Resumen de Longitudinal profiles of children’s conceptions of an engineer
Brenda M. Capobianco, Irene Mena
This study examines elementary school (grades 1–5) children’s conceptions of an engineer as they progress from one year to thenext over a three-year period. Data were gathered from three distinct cohorts of students progressing from grades 1 through 3, 2through 4, and 3 through 5. Using the Draw-An-Engineer Test and semi-structured interviews, we explore children’s conceptionsbefore and after they engaged in engineering design-based lessons and furthermore, demonstrate how conceptual change occurredamong distinct cohorts of children. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. Results indicated that children were more likely toinvoke more fragmented conceptions at younger ages (grades 1 and 2) and more diverse and accurate conceptions as theyprogressed from grades 3 to 4 to 5. Retention of more accurate conceptions occurred among children at an older age.Consideration must be given to the development of high quality engineering design-based instructional materials and curricularresources that can capture children’s naive ideas and furthermore, promote students’ abilities to develop more meaningful, accurateunderstandings over time.
