Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) Research Collaborative Partners with the American Society for Engineering Education to Establish a Defined and Cohesive Educational Sequence for P-12 Engineering
AUGUST 11, 2019 - The Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) research collaborative (www.p12engineering.org) announces a partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to establish a defined and cohesive educational sequence to serve as the foundation for P-12 Engineering Standards. National educational content standards in science and technology have included engineering practices and content as way to facilitate design-based, engineering learning experiences in the classroom. Previous standards, however, may provide a too narrow of a view to adequately describe authentic engineering, specifically with concern to engineering content and competencies beyond design.
In 2016, the AE3 research collaborative initiated a “call to action” to build a community with a shared focus, vision, and research agenda to develop a coherent framework for P-12 engineering learning in an effort to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to think, learn, and act like an engineer. “It is clear through curricula efforts such as Engineering is Elementary, Engineer Your World, and Engineering 4 Us All that P-12 schools are eager for engineering learning experiences developed by the engineering community,” said Michael Grubbs, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at AE3. “Our partnership with ASEE will enable us to better leverage the knowledge generated through those efforts and experts from the educational and engineering fields to develop a Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning. This foundational work will serve as a launching point to advance the quality and reach of P-12 engineering programs throughout the country and will, inevitably, set the foundation for the nation’s first P-12 educational standards for engineering.”
The partnership with ASEE will provide a pathway for ideas and innovations in engineering education to reach school systems eager to implement engineering with fidelity. ASEE Executive Director Dr. Norman Fortenberry said, “There is an increasing proliferation of products and activities that claim to provide either an understanding of engineering work or to prepare students for the collegiate study of engineering. At ASEE, we think it critical that these products and activities be part of an age-appropriate cohesive education sequence and, ideally, consistent with national P-12 Engineering Standards. We want students to understand what engineering is and what it is not.” Fortenberry elaborated, “We view ‘truth in advertising’ as an ethical obligation to ensure that students make informed choices about whether and how studying engineering contributes to their long-term career goals. Our collaboration with AE3 is a crucial first step in providing quality assurance for P-12 engineering programs.”
For more information on the Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning and to follow the framework development, visit www.p12engineering.org, follow via Twitter @AEEngEdu, or email AE3 Executive Director, Tanner Huffman at AEEE@p12engineering.org.
About Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3)
AE3 is a research collaborative that seeks to promote collaboration across the engineering and education communities to, foremost, pursue a vision and direction for P-12 Engineering Education; and second to develop a coherent and dynamic content framework for scaffolding the teaching and learning of engineering in P-12 schools. In 2016, AE3 launched the Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning project to establish a coherent curricular structure for the dimensions of engineering literacy and conduct research on the learning of engineering concepts/skills to better understand how to achieve engineering literacy for all. AE3 consists of researchers, teachers, industry and K-12 schools district partners, and thought leaders with a shared vision to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to think, learn, and act like an engineer.
AE3 Leadership Team
Tanner Huffman, Ph.D., Executive Director
Jamie Gurganus, Director of Innovative Programs & Operations
Michael Grubbs, Ph.D., Director of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships
Greg Strimel, Ph.D., Director of Transformative Research & Development
Download a printer friendly version of the release here.