This study aims to examine the effects of engineering design-based science teaching (EDBST) on classroom teacher candidates' decision-making skills, scientific creativity and engineering design-based process skills. The random design of the quantitative approach with a pretest-posttest control group was used in the study. The study group consists…

Purpose: This paper aims to compare two types of prompts, encouraging participants to think about real-world examples or engineering principles to show how these two approaches can result in vastly different design practices. Design/methodology/approach: Two studies (N = 20, N = 40) examine the impact of two different prompts. Non-expert students,…

The themes discussed in this study relate to how students reason about the information encoded in rate constants, which is important for developing a deep understanding of chemical kinetics at the molecular level. This study is part of a larger project centered more generally on students' understanding and use of mathematics in chemical kinetics.…

This article describes a lesson in which students will utilize ideation and engineering design to innovate a solution to a design problem using common household products.

Young boys and girls make houses and beds from cloths and cartons for their dolls, erect shelters and fences for toy animals, build ramps and garages from blocks for toy cars, and lift objects using a rope and reel for having fun. Thanks to their experiences with such design-based games, children combine science with engineering and try to…

Engineering design-based STEM integration is one potential model to help students integrate content and practices from all of the STEM disciplines. In this study, we explored the intersection of two aspects of pre-college STEM education: the integration of the STEM disciplines, and the NGSS practice of engaging in argument from evidence within…

In order to be prepared for future college or careers, 21st century students should have critical thinking in their arsenal of soft skills. Most teachers and schools feel that critical thinking skills are important to teach, but unfortunately they have a lack of understanding of what critical thinking is and what strategies are best utilized to…

Recent advances in computer hardware and algorithms are spawning an explosive growth in the use of computer-based systems aimed at analyzing and ultimately correlating large amounts of experimental and synthetic data. As these machine learning tools become more widespread, it is becoming imperative that scientists and researchers become familiar…

Transitional engineering students are those who are academically ineligible to enter a bachelor's engineering program but are enrolled in an associate engineering program with a university. Successful completion of such an associate engineering program allows the higher achievers to transfer to a full bachelor's engineering program. The associate…

Design Thinking (DT) is not merely a well-known design methodology but also an entire mindset towards solving complex societal problems in an innovative way. Its popularity in diverse disciplines beyond design, is due to its relation with the development of key 21st-century skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and…

Engineering design was integrated into K-12 science education in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States, 2013), but teaching design remains a challenge for educators. Design problems are ill-defined, ill-structured, and complex problem-solving tasks. Their solutions require creativity and recursive, metacognitive…

Research in pre-college engineering education has been on a sharp rise in the last two decades. However, less research has been conducted to explore and characterize the engineering thinking and engagement of young children, with limited attention to children with special needs. Conversations on broadening participation and diversity in…

An essential aspect of higher education institutions' academic curricula for engineering courses is the students' industrial internship programs. In the literature, it is well accepted that such programs provide valuable learning outcomes and increase the graduates' employment prospects. Thus, it is paramount to evaluate the internship programs'…

Entropy is a central concept in thermodynamics, but has been found to be challenging to students due to its abstract nature and the fact that it is not part of students' everyday language. Interviews with three pairs of engineering students (N = 6) were conducted and video recorded regarding their interpretation and use of the entropy concept, one…

Poor graduate throughput and industry feedback on graduate inability to cope with the complex knowledge practices in twenty-first century engineering "problem solving" have placed pressure on educators to better conceptualise the theory-practice relationship, particularly in technology-dependent professions. The research draws on the…