Engineering for All (EfA)
About the Project
Engineering for All (EfA) is a three-year study, led by Hofstra University, to determine feasibility of implementation of design-based, STEM-integrative engineering design-based materials in middle school technology education classrooms. The UN Millennium Development Goals and the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering inspire development of curricula that prompt learners to seek solutions to human needs: potable water, sanitation and waste disposal, energy, sustainable transport, and regulated food production.
The Engineering for All (EfA) project has been funded by the National Science Foundation to create, test, and revise two six-week modules on the important social contexts of food and water. The units are built on four "drivers" that underpin the Engineering for All approach. These include:
- Promoting the potential of engineering as a social good.
- Revisiting unifying engineering and technology themes (i.e., design, modeling, systems, resources, and human values) in authentic social contexts.
- Using design-based engineering activities as authentic contexts for teaching and learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ideas and practices
- Using informed design as the core pedagogical methodology.
The modules employ engineering design as the core pedagogy and integrate content and practices from Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and ITEEA’s Standards for Technological Literacy (STLs). A short video of the project can be found here.
Course Access
To access the Engineering for All course, visit your state page for instructions on how to access the Engineering byDesign™ curriculum.
Publications and Presentations
Below is a list of research papers, peer-reviewed articles, and presentations about the Engineering for All project:
Publications
Hacker, M., Cavanaugh, S., DeHaan, C., Longware, A.J., McGuire, M., & Plummer, M. (2018). Engineering for All: Classroom Implementation. Technology and Engineering Teacher. 77(8): 22:27.
Hacker, M. (2018). Concepts in Engineering and Technology Education. In de Vries, M., ed. International Handbook of Technology Education Research. Springer Publishing. Pp. 173-191. ISBN 978-3-319-44686-8
Hacker, M., Crismond, D., Hecht, D., Lomask, M. (2017). Engineering for All: A Middle School Program to Introduce Students to Engineering as a Social Good. Technology and Engineering Teacher. 77(3):8-14.
Hacker, M. (2017). Engineering and Technology Concepts: Key Ideas That Students Should Understand. In M. J. de Vries (Ed.), Handbook of Technology Education, pp. 1–19. In Springer International Handbooks of Education (series). Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-38889-2_15-1.
Presentations
Hacker, Michael. Engineering for All. (2018). SUNY-Industry Conference and Showcase, Stony Brook University
Hacker, Michael. Overarching Themes and Authentic Contexts – Not Standards! ITEEA Conference Atlanta (April 2018), Georgia.
Gelin, M., Hecht, D., Hacker, M. Engineering for All: Where middle school engineering design meets social justice. A new curriculum for technology teachers. 23rd Annual Read Write Act Virtual Conference (October 2017).
Hacker, M. (2017, July 13). Technology and Engineering Education: Fulfilling its Promise. PATT 34 Conference. Philadelphia, PA.
Hacker, M. EfA Overview. ITEEA Conference, Administrators Strand. Dallas, TX. March 16, 2017.
Hacker, M. Engineering for All. ITEEA Conference. Dallas, TX. March 17, 2017.
Lomask, M. & Crismond, D. Using Engineering Design Teaching Portfolios to gauge design teacher performance and infer design pedagogical content knowledge. ASEE Conference. June 27, 2016.
Crismond, D. & Hacker, M. Engineering for All: An NSF R&D Project. March 2, 2016. ITEEA Conference. National Harbor, MD.