Methods
Participants
Schools
Five Queensland (Australia) schools, two private and
three non-private (state), participated in the first year
(fourth grade) of this 3-year longitudinal study. We
chose to commence our work with fourth-grade classes
given that our prior work with students in grades 7–9
(e.g., English, Hudson, & Dawes, 2013) indicated that
the processes of engineering design required long-term
development and that this development needed to commence
in the earlier grades. Both private and state
schools were chosen as we were committed to introducing
engineering education into both education sectors,
where interest in STEM education is just emerging. Further,
all schools indicated a keenness for their students
to engage in these new learning experiences. Seven classes
and their teachers completed the first year of activities,
three from large private schools and the remainder
from smaller state schools. We focus in this article on
the three private school classes (N = 63; mean age =
9 years 8 months), given that their school timetabling
and the students’ greater fluency with the English language
enabled more comprehensive data to be obtained.
MethodsParticipantsSchoolsFive Queensland (Australia) schools, two private andthree non-private (state), participated in the first year(fourth grade) of this 3-year longitudinal study. Wechose to commence our work with fourth-grade classesgiven that our prior work with students in grades 7–9(e.g., English, Hudson, & Dawes, 2013) indicated thatthe processes of engineering design required long-termdevelopment and that this development needed to commencein the earlier grades. Both private and stateschools were chosen as we were committed to introducingengineering education into both education sectors,where interest in STEM education is just emerging. Further,all schools indicated a keenness for their studentsto engage in these new learning experiences. Seven classesand their teachers completed the first year of activities,three from large private schools and the remainderfrom smaller state schools. We focus in this article onthe three private school classes (N = 63; mean age =9 years 8 months), given that their school timetablingand the students’ greater fluency with the English languageenabled more comprehensive data to be obtained.
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