Let’s Put Engineering Education into Grades K-5
From Elizabeth Murray
Created by the Museum of Science in Boston, the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) project aims to foster engineering and technological literacy among children. EiE is creating a research-based, standards-based, and classroom-tested curriculum that integrates engineering and technology concepts and skills with elementary science topics. EiE materials also connect with literacy, social studies, and mathematics. Through interesting engineering design challenges, children are invited to apply their knowledge of science, engineering, and their problem solving skills, as they design, create, and improve possible solutions. The Engineering is Elementary project also helps elementary school educators enhance their understanding of engineering concepts and pedagogy through professional development workshops and resources. Engineering is Elementary has worked with 32,720 teachers in all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia.

Examples of EiE curriculum include storybooks—featuring children from a variety of cultures and backgrounds—that introduce students to an engineering problem. Students are then challenged to solve a problem similar to that faced by the storybook character. Through a hands-on engineering design challenge, students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics; use their inquiry and problem-solving skills; and tap their creativity as they design, create, and improve possible solutions. In the end, students realize that everyone can engineer!

Goals of EiE include:

Goal 1. Increase children's technological literacy
At the elementary school level, technological literacy is defined as acquiring essential understandings and skills that include:

Knowledge (Know about):

• What engineering and technology are and what engineers do
• Various fields of engineering
• Nearly everything in the human world has been touched by engineering
• Engineering problems have multiple solutions
• How society influences and is influenced by engineering
• How technology affects the world (both positively and negatively)
• Engineers are from all races, ethnicities, and genders
  

Skills/Experience (Be able to do):

• Apply the engineering design process
• Apply science and math in engineering
• Employ creativity and careful thinking to solve problems
• Envision one's own abilities as an engineer
• Troubleshoot and learn from failure
• Understand the central role of materials and their properties in engineering solutions

Goal 2. Improve elementary educators' ability to teach engineering and technology
At the core, EiE is designed to have students engineer. Interesting problems and contexts are developed, and then students are invited to have fun as they use their knowledge of science and engineering to design, create, and improve solutions.

Goal 3. Increase the number of schools in the U.S. that include engineering at the elementary level.

Goal 4. Conduct research and assessment to further the first three goals and contribute knowledge about engineering teaching and learning at the elementary level.

Watch an EiE promotional video: http://www.mos.org/eie/video/index.php

Elizabeth Murray is Project Manager of MIT BLOSSOMS and Assistant director of MIT LINC.

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