EiE aims to create the next generation of problem solvers. To achieve this we know our engineering curricula needs to engage ALL students. When our founder Christine Cunningham started the EiE project, she realized she had an incredible opportunity to introduce a new discipline to students without worrying about previous experiences, entrenched models of learning, or biases against the subject. She began this process in earnest by reviewing literature on elementary school STEM education and talking to educators and engineers about what elementary engineering could look like. From this research, Cunningham and the EiE research team identified the fourteen inclusive design principles that we still use today to develop our curricula.

This November, the EiE professional development team is offering two free webinars designed to improve your teaching practice: on November 8, "Effective Questioning Strategies for Your STEM Classroom" and on November 15, "Meaningful Integration of STEM in Elementary Classrooms." In these sessions, you'll learn from the experts as you study classroom footage, align lessons to national standards, test out new questioning strategies, and more! Read on to learn more about these interactive, one-hour sessions and register today!

In every EiE unit, we challenge students to solve a real-world problem with the Engineering Design Process. But around our favorite holidays, we can’t help but brainstorm fantastical design challenge contexts that fit the season. This past spring, we suggested out-of-this-world EiE modifications for Star Wars Day. This month, we’re bringing you some Halloween-themed modifications for spooky engineering fun in your classroom! 

The EiE team is committed to making engineering accessible to all students, including the fastest-growing student population in the U.S. in the last decade—English Learners. It’s why we offer Spanish translations of storybooks, family letters, and student handouts for every unit (find them in the Resource tab of each unit page). We know that even when you have the resources, it can feel intimidating to begin an engineering curriculum in a classroom with English Learners. But teachers have told us that the risk is worth the reward—even though EiE requires a lot of thought and preparation, they’ve seen how EiE excites and engages their English Learner populations. Karissa Weiler; a third-grade teacher at Keeling Elementary in Tuscon, Arizona; loves using EiE with her kids. After we visited her school to shoot some classroom videos, we knew we had to share some of her strategies—when you see her class in action, we think you’ll agree! Check out Karissa’s five tips below and scroll to the bottom to watch a video of her young engineers!

Effective materials management is key to the success of a hands-on, inquiry-based program like EiE. In each teacher guide, our curriculum team included tips to help educators prepare student workstations and organize their classrooms. We developed many of these tips based on the teacher feedback we received during the development process. But we’re always listening to and responding to educators’ feedback, even after the development process is done. In our quest to make teachers’ days easier, we developed additional resources to guide them as they teach EiE. Check out these three resources to make materials management a breeze this school year!