Early Engineering Learning

Description

This book addresses engineering learning in early childhood, spanning ages 3 to 8 years. It explores why engineering experiences are important in young children's overall development and how engineering is a core component of early STEM learning, including how engineering education links and supports children's existing experiences in science, mathematics, and design and technology, both before school and in the early school years. Promoting STEM education across the school years is a key goal of many nations, with the realization that building STEM skills required by societies takes time and needs to begin as early as possible. Despite calls from national and international organisations, the inclusion of engineering-based learning within elementary and primary school programs remains limited in many countries. Engineering experiences for young children in the pre-school or early school years has received almost no attention, even though young children can be considered natural engineers. This book addresses this void by exposing what we know about engineering for young learners, including their capabilities for solving engineering-based problems and the (few) existing programs that are capitalising on their potential. Front Matter ....Pages i-viii Early Engineering: An Introduction to Young Children’s Potential (Lyn D. English)....Pages 1-5 Front Matter ....Pages 7-7 Engineering in the Early Grades: Harnessing Children’s Natural Ways of Thinking (Tamara J. Moore, Kristina M. Tank, Lyn English)....Pages 9-18 Encouraging the Development of Engineering Habits of Mind in Prekindergarten Learners (Christine N. Lippard, Katie L. Riley, Monica H. Lamm)....Pages 19-36 The Importance of Developing Engineering Habits of Mind in Early Engineering Education (Beth Dykstra Van Meeteren)....Pages 37-52 Spatial Skills Framework for Young Engineers (Lynn McGarvey, Lixin Luo, Zachary Hawes, Spatial Reasoning Study Group)....Pages 53-81 Identifying Engineering in a PreK Classroom: An Observation Protocol to Support Guided Project-Based Instruction (Aikaterini Bagiati, Demetra Evangelou)....Pages 83-111 Assessing Early Engineering Thinking and Design Competencies in the Classroom (Şenay Purzer, Kerrie Anna Douglas)....Pages 113-132 Front Matter ....Pages 133-133 Engineering Concepts, Practices, and Trajectories for Early Childhood Education (Christine M. Cunningham, Cathy P. Lachapelle, Martha E. Davis)....Pages 135-174 Engineering in Early Elementary Classrooms Through the Integration of High-Quality Literature, Design, and STEM+C Content (Kristina M. Tank, Tamara J. Moore, Brianna L. Dorie, Elizabeth Gajdzik, M. Terri Sanger, Anastasia M. Rynearson et al.)....Pages 175-201 Novel Engineering in Early Elementary Classrooms (Merredith Portsmore, Elissa Milto)....Pages 203-223 Books, Butterflies, and ‘Bots: Integrating Engineering and Robotics into Early Childhood Curricula (Mollie Elkin, Amanda Sullivan, Marina Umaschi Bers)....Pages 225-248 Seeds of STEM: The Development of a Problem-Based STEM Curriculum for Early Childhood Classrooms (Mia Dubosarsky, Melissa Sue John, Florencia Anggoro, Susmitha Wunnava, Ugur Celik)....Pages 249-269 Front Matter ....Pages 271-271 Engineering Education in Early Childhood: Reflections and Future Directions (Lyn English)....Pages 273-284 Back Matter ....Pages 285-287