Engineering is Elementary: An Evaluation of Year 6 Field Testing

Results are presented from formative and summative evaluation of two Engineering is Elementary (EiE) units in development: Designing Solar Ovens and Designing Parachutes. These two units were field tested during the 2008-2009 school year, the sixth year of the EiE project, with results of field testing used to revise the units for publication. Teachers submitted pre- and post-assessments completed by students in field test and control classrooms. In field test classrooms, students participated in both a related science and an EiE unit, while in control classrooms, students only participated in related science instruction. Compared to control students, EiE students learned significantly more about engineering and technology. Where science knowledge was tested, EiE students also showed significantly more improvement than control students. In addition, in almost all cases, students from all demographic groups tested (gender, race/ethnicity, Individualized Education Program (IEP) status, and others) improved as much as other students on the assessments after participating in EiE.