As part of the development of the Engineering and Computer Science Essentials curriculum, the EiE team created the EiE Habits of Mind, a list of 19 practices used by engineers and computer scientists. Today, we’ll look more closely at how this list is useful in the classroom.
Engineering Habits of Mind | Create a Generation of Problem Solvers | Computer Science | Tuesday, November 3
Integrating Engineering and Computer Science with the EiE Habits of Mind
As mentioned in my previous post, Introducing the EiE Habits of Mind, our team faced several questions as we began developing Engineering and Computer Science Essentials: Should we revise our list of Engineering Habits of Mind? Should we create new Computer Science Habits of Mind? Were the two fields similar enough that they should share Habits?
Engineering Habits of Mind | Create a Generation of Problem Solvers | Computer Science | Friday, October 30
Introducing the EiE Habits of Mind
For the EiE team, 2020 featured an important milestone: the publication of Engineering and Computer Science Essentials, our first curriculum to feature computer science. Since we’ve traditionally focused on engineering, the inclusion of this new discipline raised a question: how could we update our “Engineering Habits of Mind”—a set of thought patterns that people use while engineering—so they applied to computer science as well?
Engineering Habits of Mind | Thursday, May 25
Beyond Memorization: Engineering Helps Kids See the Big Picture
The students in Jean Facchiano's fourth-grade class have spent the morning engineering their own models of permeable membranes, using ordinary kitchen supplies like sponges, coffee filters, and perforated aluminum foil. The goal is to design a system that lets water drip into a frog habitat, keeping the container slightly damp, not dry or flooded.
Each group of students has come up with their own unique system for controlling water flow into the habitat. Now, in the video below, the students present their results. It's not just a show-and-tell; it's a concise demonstration of elementary students starting to apply their systems-thinking skills.
Engineering Habits of Mind | Thursday, May 11
Teaching Ethics: It's More Important Than Ever
Today’s guest blogger is Kate Sokol, a curriculum designer for EiE.
As a curriculum writer for Engineering is Elementary, I’m always thinking about developing activities that promote engineering habits of mind. Many habits of mind; like “collaboration,” “communication,” and “creativity”; naturally integrate with the type of hands-on engineering activities that we develop, and are often used to describe the work of engineers. Other habits, like the call for “ethical considerations,” require deliberate reflection to fully integrate into the K-8 classroom. The idea of ethics in engineering may seem like a daunting topic to navigate with students, but the power of critical thinking and the opportunity for students to consider the impact of their decisions has never been more important.
