A review of literature on connections between engineering education and cognitive development in K-12 students

Abstract

This paper reviews the current body of literature comprising studies connecting engineering education in K-12 with elements of cognitive development. The process of change towards engineering being taught in K-12 classrooms involves the establishment of developmentally appropriate standards that inform curriculum. Established standards such as those of the NGSS and ITEEA STLs provide a nationally applicable framework for curricula throughout the United States. Nevertheless, it is important to critically consider what the foundations of such standards are in terms of empirical research. The development of rigorous standards for K-12 engineering education is a continuous process. Without a foundation of understanding for how children think about and learn engineering, standards will not optimally inform curricula how to teach engineering. So, do these foundations exist? The National Research Council (NRC) delivered a recommendation in 2010 to engage in the development of better understanding for how students learn engineering concepts in K-12. The intention of this recommendation was to facilitate effective and developmentally appropriate integration of engineering in K-12. The context of discussion in this recommendation was determining the viability and necessity of standards for engineering education in K-12. At the time, the committee determined fundamental questions were yet to be answered that would properly inform developmentally appropriate standards. This indicates that progress towards better understanding of student cognition had not occurred quickly. It is worth exploring to what extent observations such as these are currently accurate. Such shortcomings, if they exist, may critically inform initiatives within the educational research community. This systematic literature review will seek to uncover to what level fundamental research across several major publications in the past eight years focuses on critically describing the facets of child cognition and cognitive development in relation to the context of engineering in education. The scope of the review will include empirical studies detailing the measurement of perceptions pertaining to engineering, critical assessment of knowledge transfer for and conceptual understanding of engineering content, use of language and communication by students in engineering activities, and study of systems of thinking and habits of mind affecting student performance in engineering activities.