Addressing critical cross-cultural issues in elementary STEM education research and practice: a critical review essay of
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Addressing critical cross‑cultural issues in elementary STEM education research and practice: a critical review essay of Engineering in Elementary STEM Education Alberto J. Rodriguez1 · Soo Won Shim1 Received: 18 April 2020 / Accepted: 9 August 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The book, Engineering in Elementary STEM Education: Curriculum Design, Instruction, Learning, and Assessment, written by Cunningham (Engineering in elementary STEM education: curriculum design, instruction, learning, and assessment, Teachers College Press, New York, 2018), highlights examples of engineering curriculum and pedagogy that Cunningham and her team have developed for the last 15 years. Additionally, she contends that engineering education has the potential to provide underrepresented students with opportunities to experience authentic and relevant STEM education, as well as to help them understand their strengths and abilities as future scientists or engineers. Given the popularity of this book and of the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum on which it is based, we conducted a critical review essay to more closely examine Cunningham’s claims. Using sociotransformative constructivism, as a theoretical framework, we found Cunningham’s book and supporting EiE curriculum to be rich resources of well-intended concepts and activities for integrating engineering practices in the science classroom. However, the EiE curriculum—like many other curriculum materials in the field—fall short of meeting their equity and diversity goals. In this essay, we argue that some of the EiE curriculum highlighted in Cunningham’s book seem to unintentionally promote colonized thinking, romanticized notions of engineering as a pure human endeavor; and culturally and socially unauthentic scenarios. Our goal is to generate reflection and transformative discussions so that we can elevate this and similar types of popular curriculum. To this end, we also offer suggestions for making STEM curriculum more culturally and socially relevant. Keywords Equity · Social justice · Sociotransformative constructivism · STEM · Engineering
Lead Editor: L. Avraamidou. * Alberto J. Rodriguez [email protected] 1
Department of Curriculum& Instruction, College of Education, Purdue University, 100 N. University St., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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A. J. Rodriguez, S. W. Shim
Resumen ejecutivo El libro, Ingeniería en la Educación Primaria de STEM: Diseño Curricular, Instrucción, Aprendizaje y Evaluación, escrito por Christine Cunningham (2018), destaca ejemplos de planes de estudios de ingeniería y pedagogía que Cunningham y sus colegas han desarrollado durante los últimos 15 años. Cunningham también sostiene que la educación en ingeniería tiene el potencial de proporcionar a los estudiantes marginalizados oportunidades para explorar una educación STEM auténtica y relevante, así como ayudarlos a comprender sus fortalezas y habilidades como futuros científicos o ingenieros. Dada la popularidad de este libro y del plan de estudios d
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