Should engineering be taught in schools? Could it become the proverbial fourth “R”: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Engineering? Well, a recent study from the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) claims that teaching engineering in K-12 grades would not only boost interest in technical careers (global competitiveness), but would also improve all students’ problem-solving, systems-thinking, and teamwork skills (21st century skills).
According to the Engineering News-Record though, very few schools actually offer engineering in their curriculum or have the faculty qualified to teach it. ”Engineering might be called the missing letter in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] education,” says NAE.
ENR reports:
Alan G. Gomez, an engineering instructor at the University of Wisconsin and a member of the NAE report committee, coordinates engineering and technical education for public schools in Sun Prairie, Wis., near Madison. He cites challenges in getting school superintendents, curriculum coordinators and principals to understand and adopt engineering instruction. “It’s not really tested in schools,” he says. In the district’s high school engineering program, in which Gomez also teaches, students design and build prototype racing cars. “Engineering students can attack problems with a higher consistency than other students and carry out thought processes from concept to design more frequently,” he says. Gomez is now hoping to develop the district’s program for use nationwide and eventually in other countries.
“Problem-solving, systems thinking and teamwork aspects of engineering can benefit all students, whether or not they ever pursue an engineering career,” says Linda Katehi, chancellor of the University of California, Davis and chair of the NAE committee that authored the report. “A K-12 education that does not include at least some exposure to engineering is a lost opportunity for students and for the nation.”
Among the committee’s recommendations are:
- National Science Foundation or U.S. Department of Education fund research to determine how science inquiry and mathematical reasoning can be connected to engineering design in curricula and professional development;
- foundations and federal agencies with an interest in K-12 engineering education conduct long-term research to confirm and refine findings of studies of the impacts of engineering education;
- American Society of Engineering Education begin a national dialogue on preparing K-12 engineering teachers, and on the pros and cons of establishing a formal credentialing process; and
- philanthropic foundations or federal agencies with an interest in STEM education and school reform identify models of implementation for K-12 engineering education that will work for different American school systems.
BoardBuzz is intrigued. Do you think engineering in your curriculum would benefit your students? Do you currently offer classes in engineering? Let us know.
[...] recently wrote about whether engineering should have a place in the school curriculum. And, of course, we think it should. But as the [...]