Discussion
Our study has provided an example of how fourth-grade
students can engage in processes of engineering design
and apply disciplinary knowledge in solving a meaningful
and appealing problem. In accord with calls for better
integration of the STEM disciplines and a more balanced
representation of content (e.g., Honey et al., 2014), we
developed the Aerospace Challenge drawing on the
teachers’ science, mathematics, and technology programs.
Building largely on Dorie et al.’s (2014) research,
we developed an engineering design framework for this
study that would cater for multiple processes in early engineering
education. The five main interactive processes
of problem scoping, idea generation, design and construction,
design evaluation, and redesign formed our
framework, with each comprising a number of components
playing key roles in problem solution. The development
and application of STEM content knowledge is
an important feature of the framework, reflecting the
well-documented role of such learning during design
(e.g., Crismond and Adams 2012; Diaz and King 2007;
Moore et al. 2014). Likewise, the establishment of productive
collaborative groups at the outset of problem solution
is an important feature.
In addressing our first research question, we analyzed
the students’ sketches of their initial designs focusing on
their use of disciplinary knowledge (i.e., measurement,
geometry, and forces) and their forms of annotation, in
accord with Song and Agogino’s (2004) support notation
metric. Three levels of increasing sophistication in the
students’ sketches were identified, with the second level
the most prevalent. Students at this level were able to
develop designs that encompassed drawings or templates
with an indication of how to fold the paper as well as
measurements linked to the plane’s construction. The
most sophisticated level incorporated multiple forms of
annotations or included written instructions and calculations.
This third level was not prominent, however,
which is not surprising given that the current problem
was only the students’ second engineering-based problem
experience.
The first research question also explored students’ initial
design processes during group work, where examples of
the different processes of our framework appeared. Problem
scoping was prominent, with the addition of familiar
contexts featured as well as an awareness of constraints
English and King International Journal of STEM Education (2015) 2:14 Page 14 of 18
and a consideration of what was feasible in designing their
plane. The important role of context in engineering design
for young learners, as shown in Dorie et al.'s (2014) work,
complements research showing how context has a bearing
on students’ approaches to problem solving in other domains
such as statistics (English 2013a). More research is
needed on ways in which context can facilitate (or even
hinder) young children’s clarification of the problem goal,
assist in generating design ideas, and serve as a reference
point in transforming these ideas into a 3-D model.