Workshop – K - 12 engineering education: Design challenges for pre-college students

Engineering education interventions are increasingly commonplace throughout the K-12 experience, but are often limited to popular standbys like robotics or computers. In this workshop, we introduce an alternative approach, Engineering Teaching Kits (ETKs), and show how they can be structured to accommodate students at various educational levels. ETKs are the result of research conducted on effective outreach through the Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative. Currently, ETKs are structured to provide age-appropriate engineering activities at the middle school level, but they have also been used with audiences of various ages. ETKs are popular among middle school math and science instructors for two reasons: they are standards-based, and are self-contained units built on the principles of guided inquiry and active learning. Participants will receive a review of applicable educational and cognitive developmental theories, be introduced to ETKs, work through selected activities from two ETKs, and draft designs for their own ETKs.