Journal of research in stem education, Jul 1, 2017
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices begin... more The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices beginning in Kindergarten, yet little is known about how prepared elementary teachers are to incorporate these standards. The purpose of this study was to identify (a) the perceptions that in-service teachers hold about the nature of engineering and engineering design and (b) how these perceptions compare with the engineering practices put forth in NGSS. This study is part of a larger explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Study participants included 542 K-5 public school teachers who were responsible for the science instruction of their students. During the first phase of the study, participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of Likert, selected response, and openended items. The results of the survey were used to finalize interview protocols for the second phase, which consisted of follow-up focus group and interview sessions with a subset of the survey participants. Findings indicated that participants were unfamiliar with engineering or engineering design and held stereotypical misconceptions about the work of engineers. Many participants reported having little experience teaching engineering and were not able to distinguish between examples of science and engineering activities. In short, findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of engineering and engineering design do not align with the engineering practices and disciplinary core ideas found in NGSS.
Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the integration of engineering ... more Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the integration of engineering content and practices in elementary science curricula, yet little is known about elementary teachers' preparedness to do so or their views on teaching engineering. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of the current study was to explore K-5 teachers' perceptions about incorporating engineering in their classrooms as well as the perceived barriers for doing so. Design/Method: This study consisted of an online survey including a mix of selected response, Likert, and short answer items, followed by individual interviews and focus group sessions with a subset of survey participants. Descriptive statistics are reported for quantitative survey data. Open-ended survey questions as well as interview and focus group transcripts were inductively coded to identify emergent themes. Results: Many elementary teachers support the inclusion of engineering in the science standards for elementary grades. Teachers describe a lack of preservice and in-service training, background knowledge, materials, time for planning and implementing lessons, and administrative support as barriers to implementing engineering activities within their classrooms. Conclusion: While many elementary teachers support the use of engineering activities in their classrooms, there are numerous barriers preventing them from doing so. To ensure that NGSS are incorporated into elementary classrooms as they were intended, elementary teachers must be provided with the necessary training, resources, and support.
Research indicates that teacher efficacy influences student achievement and is situation specific... more Research indicates that teacher efficacy influences student achievement and is situation specific. With the Next Generation Science Standards calling for the incorporation of engineering practices into K-12 classrooms, it is important to identify teachers' engineering teaching efficacy. A study of K-5 teachers' engineering self-efficacy and engineering teaching efficacy revealed that that they have low engineering self-efficacy and low teacher efficacy related to engineering pedagogical content knowledge. Additionally, significant differences existed in self-efficacy levels based on gender, ethnicity, Title I school status, and grade level taught.
Moonshot is the redesign of NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally enga... more Moonshot is the redesign of NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally engaged Texas high school juniors in a 16-week online course for credit and an intense week-long onsite experience working in teams with experts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), our challenge was to design, develop, and deliver an online virtual experience to replace the all-expenses-paid six-day residential summer experience at JSC where HAS participants traditionally work with like-minded peers and NASA experts on authentic design challenges.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices begin... more The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices beginning in Kindergarten, yet little is known about how prepared elementary teachers are to incorporate these standards. The purpose of this study was to identify (a) the perceptions that in-service teachers hold about the nature of engineering and engineering design and (b) how these perceptions compare with the engineering practices put forth in NGSS. This study is part of a larger explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Study participants included 542 K-5 public school teachers who were responsible for the science instruction of their students. During the first phase of the study, participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of Likert, selected response, and openended items. The results of the survey were used to finalize interview protocols for the second phase, which consisted of follow-up focus group and interview sessions with a subset of the survey participants. Fin...
Background: Early-age engineering education can enhance preparedness and generate interest
in en... more Background: Early-age engineering education can enhance preparedness and generate interest in engineering careers prior to college. This article reports on collaboration between a university engineer and science teacher educators to introduce engineering career awareness in elementary classrooms. The resulting elementary school curriculum, Engineering is Everywhere, features video instruction by the engineer, a teacher activity guide, and a materials kit.
Purpose/Research Questions: Our research question was, “How might engineers and educators best collaborate in elementary engineering outreach efforts?” We co-developed curricula, prepared classroom teachers, and compared fifth-grade student learning outcomes to determine the most beneficial type of engineer instruction.
