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1. Elementary Teachers’ Verbal Support of Engineering Integration in an Interdisciplinary Project

   Lilly, S. C.; McAlister, A. M.; Chiu, J. L. (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   null (Ed.)

   This study investigates how teachers verbally support students to engage in integrated engineering, science, and computer science activities across the implementation of an engineering project. This is important as recent research has focused on understanding how precollege students’ engagement in engineering practices is supported by teachers (Watkins et al., 2018) and the benefits of integrating engineering in precollege classes, including improved achievement in science, ability to engage in science and engineering practices inherent to engineering (i.e., engineering design), and increased awareness of engineering (National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council; Katehi et al., 2009). Further, there is a national emphasis on integrating engineering, science, and computer science practices and concepts in science classrooms (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Yet little research has considered how teachers implement these disciplines together within one classroom, particularly elementary teachers who often have little prior experience in teaching engineering and may need support to integrate engineering design into elementary science classroom settings. In particular, this study explores how elementary teachers verbally support science and computer science concepts and practices to be implicitly and explicitly integrated into an engineering project by implementing support intended by curricular materials and/or adding their own verbal support. Implicit use of integration included students engaging in integrated practices without support to know that they were doing so; explicit use of integration included teachers providing support for students to know how and why they were integrating disciplines. Our research questions include: (1) To what extent did teachers provide implicit and explicit verbal support of integration in implementation versus how it was intended in curricular materials? (2) Does this look different between two differently-tracked class sections? Participants include two fifth-grade teachers who co-led two fifth-grade classes through a four-week engineering project. The project focused on redesigning school surfaces to mitigate water runoff. Teachers integrated disciplines by supporting students to create computational models of underlying scientific concepts to develop engineering solutions. One class had a larger proportion of students who were tracked into accelerated mathematics; the other class had a larger proportion of students with individualized educational plans (IEPs). Transcripts of whole class discussion were analyzed for instances that addressed the integration of disciplines or supported students to engage in integrated activities. Results show that all instances of integration were implicit for the class with students in advanced mathematics while most were explicit for the class with students with IEPs. Additionally, support was mainly added by the teachers rather than suggested by curricular materials. Most commonly, teachers added integration between computer science and engineering. Implications of this study are an important consideration for the support that teachers need to engage in the important, but challenging, work of integrating science and computer science practices through engineering lessons within elementary science classrooms. Particularly, we consider how to assist teachers with their verbal supports of integrated curricula through engineering lessons in elementary classrooms. This study then has the potential to significantly impact the state of knowledge in interdisciplinary learning through engineering for elementary students. 

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2. Supporting Upper Elementary Students’ Engineering Practices in an Integrated Science and Engineering Unit.

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--35258  

   Lilly, S.; McAlister, A.; Fick, S.; Chiu, J. L.; McElhaney, K. (June 2020, Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line.)

   To support teachers in providing all students with opportunities to engage in engineering learning activities, research must examine the ways that elementary teachers support how diverse learners engage with engineering ideas and practices. This study focuses on two teachers' verbal supports in classroom discussions across two class sections of a four-week, NGSS-aligned unit that challenged students to redesign their school to reduce water runoff. We examine the research question: How and to what extent do upper-elementary teachers verbally support students' engagement with engineering practices across diverse classroom contexts in an NGSS-aligned integrated science unit? Classroom audio data was collected daily and coded to analyze support through different purposes of teacher talk. Results reveal the purpose of teachers’ talk often varied between the class sections depending on the instructional activity and indicate that teachers utilized a variety of supports toward students' engagement in different engineering practices. In one class, with a large percentage of students with individualized educational plans, teachers provided more epistemic talk about the engineering practices to contextualize the particular activities. For the other class, with a large percentage of students in advanced mathematics, teachers provided more opportunities for students to engage in discussion and support for students to do engineering. This difference in supports may decrease the opportunities for some students to rigorously engage in engineering ideas and practices. This study can inform future research on the kinds of educative supports needed to guide teaching of integrated engineering activities for diverse students. 

