skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Assessing the Reactionary Response of High School Engineering Teachers Offering a Novel Pre-College Engineering Curriculum: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Title: Assessing the Reactionary Response of High School Engineering Teachers Offering a Novel Pre-College Engineering Curriculum: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced a rapid transition of K-16 education to remote and online learning in the final quarter of the 2019–2020 school year. The disruption was extreme for all teachers in K-12 but particularly for teachers involved in pilot programs, such as the NSF-funded Engineering for Us All (e4usa) project. This paper reports the key findings obtained through systematic data collection from a pilot cohort of high school teachers who adapted a brand-new engineering curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic, students who experienced the adapted curriculum, and a new cohort of teachers who were tasked with teaching the updated curriculum.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2120746
PAR ID:
10435254
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Education Sciences
Volume:
13
Issue:
5
ISSN:
2227-7102
Page Range / eLocation ID:
427
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; (, 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference)
    null (Ed.)
    The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education on all fronts with no warning. The response from K-12 education’s transition has not been as straight forward. Existing issues of equity, access, and inclusion required school districts, schools, and teachers to adopt a variety of solutions, including no instruction, online instruction, and shipping materials/supplies to students at home. The pilot cohort of [program name] teachers provides a unique opportunity to understand how teachers had to transition, especially when implementing a new and innovative engineering curriculum. An anonymous social media post had some interesting insight: “We gave educators almost no notice. We asked them to completely redesign what school looks like, and in about 24 hours, local teachers and administrations fixed it. No state or national agency did this, the local educators fixed it in HOURS. In the midst of a global crisis. In fact, state and national policies actually created roadblocks. Local schools figured out how to work around these. No complaining, no handwringing, just solutions and amazingly clever plans. Get out of the way of a teacher and watch with amazement at what really happens.” We know that high schools adapted quickly. This work-in-progress discusses initial findings from teacher interviews on what happened during this unforeseen and unique transition. Teacher interviews were supplemented with data from teacher focus groups, with data analyzed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 disruption from the perspective of a teacher new to an engineering curriculum. Specifically, we will examine the following research question: How did the pilot year [program name] teachers adapt and deliver the curriculum during the COVID-19 disruption? We are exploring teacher delivery of the [program name] curriculum through a variety of levels to capture the drivers that prompted decisions, identify pedagogical adjustments, and identify drivers behind the chosen changes. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, IEEE)
    This work-in-progress research-to-practice paper presents the development and pilot implementation of curriculum that introduces semiconductor contents in a high school calculus class. The demand for chips soared through the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing our country's semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain risks. The need to reassert US semiconductor leadership will require training a well-educated workforce, starting at the K-12 level. Meanwhile, K-12 STEM teachers often juggle the conflicting requirements of standardized tests and the need to cultivate 21st-century skills, deeper learning, and transferable knowledge, among others. This paper presents a pilot implementation that could address both problems. Selected teachers attended an NSF-funded Research Experience for Teachers (RET) summer program to learn about chip design basics. They also received curriculum development support to design new modules on semiconductor topics that would attract their students' interests. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Online Learning Research)
    The start of the COVID-19 pandemic with its unique constraints led teachers of all disciplines, across all levels to employ diverse strategies in their quick transition to online learning. Emerging literature has suggested readiness and resources for the transition to remote learning along with intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as motivation and engagement to be frequent challenges faced by teachers. The purpose of this work is twofold: a) conduct a review of the post-pandemic literature to summarize the challenges of teaching engineering during the pandemic, and b) summarize the experiences of secondary teachers when teaching a pre-college engineering curriculum at the beginning of the pandemic. Collectively the literature review and experimental findings enable greater understanding and sense-making of adaptations made to prepare for future abrupt changes that may arise. Focus group data (n= 39) of high school engineering teachers were analyzed using sensemaking theory to reveal several challenges faced and strategies adopted during this unprecedented time. Our review findings suggest Lack of Engagement and Motivation, Scheduling, the Right Resources, and Training with Technology were the most frequent challenges noted in the literature. Our empirical findings showed similar challenges faced by pre-college teachers which were summarized into four themes: Teaching logistics, Time Management, Available Support, and Regulations. The themes provide the foundation for mitigation strategies for teachers during a crisis or abrupt change in the future. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, ASEE Conferences)
    Two regional universities have completed the first round of a three-year collaborative NSF Research Experience for Teachers grant focused on human-centered design and appropriate technology for developing countries. In this transformative research experience, teachers travel to global community partner sites to engage in learning projects aimed to enhance their understanding of engineering and intercultural awareness. Upon return from their immersion experience, the teachers complete an intensive, two-week curriculum development workshop. The teachers then pilot the resulting lesson(s) in their classroom, make revisions as necessary, and share their finalized curriculum with other STEM educators via the TeachingEngineering website. Throughout the experience, teachers benefit professionally through integrated development activities and cultivate greater self-awareness and understanding of culture. First, this paper will summarize the project to date. Then, we present observations from participants’ reflections, semi-structured interviews, and pre/post intercultural assessments. Next, we highlight the collaborative outreach and capacity-building efforts which resulted in a new community partner and immersion site. Finally, we discuss the unique opportunities and challenges associated with navigating international travel and immersion experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, ASEE International Conference and Exposition)
    Two regional universities have completed the first round of a three-year collaborative NSF Research Experience for Teachers grant focused on human-centered design and appropriate technology for developing countries. In this transformative research experience, teachers travel to global community partner sites to engage in learning projects aimed to enhance their understanding of engineering and intercultural awareness. Upon return from their immersion experience, the teachers complete an intensive, two-week curriculum development workshop. The teachers then pilot the resulting lesson(s) in their classroom, make revisions as necessary, and share their finalized curriculum with other STEM educators via the TeachEngineering website. Throughout the experience, teachers benefit professionally through integrated development activities and cultivate greater self-awareness and understanding of culture. First, this paper will summarize the project to date. Then, we present observations from participants’ reflections, semi-structured interview, and pre/post intercultural assessments. Next, we highlight the collaborative outreach and capacity-building efforts which resulted in a new community partner and immersion site. Finally, we discuss the unique opportunities and challenges associated with navigating international travel and immersion experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email