Design/Method: A quasi-experimental research design assessed the effectiveness of three instructional formats: engineer-led, engineer-visit, and engineer-video. Pre- and post-tests captured changes in fifth-grade students’ understanding about the work of engineers and attitudes about engineering.
Results: Findings indicated significant gains in all students’ understanding, with some differences across the three instructional formats. The engineer-led students did not show significant changes in overall engineering attitudes. Only the engineer-video students demonstrated significant gains in engineering job interests.
Conclusions: A qualitative comparison of the costs and benefits of each instructional format raised important considerations for planning engineer outreach. We recommend that engineers collaborate with science teacher educators in the design of video instruction and assist in preparing elementary classroom teachers to administer the lesson activities.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address n... more The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader impacts engagement by an NSF CAREER awardee engineer. Our project, titled Engineering is Everywhere (E2): STEM Career Outreach (see http://www.engineeringiseverywhere.com), included an innovative combination of virtual media and teaching kits to provide an age appropriate, career mentoring model that encourages and broadens participation of individuals that are underrepresented in STEM education and the workforce. Intensive collaborations with engineer and education faculty involved an afterschool pilot program, the creation of engineering career awareness videos, the development of a curricula kit for 5th grade classrooms, and the implementation of the final product in 4 rural schools. The goal of this article is to report findings about the influence o...
Texas public high schools induct beginning science teachers each year; yet, little is known about... more Texas public high schools induct beginning science teachers each year; yet, little is known about how schools induct beginning teachers. The three studies included in this dissertation use a mixed methods approach to explore data collected by the Policy Research Initiative in Science Education (PRISE) Research Group during the 2007-2008 academic year. The first study focused on principals' perceptions of teacher induction. A content analysis of interviews collected from 50 principals examined principals' perceptions of teacher induction. Analyses indicated that high school principals had an overwhelmingly narrow focus of mentoring and provided mentor teachers with little support or training. Findings indicated that induction activities for beginning teachers were front-loaded before the school year began and were left in the hands of unprepared mentors during the school year. Further analyses indicated that the primary purpose of mentoring and induction for beginning teacher...
Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 2015
This paper provides a methodological review of previous research on cognitive task complexity, si... more This paper provides a methodological review of previous research on cognitive task complexity, since the term emerged in 1995, and investigates why much research was more quantitative rather than qualitative. Moreover, it sheds light onto the studies which used the mixed-methods approach and determines which version of the mixed-methods designs was frequently used. The results reveal that many studies in the field of cognitive task-based research used quantitative rather than qualitative experimental design to collect and interpret their findings. These studies were more oriented to post-positivism supported by an objectivist epistemology. However, limited studies utilized mixed-methods approach to consider the effects of cognitive task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 context. The theoretical perspective behind these studies was pragmatism. The mixed-methods studies only used the explanatory sequential design to collect data and interpret their findings while other versions of the mixed-methods research designs were left undefined. To conclude, the paper identifies the current gap in methodology of the studies and offers recommendations for how to obtain more comprehensive and generalizable findings by utilizing other versions of the mixed-methods studies.
Journal of research in stem education, Jul 1, 2017
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices begin... more The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices beginning in Kindergarten, yet little is known about how prepared elementary teachers are to incorporate these standards. The purpose of this study was to identify (a) the perceptions that in-service teachers hold about the nature of engineering and engineering design and (b) how these perceptions compare with the engineering practices put forth in NGSS. This study is part of a larger explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Study participants included 542 K-5 public school teachers who were responsible for the science instruction of their students. During the first phase of the study, participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of Likert, selected response, and openended items. The results of the survey were used to finalize interview protocols for the second phase, which consisted of follow-up focus group and interview sessions with a subset of the survey participants. Findings indicated that participants were unfamiliar with engineering or engineering design and held stereotypical misconceptions about the work of engineers. Many participants reported having little experience teaching engineering and were not able to distinguish between examples of science and engineering activities. In short, findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of engineering and engineering design do not align with the engineering practices and disciplinary core ideas found in NGSS.
Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the integration of engineering ... more Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the integration of engineering content and practices in elementary science curricula, yet little is known about elementary teachers' preparedness to do so or their views on teaching engineering. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of the current study was to explore K-5 teachers' perceptions about incorporating engineering in their classrooms as well as the perceived barriers for doing so. Design/Method: This study consisted of an online survey including a mix of selected response, Likert, and short answer items, followed by individual interviews and focus group sessions with a subset of survey participants. Descriptive statistics are reported for quantitative survey data. Open-ended survey questions as well as interview and focus group transcripts were inductively coded to identify emergent themes. Results: Many elementary teachers support the inclusion of engineering in the science standards for elementary grades. Teachers describe a lack of preservice and in-service training, background knowledge, materials, time for planning and implementing lessons, and administrative support as barriers to implementing engineering activities within their classrooms. Conclusion: While many elementary teachers support the use of engineering activities in their classrooms, there are numerous barriers preventing them from doing so. To ensure that NGSS are incorporated into elementary classrooms as they were intended, elementary teachers must be provided with the necessary training, resources, and support.
Research indicates that teacher efficacy influences student achievement and is situation specific... more Research indicates that teacher efficacy influences student achievement and is situation specific. With the Next Generation Science Standards calling for the incorporation of engineering practices into K-12 classrooms, it is important to identify teachers' engineering teaching efficacy. A study of K-5 teachers' engineering self-efficacy and engineering teaching efficacy revealed that that they have low engineering self-efficacy and low teacher efficacy related to engineering pedagogical content knowledge. Additionally, significant differences existed in self-efficacy levels based on gender, ethnicity, Title I school status, and grade level taught.
Moonshot is the redesign of NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally enga... more Moonshot is the redesign of NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally engaged Texas high school juniors in a 16-week online course for credit and an intense week-long onsite experience working in teams with experts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), our challenge was to design, develop, and deliver an online virtual experience to replace the all-expenses-paid six-day residential summer experience at JSC where HAS participants traditionally work with like-minded peers and NASA experts on authentic design challenges.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices begin... more The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the infusion of engineering practices beginning in Kindergarten, yet little is known about how prepared elementary teachers are to incorporate these standards. The purpose of this study was to identify (a) the perceptions that in-service teachers hold about the nature of engineering and engineering design and (b) how these perceptions compare with the engineering practices put forth in NGSS. This study is part of a larger explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Study participants included 542 K-5 public school teachers who were responsible for the science instruction of their students. During the first phase of the study, participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of Likert, selected response, and openended items. The results of the survey were used to finalize interview protocols for the second phase, which consisted of follow-up focus group and interview sessions with a subset of the survey participants. Fin...
Background: Early-age engineering education can enhance preparedness and generate interest
in en... more Background: Early-age engineering education can enhance preparedness and generate interest in engineering careers prior to college. This article reports on collaboration between a university engineer and science teacher educators to introduce engineering career awareness in elementary classrooms. The resulting elementary school curriculum, Engineering is Everywhere, features video instruction by the engineer, a teacher activity guide, and a materials kit.
Purpose/Research Questions: Our research question was, “How might engineers and educators best collaborate in elementary engineering outreach efforts?” We co-developed curricula, prepared classroom teachers, and compared fifth-grade student learning outcomes to determine the most beneficial type of engineer instruction.
Design/Method: A quasi-experimental research design assessed the effectiveness of three instructional formats: engineer-led, engineer-visit, and engineer-video. Pre- and post-tests captured changes in fifth-grade students’ understanding about the work of engineers and attitudes about engineering.
Results: Findings indicated significant gains in all students’ understanding, with some differences across the three instructional formats. The engineer-led students did not show significant changes in overall engineering attitudes. Only the engineer-video students demonstrated significant gains in engineering job interests.
Conclusions: A qualitative comparison of the costs and benefits of each instructional format raised important considerations for planning engineer outreach. We recommend that engineers collaborate with science teacher educators in the design of video instruction and assist in preparing elementary classroom teachers to administer the lesson activities.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address n... more The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader impacts engagement by an NSF CAREER awardee engineer. Our project, titled Engineering is Everywhere (E2): STEM Career Outreach (see http://www.engineeringiseverywhere.com), included an innovative combination of virtual media and teaching kits to provide an age appropriate, career mentoring model that encourages and broadens participation of individuals that are underrepresented in STEM education and the workforce. Intensive collaborations with engineer and education faculty involved an afterschool pilot program, the creation of engineering career awareness videos, the development of a curricula kit for 5th grade classrooms, and the implementation of the final product in 4 rural schools. The goal of this article is to report findings about the influence o...
