Debbie Dailey

This is a collection of articles on why and how to use engineering instruction in elementary and middle grade curriculum and instruction. Some chapters/articles are far better than others in this regard. I found those with clear curriculum recommendations, especially examples, to be the most useful in this regard. The chapters/articles that were my favorite were Ch 4 "Creating a Climate" on inventive process Ch 5 on Art integration, Ch 9 Design Process, Ch 13 Spatial Skills.
My greatest critique of this book is that it is titled and emphasizes high-ability learners but really most (if not all) of the concepts and ideas presented in the book apply to all learners. I was grateful that the last chapter (Ch 13) really emphasized that all learners benefit from developing these skills.… (más)

As with most books about engineering instruction, Engineering Instruction for High-Ability Learners in K-8 Classrooms is formatted as a bunch of dry, clinical research papers bound together in a book. Given that engineering is such a quantitative field, I'm glad there is peer-reviewed paper backing up the ideas, however it doesn't lend itself to easy implementation in a classroom setting. While I teach at a community college, I'm constantly looking for activities to do at outreach events to younger students. This book gave zero ideas. Read it if you're interested in the nuts and bolts, and not so much the actual doing something.… (más)

Although I'm glad I took the time to read through "Engineering Instruction for High-Ability Learners in K-8 Classroom" it was a bit of a tough read. I was hoping to find a book filled with lessons and projects I could do with my students that integrated the Engineering Process or Engineering thinking (which this book does), but the book was more of an explanation of why Engineering should be taught in the classroom, how it can be done, and case studies of how it's currently being done. From the reading, I need to connect the examples to my situation and see if there are any ways to modify it to suit my needs. This is fine, but I'm still hoping to find a good book that has more specific Engineering projects for the Intermediate classroom! Until then, this book should be read by district administrators considering STEM or STEAM initiatives, specifically integrating the Engineering Process into classrooms.

(I received this book free from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.)… (más)

I received the book, Engineering Instruction for High Ability Leaners in K-8 Classrooms edited by Debbie Dailey, Ed.D., and Alicia Cotabish, Ed.D free to review. The book states that the audience is for teachers, but I disagree. The few applications mentioned in the book were bridge building, egg drop, Maker’s Space, and Lego Robotics. The remainder of the book stressed the importance of teaching engineering within the curriculum and demonstrated the research to prove that. If you are an administrator or lead teacher that is looking for research-based information on engineering instruction, this may be helpful. As a teacher, I found very few of the chapters actually helpful in instruction, and the research information, although interesting, could have been reduced to one chapter.… (más)