Failure – and learning from it – is integral to engineering design but shunned in most classrooms. ASEE PreK-12 engineering authorities Elizabeth A. Parry and Pamela S. Lottero-Perdue examined how elementary teachers’ perspective and use of “fail words” can change to support inquiry and learning.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News, Special Features | Comments Off on Research: Using ‘F Words’ in Elementary STEM

Tags: American Society for Engineering Education, elementary engineering, Elizabeth Parry, Engineering Design, learning from failure, Pamela Lottero-Perdue, research on engineering education, Research on Learning, research on teaching and learning, Teacher Resources

Students in grades 3 to 5 use engineering problem solving to create structures from paper, straws, tape, and paper clips that can support the weight of at least one textbook. For the second trial, they examine examples of successful buildings in history and try again.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Shapes of Strength

Tags: building, construction engineering, Design, History, learning from failure, materials, parthenon, pyramids, shapes, skyscraper, STEAM, strength, Structural Engineering, Taipei 101