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3. The IT-BME Project: Integrating Inclusive Teaching in Biomedical Engineering Through Faculty/Graduate Partnerships

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-024-00137-7  

   Jaimes, Patricia; Bottorff, Elizabeth; Hopper, Theo; Jilberto, Javiera; King, Jessica; Wall, Monica; Coronel, Maria; Jensen, Karin; Mays, Elizabeth; Morris, Aaron; et al (July 2024, Biomedical Engineering Education)

   To broaden efforts for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in biomedical engineering (BME) education—a key area of emphasis is the integration of inclusive teaching practices. While BME faculty generally support these efforts, translating support into action remains challenging. This project aimed to address this need through a 3-phase inclusive teaching training, consisting of graduate students, faculty, and engineering education consultants. In Phase I, graduate students and faculty participated in a 6-week learning community on inclusive teaching (Foundational Learning). In Phase II, graduate students were paired with faculty to modify or develop new inclusive teaching materials to be integrated into a BME course (Experiential Learning). Phase III was the implementation of these materials. To assess Phases I & II, graduate student participants reflected on their experiences on the project. To assess Phase III, surveys were administered to students in IT-BME-affiliated courses as well as those taking other BME-related courses. Phases I & II: graduate students responded positively to the opportunity to engage in this inclusive teaching experiential learning opportunity. Phase III: survey results indicated that the incorporation of inclusive teaching practices in BME courses enhanced the student learning experience. The IT-BME project supported graduate students and faculty in learning about, creating, and implementing inclusive teaching practices in a collaborative and supportive environment. This project will serve to both train the next class of instructors and use their study of inclusive teaching concepts to facilitate the creation of ideas and materials that will benefit the BME curriculum and students. 

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4. The Classroom‐Research‐Mentoring Framework: A lens for understanding science practice‐based instruction

   https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21835  

   Cooper, Alexandra C.; Bolger, Molly S. (January 2023, Science Education)

   Abstract Reformed science curricula provide opportunities for students to engage with authentic science practices. However, teacher implementation of such curricula requires teachers to consider their role in the classroom, including realigning instructional decisions with the epistemic aims of science. Guiding newcomers in science can take place in settings ranging from the classroom to the undergraduate research laboratory. We suggest thinking about the potential intersections of guiding students across these contexts is important. We describe the Classroom‐Research‐Mentoring (CRM) Framework as a novel lens for examining science practice‐based instruction. We present a comparative case study of two teachers as they instruct undergraduate students in a model‐based inquiry laboratory. We analyzed stimulated‐recall episodes uncovering how these teachers interacted with their students and the rationale behind their instructional choices. Through the application of the CRM Framework, we revealed ways teachers can have instructional goals that align with those of a research mentor. For example, our teachers had the goals of “creating an inclusive environment open to student ideas,” “acknowledging students as scientists,” and “focusing students on skills and ideas needed to solve biological problems.” We suggest three functions of research mentoring that translate across the classroom and research laboratory settings: (1) build a shared understanding of epistemic aims, (2) support learners in the productive use of science practices, and (3) motivate learner engagement in science practices. 

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5. Inclusive Engineering Classrooms and Learning Communities: Reflections and Lessons Learned from Three Partner Universities in Year 2

   Vaden, J.M.; Dukes, A.A.; Parrish, K.; Nave, A.H.; Landis, A.; Bilec, M.M. (June 2023, American Society of Engineering Education)

   Minoritized and underrepresented students have historically experienced prejudice and discrimination within and outside of their classrooms, negatively impacting their educational outcomes. Research has illustrated that student academic and social success can be improved through instructors creating inclusive classroom environments that facilitate a sense of belonging. The impact of creating more inclusive environments is well-studied, however actionable guidance on how to do this, especially in more technical disciplines such as engineering, is lacking. This study aims to address this gap by developing an inclusive engineering classroom practices menu along with accompanying tools for faculty seeking to improve their classrooms. The first year of this study, as detailed at ASEE’s Annual Conference in June 2022, saw the development of the inclusive engineering classroom practices menu as well as the pilot of the inclusive learning communities for faculty across three partner institutions. The student and faculty assessment plans were also curated and involved both a student and faculty survey as well as the opportunity for students and faculty to engage in short-format interviews. This presentation will focus on the survey and interview data that has been collected in the second year of the project and the website that has been developed to further engage faculty and other institutions and partners interested in the study. This second year of this study will also see the creation of a decision matrix to aid faculty and instructors to further promote and support the implementation of inclusive practices in engineering classrooms. The continued refinement of the menu and creation of both the website and decision matrix are the next steps in the development of an inclusive classrooms toolkit that can be used across all engineering classrooms and curriculums. 

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