Texas public high schools induct beginning science teachers each year; yet, little is known about... more Texas public high schools induct beginning science teachers each year; yet, little is known about how schools induct beginning teachers. The three studies included in this dissertation use a mixed methods approach to explore data collected by the Policy Research Initiative in Science Education (PRISE) Research Group during the 2007-2008 academic year. The first study focused on principals' perceptions of teacher induction. A content analysis of interviews collected from 50 principals examined principals' perceptions of teacher induction. Analyses indicated that high school principals had an overwhelmingly narrow focus of mentoring and provided mentor teachers with little support or training. Findings indicated that induction activities for beginning teachers were front-loaded before the school year began and were left in the hands of unprepared mentors during the school year. Further analyses indicated that the primary purpose of mentoring and induction for beginning teacher...
Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 2015
This paper provides a methodological review of previous research on cognitive task complexity, si... more This paper provides a methodological review of previous research on cognitive task complexity, since the term emerged in 1995, and investigates why much research was more quantitative rather than qualitative. Moreover, it sheds light onto the studies which used the mixed-methods approach and determines which version of the mixed-methods designs was frequently used. The results reveal that many studies in the field of cognitive task-based research used quantitative rather than qualitative experimental design to collect and interpret their findings. These studies were more oriented to post-positivism supported by an objectivist epistemology. However, limited studies utilized mixed-methods approach to consider the effects of cognitive task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 context. The theoretical perspective behind these studies was pragmatism. The mixed-methods studies only used the explanatory sequential design to collect data and interpret their findings while other versions of the mixed-methods research designs were left undefined. To conclude, the paper identifies the current gap in methodology of the studies and offers recommendations for how to obtain more comprehensive and generalizable findings by utilizing other versions of the mixed-methods studies.
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Papers by Toni Ivey
in engineering careers prior to college. This article reports on collaboration between a university
engineer and science teacher educators to introduce engineering career awareness in elementary classrooms. The resulting elementary school curriculum, Engineering is Everywhere,
features video instruction by the engineer, a teacher activity guide, and a materials kit.
Purpose/Research Questions: Our research question was, “How might engineers and educators best collaborate in elementary engineering outreach efforts?” We co-developed curricula, prepared classroom teachers, and compared fifth-grade student learning outcomes
to determine the most beneficial type of engineer instruction.
Design/Method: A quasi-experimental research design assessed the effectiveness of three instructional formats: engineer-led, engineer-visit, and engineer-video. Pre- and post-tests captured changes in fifth-grade students’ understanding about the work of engineers and attitudes
about engineering.
Results: Findings indicated significant gains in all students’ understanding, with some differences
across the three instructional formats. The engineer-led students did not show significant changes in overall engineering attitudes. Only the engineer-video students demonstrated significant gains in engineering job interests.
Conclusions: A qualitative comparison of the costs and benefits of each instructional format raised important considerations for planning engineer outreach. We recommend that engineers collaborate with science teacher educators in the design of video instruction and assist in preparing elementary classroom teachers to administer the lesson activities.
in engineering careers prior to college. This article reports on collaboration between a university
engineer and science teacher educators to introduce engineering career awareness in elementary classrooms. The resulting elementary school curriculum, Engineering is Everywhere,
features video instruction by the engineer, a teacher activity guide, and a materials kit.
Purpose/Research Questions: Our research question was, “How might engineers and educators best collaborate in elementary engineering outreach efforts?” We co-developed curricula, prepared classroom teachers, and compared fifth-grade student learning outcomes
to determine the most beneficial type of engineer instruction.
Design/Method: A quasi-experimental research design assessed the effectiveness of three instructional formats: engineer-led, engineer-visit, and engineer-video. Pre- and post-tests captured changes in fifth-grade students’ understanding about the work of engineers and attitudes
about engineering.
Results: Findings indicated significant gains in all students’ understanding, with some differences
across the three instructional formats. The engineer-led students did not show significant changes in overall engineering attitudes. Only the engineer-video students demonstrated significant gains in engineering job interests.
Conclusions: A qualitative comparison of the costs and benefits of each instructional format raised important considerations for planning engineer outreach. We recommend that engineers collaborate with science teacher educators in the design of video instruction and assist in preparing elementary classroom teachers to administer the lesson activities.