on K-12 Engineering Education
    Engineering in K-12 Education reviews the present scope and impact of K-12 engineering education and makes recommendations to address curriculum, policy, and funding issues.  This symposium marked the release of the report with a panel discussion with committee members and presentations ...
    National Academies Auditorium
    Washington, DC
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Report Release
A symposium was held to announce the release of Engineering in K-12 Education
K-12 Education
At-a-Glance
This study explores the status and prospects for K-12 engineering education in the United States.
Objectives
  • The study report, Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects, reviews the scope and impact of K-12 engineering education in the United Statestoday and makes several recommendations to address curriculum, policy, and funding issues. The book also analyzes a number of K-12 engineering curricula in depth and discusses what is known from the cognitive sciences about how children learn engineering-related concepts and skills.

Engineering education in K-12 classrooms is a small but growing phenonmenon that may have implications not only for engineering but also for the other “STEM” subjects—science, technology, and mathematics. Specifically, engineering education may improve student learning and achievement in science and mathematics; increase awareness of engineering and the work of engineers; boost youth interest in pursuing engineering as a career; and increase the technological literacy of all students.

This project, overseen jointly by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, aimed to provide guidance to key stakeholders regarding the creation and implementation K-12 engineering curricula and instructional practices, focusing especially on the connections among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

The 2009 project report, Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects, reviews the scope and impact of engineering education today and makes several recommendations to address curriculum, policy, and funding issues. It also analyzes a number of K-12 engineering curricula in depth and discusses what is known from the congnitive sciences about how children learn engineering-related concepts and skills. The report   was the basis of legislation introduced in 2009 in both the House and Senate to fund curriculum and teacher professional development that would expand access to engineering education for U.S. primary and secondary students.

This study, and another just-completed project on the topic of standards for K-12 engineering education, are part of a portfolio of work at the NAE that examines the role of policy and education in improving technological literacy and interesting more young people in careers in engineering.

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Resources
  • Logo Institute
    ISBN978-0-309-13778-2
    Copyright2009
    For the United States to remain competitive in the global economy and to ensure that the country has a workforce (and citizenry) with the knowledge and skills to address technical and technological issues, the teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects in U.S. ...
    Authoring institutionNational Academy of Engineering & National Research Council
    Publication DateJanuary 1, 2009
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