Young makers becoming the engineers of the future and implications

Abstract

The purpose of this NSF-funded study "Might Young Makers Be the Engineers of the Future?" is to understand Young Makers in K-12 and how their knowledge, skills, and attitudes might prepare them to pursue advanced STEM education and careers. Makers are an emerging community of self-described DIY-enthusiasts, tinkerers and hobbyists. Makers embolden characteristics from the Engineer of 20201 like practical ingenuity, creativity, and propensity toward lifelong learning. Making is of particular interest to the field of engineering and to engineering educators. The mission of this research is to develop a theory, inductively grounded in data and deductively built on literature, illuminating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Young Makers related to pathways forward to engineering and STEM-related majors and careers. By describing educational pathways to or around formal engineering education, we will better inform future innovations to improve the practical ingenuity and lifelong learning of our future engineers. The specific research questions to be answered are: (RQ 1.) What knowledge, skills, and attitudes do Young Makers possess that could be related to engineering? and (RQ 2.) How do pathways of Young Makers intersect with engineering?