Research: Asset-based Practices in Engineering Design (APRENDE): Formation of Engineers through a Funds of Knowledge Approach

拉丁裔（拉丁裔/拉丁美洲人的性别中立术语）人口在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）职业中是一个严重代表性不足的群体。由于这种持续的代表性不足，拉丁K-12学生缺乏在这些领域的职业榜样-特别是在工程领域。此外，有时K-12教育中的工程并没有以激发来自各种种族和文化背景的学生兴趣的方式呈现。拥有来自美国丰富多样的人才的所有群体的充分代表对于充分发挥我们在STEM领域的发展潜力至关重要。因此，重要的是要了解如何鼓励所有学生攻读STEM学位，特别是中学的拉丁裔学生。这个项目的目的是探讨教师，作为直接的榜样，可以作为调解人和代理人的积极变化为拉丁裔中学生。当教师学会如何将学生带入课堂的知识、技能和经验（也称为“知识基金”）整合到工程内容中时，他们可以成为积极变革的推动者。重要的是教师要了解工程如何与拉丁裔学生在家里和他们的社区生活经验的现实连接，为学生提供更好的机会从事工程。这项研究旨在建立教师的能力，帮助学生联系这些校内和校外的经验。这样做为学生提供了一个基础，让他们感到兴奋，并有能力成为未来的工程师。通过为工程教育建立一个更具包容性的学习环境，K-12学生的教师，包括他们的Latinx学生，可以为多样化和增加准备从事工程职业的学生人数做出贡献。目前，关于如何培养教师将知识与工程相结合的能力，或者这种结合对学生的影响，几乎没有研究。因此，本项目的目标是：（1）探索如何以及在何种程度上将知识基金与工程设计相结合，可以促进Latinx学生对工程的兴趣，以及（2）如何培养教师激活和承认学生知识基金的能力。该项目的重点是美国主要拉丁裔地区的中学生和教师。墨西哥边境与高ELL人口。它（1）为教师提供机会，结构和支持，以认识，重视和激活Latinx学生的知识基金与工程有关;和（2）创建一个结构和文化，帮助Latinx学生培养自己的知识基金意识，以及他们的兴趣和工程知识。样本包括八名中学数学和科学教师，一名工程教师。预计每位教师都将为课程的开发和实施做出贡献，这些课程将工程背景下的知识资金与至少一个25名学生的班级整合在一起，每年实施总计225名学生。这项混合方法研究使用来自观察，访谈，数字日志，焦点小组，文物和调查的数据，以及定量和定性分析方法，研究知识和工程资金的整合是如何发生的。这项研究解决了需要促进更公平地形成工程师，承认不同的声音。因此，在这项研究中产生的知识是必不可少的，创造未来的工程师和文化敏感的教师。最重要的是，这项研究探讨了教师和学校可以做些什么来支持工程学习，激发学生，并激励他们成为杰出的，创造性的，和生产性的工程师。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The Latinx (a gender-neutral term for Latinas/Latinos) population is a severely underrepresented group in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. As a result of this persistent underrepresentation, Latinx K-12 students lack role models with careers in these fields -- especially in engineering. In addition, sometimes engineering in K-12 education is not presented in a way that excites the interests of students from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Having full representation from all groups that make up the rich and diverse talent in the U.S. is crucial to reach our full potential for advancement in the STEM fields. Therefore, it is important to understand how all students can be encouraged to pursue STEM degrees, particularly Latinx students in middle school. The purpose of this project is to explore how teachers, as immediate role models, can serve as mediators and agents of positive change for Latinx middle school students. Teachers can become agents of positive change when they learn how to integrate the knowledge, skills and experiences (also known as "funds of knowledge") that students bring into the classroom to engineering content. It is important for teachers to understand how engineering connects with the realities of Latinx students' lived experiences at home and at their communities to provide students with better opportunities to engage in engineering. This study seeks to build teacher capacity to help students link these in-school and out-of-school experiences. Doing so provides a foundation for students to get excited and feel empowered to become future engineers. By building a more inclusive learning environment for engineering education, teachers of K-12 students, including their Latinx students, can contribute to diversifying and increasing the numbers of students prepared to pursue careers in engineering.Currently, there is little research around how to develop teachers' capacity to integrate funds of knowledge with engineering, or the impact of such integration on students. The goal of this project, therefore, is (1) to explore how and to what extent the integration of funds of knowledge with engineering design can facilitate Latinx students' interest in engineering, and (2) how to develop teachers' capacities for activating and acknowledging students' funds of knowledge. The project focuses on middle school students and teachers in a predominantly Latinx area in the U.S.-Mexico border with a high ELL population. It (1) offers teachers the opportunities, structure, and support to recognize, value, and activate Latinx students' funds of knowledge in relation to engineering; and (2) creates a structure and culture that helps Latinx students cultivate their own awareness of their funds of knowledge, as well as their interest in and knowledge of engineering. The sample includes eight middle school mathematics and science teachers, and one engineering teacher. Each teacher is expected to contribute to the development and implementation of curricula that integrate funds of knowledge in engineering contexts with at least one class of 25 students, totaling 225 students per year of implementation. This mixed methods study uses data from observations, interviews, digital logs, focus groups, artifacts and surveys, as well as both quantitative and qualitative analyses methods, to study how the integration of funds of knowledge and engineering occurs. The study addresses the need to promote a more equitable formation of engineers where diverse voices are acknowledged. Thus, the knowledge generated in this study is essential for creating future engineers and culturally responsive teachers. Most importantly, this study explores what teachers and schools can do to support engineering learning, excite students, and motivate them to become outstanding, creative, and productive engineers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.