Publication Date

2022

Document Type

Book

Description

Engineering in early education provides the foundation for the future of innovation. With the increased contact between family members during the COVID-19 pandemic, children may have experienced changes in their learning and engineering engagement. Our research explores young students’ reflections on their process of engaging in low-stakes engineering projects in their home. The participants were 22 families, ranging from second grade to sixth grade. After they attempted to solve an engineering challenge with family members in their home, all students reconvened in recorded Zoom meetings to answer various questions about the process and product of their engineering project. We individually watched and collectively discussed 13 video recordings. The resultant behavioral data were categorized using a peer-reviewed framework that includes Learning Habits of Mind and Engineering Habits of Mind. The study also accounted for aesthetic considerations and signs of empathy, which were not specified in the original framework. Initial findings reveal “Resourcefulness,” “Adapting/Improving,” and “Systems Thinking” were the most common habits of mind. The significance of this study highlights how engaging in engineering projects in the home has the potential to develop children’s dispositions and ways of thinking common to engineers.

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Developing Habits of Mind through Family Engineering at Home

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