Engineering Design of Cars and Gadgets in K-5 as Vehicle for Integrating Math, Science and Literacy - read online free

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk

The paper argues that national calls for action have produced limited efforts to promote engineering education in elementary grades, especially for underrepresented populations. It presents a school–university collaboration that broadens K–5 engineering through an interdisciplinary approach integrating engineering, math, science, literacy, and art. It describes curriculum materials and professional development developed through research, pilot testing, and field testing, highlighting student design, building, and troubleshooting experiences and the learning concepts these activities support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Curriculum units and grade alignment

Development phases and testing sites

Pilot-testing context and participants

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SUMMER 2012 Engineering Design of Cars and Gadgets in K-5 as Vehicle for Integrating Math, Science and Literacy GARY BENENSON City College of New York New York, NY SHAWNDEL STEWART-DAWKINS and GWYNN WHITE Public School 5 Brooklyn, NY ABSTRACT In spite of numerous calls for action, e.g., Executive Ofﬁce of the President (2010), there have been few efforts nationally to promote engineering education in the elementary grades. Of these, hardly any have targeted underrepresented populations (National Academy of Engineering, 2009, p. 74) . The collaboration described in this paper is a signiﬁcant exception, which could provide important lessons for those seeking to broaden the reach and scope of K-5 engineering education. We will argue for an interdisciplinary approach, which integrates engineering, math, science, literacy and art, and that engages a school and a university as equal partners. Neither of these components has been prominent in the literature on K-12 engineering education. Keywords: Elementary education, school-university partnership BACKGROUND This paper will synthesize and draw lessons from the experiences of a curriculum and professional development project, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation through the Discovery Research K-12 program The goals of the project are to develop and support the use of materials that promote integration of engineering with science, math, literacy and art in the elementary grades. Children engage in designing, making and testing their own devices. These include SUMMER 2012 1 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Engineering Design of Cars and Gadgets in K-5 as Vehicle for Integrating Math, Science and Literacy cardboard mechanisms that animate stories; paper pop-ups; gravity- , elastic-and electric-powered cars, and gadgets with hidden switches that produce light, sound and/or motion when opened or closed (City Technology, n.d. ) . Through these activities, students develop facility with materials, plus an understanding of systems, models, design, constraints, redesign and troubleshooting, which are core concepts in engineering education (National Academy of Engineering, 2009; National Research Council, 2012) . Physics concepts include motion, force and energy. Writing is an essential component of the project, and of science education generally (Worth, et al, 2009) . There are eight curriculum units in two sets of four each, under the headings of Force and Motion and Energy Systems. Each set consists of one unit each for grades K-1 and 2-3, and two units for 4-5. Classroom sets for the units cost between $100 and $300 apiece, and many of the materials can be acquired by recycling instead of purchase. As part of the Energy Systems Curriculum, students create gravity-powered cars in the K-1 unit Invent-a-Wheel, wind-up vehicles in the 2nd-3rd grade unit Fantastic Elastic, and electric cars in 4th and 5th grades in the EnerJeeps unit. In the course of this work students write their own equipment lists, instruction manuals, troubleshooting guides and analyses of how their devices work. The analysis leads directly to basic concepts of physical science. When students operate their wind-ups, for example, they experience the use of their own power to store energy in a rubber band, and witness its release as kinetic energy when they let it go. Each unit has been through three development phases: • Research and development by a small group of teachers in collaboration with university faculty, who tried ideas out in their own classrooms, made revisions and led professional development sessions for other teachers; • Pilot tests in local public schools, supported by frequent visits by project staff; • Field tests in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Northern Minnesota. The pilot and ﬁeld tests have taken place in predo

FAQs

What problem does the paper address about engineering education in early grades?

It notes that despite calls for action, few national efforts promote engineering education in elementary grades, and very few target underrepresented populations.

What interdisciplinary approach does the collaboration advocate for K-5 engineering education?

It integrates engineering, math, science, literacy, and art, treating a school and a university as equal partners.

How were the curriculum units developed and tested?

They went through development by teacher–university teams, followed by pilot tests in local public schools and then field tests in multiple locations, with data collected from teachers and students.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk