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Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-4889
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Education
Year Degree Awarded
2022
Month Degree Awarded
September
First Advisor
Martina Nieswandt
Second Advisor
Jeanne Brunner
Third Advisor
Michael Knodler
Fourth Advisor
Darrell Earnest
Fifth Advisor
Erik Cheries
Subject Categories
Engineering Education | Science and Mathematics Education
Abstract
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for the integration of the practices of science and engineering across all science disciplines beginning in the early elementary grades. Science and engineering education research has determined that engineering design is a productive means for promoting understanding of science concepts. However, design artifacts created during engineering design problem-solving have not received sufficient attention for their potential to embody children’s science understanding. The aim of this study was to examine how conceptual development of the concepts of force and motion was instantiated in design artifacts by early elementary age children engaged in engineering design. Twenty-six children, ages 7-8, from 13 states across the United States engaged in the study from their homes. Design artifacts were considered externalized mental models with evidence of conceptual development evaluated according to the type and number of perceptual dimensions present. It was determined that the artifact could have eight possible perceptual dimensions and the addition of perceptual dimensions was considered evidence of conceptual development. Results indicate that children developed mental models ranging from 2-8-dimensions, with 23 participants (88%) adding dimensions to their mental models during the engineering activity. Video-stimulated prompted recall (VSR) interviews were used to corroborate conceptual development viewed through the design artifact, with all participants able to corroborate or partially corroborate their mental model changes. VSR was instrumental in engaging participants in the metacognitive process of reflection, a known mechanism of promoting conceptual development, which is underutilized with young children. VSR assisted some children in overcoming obstacles in problem-solving. Results are specific to the cotton ball launcher and further study is needed to improve generalizability to other engineering design tasks pertaining to force and motion.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/30919887
Recommended Citation
McGrail, Christine, "DESIGN ARTIFACTS AS EXTERNALIZED MENTAL MODELS OF CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations. 2675.
https://doi.org/10.7275/30919887
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2675