Secondary science teachers' lived experiences planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS engineering design practices

The most recent science education reform, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), strongly advocates for teaching engineering concepts and practices (NGSS Lead States, 2013). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and analyze secondary science teachers' lived experiences while planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS practices for engineering design in a southwest Chicago suburban high school. Theories about teacher's conceptions of the nature of engineering and STEM integrated learning, engineering teaching self-efficacy, and effective professional learning for teaching engineering were used as interpretive lenses for developing themes during part of the data analysis. Exploration of science teachers' lived experiences planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS practices for engineering design in the present study utilized data collected and analyzed from audio recorded and transcribed interviews prior to and after teaching an engineering lesson. Engineering lesson artifacts (such as lesson plans, handouts, samples of student work) and teacher reflective journals were also collected and used to clarify and/or corroborate themes generated through analysis of the interviews. One unique feature of this study was that data collection occurred before and during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on educational settings. The study found that teachers were most successful implementing a lesson that integrates the engineering design process when they took into consideration the specific students engaging with the lesson and the context in which the lesson was taught. Building on this, teachers' experiences were also affected by their beliefs about engineering, their perceived strengths as a secondary classroom science teacher, and the barriers and obstacles they perceived they faced in introducing a curriculum that integrates engineering design. At the same time, the study revealed that teachers felt they lacked the necessary support in terms of professional development, time for ongoing collaboration with colleagues to develop and refine engineering curriculum, and overall feedback on their efforts. Additionally, the barriers and challenges experienced by each teacher were associated with students' beliefs and attitudes toward learning to engineer, as well as external factors like assessing engineering learning and Covid-19 restrictions for educational settings. The science teachers in the current study demonstrated high individual and collective self-efficacy as each teacher worked alone and in collaboration with colleagues to actively encourage students' conceptual understanding of science through engagement in NGSS engineering design practices. Still, each teacher did experience barriers and challenges with fostering student science learning during the lesson. School leaders can use these findings to support teachers' engineering instruction and thereby support students across their institutions to meet the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards for science learning in the secondary science classroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

BREXIT AND OUTLOOK FOR A U.S.-UK FREE TRADE AGREEMENT *

Brexit introduced new exporting and importing licensing requirements, border checks, and regulatory compliance requirements, raising costs and the potential for bottlenecks at borders. For financial services, which account for 7% of UK GDP and one million jobs, the deal does not address UK financial services firms' access to the EU, which previously was through a "passporting" right that allowed banks to use their UK bases to access EU markets without establishing legally separate subsidiaries;the parties aim to establish a framework for cooperation by March 2021. U.S. and other exporters will need to manage separate customs regimes and relationships for the UK and EU. Since the transition period, the UK has engaged in negotiations to replicate existing EU trade deals with non-EU countries (e.g., Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, South Korea, and Turkey), and pursued new deals with countries with which the EU has not concluded trade deals (e.g., Australia, India, and the United States). [...]UK farmers and some in civil society voice concerns about the implications of U.S. demands for greater access to the UK market, and potential changes to UK food safety regulations.

Secondary science teachers' lived experiences planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS engineering design practices

The most recent science education reform, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), strongly advocates for teaching engineering concepts and practices (NGSS Lead States, 2013). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and analyze secondary science teachers' lived experiences while planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS practices for engineering design in a southwest Chicago suburban high school. Theories about teacher's conceptions of the nature of engineering and STEM integrated learning, engineering teaching self-efficacy, and effective professional learning for teaching engineering were used as interpretive lenses for developing themes during part of the data analysis. Exploration of science teachers' lived experiences planning and teaching lessons that integrate NGSS practices for engineering design in the present study utilized data collected and analyzed from audio recorded and transcribed interviews prior to and after teaching an engineering lesson. Engineering lesson artifacts (such as lesson plans, handouts, samples of student work) and teacher reflective journals were also collected and used to clarify and/or corroborate themes generated through analysis of the interviews. One unique feature of this study was that data collection occurred before and during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on educational settings. The study found that teachers were most successful implementing a lesson that integrates the engineering design process when they took into consideration the specific students engaging with the lesson and the context in which the lesson was taught. Building on this, teachers' experiences were also affected by their beliefs about engineering, their perceived strengths as a secondary classroom science teacher, and the barriers and obstacles they perceived they faced in introducing a curriculum that integrates engineering design. At the same time, the study revealed that teachers felt they lacked the necessary support in terms of professional development, time for ongoing collaboration with colleagues to develop and refine engineering curriculum, and overall feedback on their efforts. Additionally, the barriers and challenges experienced by each teacher were associated with students' beliefs and attitudes toward learning to engineer, as well as external factors like assessing engineering learning and Covid-19 restrictions for educational settings. The science teachers in the current study demonstrated high individual and collective self-efficacy as each teacher worked alone and in collaboration with colleagues to actively encourage students' conceptual understanding of science through engagement in NGSS engineering design practices. Still, each teacher did experience barriers and challenges with fostering student science learning during the lesson. School leaders can use these findings to support teachers' engineering instruction and thereby support students across their institutions to meet the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards for science learning in the secondary science classroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Making Engineering Real: Elementary Teachers' Virtual Engineering Instruction

National and state science standards emphasize student understanding of and engagement in engineering. However, many teachers do not have robust understandings of engineering and their students may not have opportunities to engage in engineering. The COVID-19 Pandemic has likely further decreased opportunities for elementary students to engage in engineering as their teachers grappled with reduced contact time, integration of new technologies and pedagogical approaches, and remote/virtual learning. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how an elementary teacher attended to engineering instruction during virtual learning despite the barriers presented by the pandemic. Aleshia was purposefully selected from a larger sample of 22 grade K-6 teachers because she included engineering in her virtual instruction. Data sources, including interviews, surveys, observations, and lesson artifacts were analyzed using an inductive approach in which the teacher's data corpus was holistically analyzed and interpreted to make meaning and answer the research question (Merriam, 1998). Aleshia's case demonstrates how an elementary teacher leveraged the affordances of digital technology to engage students in engineering design tasks despite the barriers presented by the pandemic. Aleshia's high baseline confidence and beliefs about technology integration may explain why she was able to implement technology-enhanced engineering instruction during virtual instruction. The results have implications for the design and development of PD to support engineering integration into elementary science teaching and the importance of developing elementary teachers' confidence integrating technology into instruction. Ultimately, Aleshia's case demonstrates the resilience, resourcefulness, and creativity of an elementary teacher integrating engineering instruction during the COVID-19 Pandemic when supported through PD initiatives that include a coaching component. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Digging Deeper with Data: Engineering Research Experiences for STEM Undergraduates and Teachers

It has become increasingly important for K-12 students to learn how to investigate patterns, correlations, and significance in data. The Berkeley Engineering Research Experiences for Teachers plus Data (BERET+D) pairs undergraduate pre-service teachers and experienced in-service science and mathematics teachers (PSTs and ISTs) to engage in engineering and data science research, exploring and analyzing data sets drawn from a variety of STEM fields and laboratories across the UC Berkeley campus. In addition to conducting independent summer research projects with guidance from university research faculty, the program provides opportunities for: (1) PSTs to develop data science-based lessons inspired by their research and aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), (2) ISTs to create data science-based curricula designed to inspire middle and high school students to see STEM classes as exciting and with real-life applications, and (3) ISTs to collaborate with and mentor PSTs preparing to enter K-12 STEM classrooms. Contributing towards broader impacts, CalTeach recruits a racially and socioeconomically diverse population of PSTs, and all ISTs were recruited from local public schools, in order to educate, prepare, and encourage more minority and female K-12 students to consider higher education and careers in STEM. During the first two summers of this project (2020-2021), participants completed over forty data-science related projects, developed over thirty K-12 data-science related lesson plans in math, science, and engineering, and created six classroom-ready and publicly accessible (teachengineering.org) curricular units showcasing data science. As an example of these curricular units, and as further evidence of the project's broader impact, one IST has developed an ongoing partnership between their classroom and a research laboratory on campus allowing high school physics students to learn data science techniques by analyzing and interpreting distant satellite signals collected by radio telescopes. Preliminary evaluation of this ongoing project revealed that participants viewed data science as important and essential in K-12 curriculum, that data analysis is a critical and useful skill for youth, and that data science aligns closely with the science and engineering practices called forth by NGSS. Though constrained by work-from-home restrictions due to COVID during the first two years, participants described their experience as positive and valuable, particularly in conceiving of ways to engage young learners with data-science through remote instruction. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022

A University-designed Middle School Remote Summer Engineering Academy

The K-12 education platform has drastically taken a different route since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. With the classroom being transitioned to online, educators are presented with many challenges to keep their class engaged. The curriculum of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is possibly the toughest to adapt to remote instruction, given that participants may no longer have access to many school labs or school STEM resources. Moreover, science and engineering in-person outreach programs are no longer feasible due to the pandemic and one cannot help but question whether the adoption of the hands-on instructional strategies pioneered by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will be able to be maintained. Faculty and graduate assistants at Stony Brook University in New York developed a unique, remote, yet hands-on engineering opportunity for middle school participants over the course of five 90-minute sessions of synchronous learning. Asynchronous learning was also available through a website populated with detailed manuals and short videos demonstrating the activities and office hours helped participants to clarify questions and finish their designs and prototypes. Through this Engineering Academy experience, participants (N=90), from across Long Island, were exposed to real-world applications of 3D printing and electrical and materials/chemical engineering, as well as the engineering design process. Questionnaires were administered pre- and post-every session to learn about participants' engineering literacy while post Academy surveys were collected to analyze both participants' engineering self-efficacy and knowledge. Future science and engineering curricular efforts may utilize and replicate the learned best practices to ensure a sustainable implementation of the NGSS via online or hybrid (online and in-person) learning opportunities. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021