Gifted Students’ Perceptions Of Engineers ? A Study Of Students In A Summer Outreach Program

Abstract

The Gifted Education Resource Institute (GERI) at Purdue University holds several summer outreach classes for gifted elementary and secondary school students.The program gives students access to challenging science, mathematics, computer, and humanities classes.The purpose of this study is to investigate 3rd and 4th grade GERI students' perceptions of engineers for students enrolled in various Summer 2006 classes.This qualitative study was conducted using a constructivist theoretical framework.Eighteen students completed a background questionnaire, drew an engineer doing engineering work, and discussed engineering in an individual interview.Data analysis was conducted using content analysis, which included axial coding and categorizing data presented in student drawings, interviews, and questionnaires.Results show that students held common misconceptions about engineers while others were knowledgeable about what engineers do.Data also revealed sources of students' knowledge about engineering, including personal experiences with engineers, as key factors that contribute to their current conceptions.This study provides insight on children's perceptions about engineers and provides implications for developing engineering education curriculum at the elementary school level.to make well-informed decisions about their majors; many students either select other majors or leave science and engineering for other majors. 6,7search on children's perceptions of engineers is needed to inform researchers about children's understandings of engineering in various settings.Recent studies about children and their conceptions of engineers have used children's drawings to reveal their ideas about engineering. 8,, , 9 10 11 For example, researchers at the University of South Carolina used a "Draw-an-Engineer" instrument and semi-structured interview in pre-and post-tests of 3rd -5th grade students in a classroom with an engineering graduate student visiting instructor.The researchers found that students generally presented fewer "misconceptions" of engineering on post-assessments than pre-assessment drawings and interviews.Researchers at the Museum of Science in Boston and Tufts University developed a Draw an Engineer Test for students from grades 3-12.The drawn responses included images such as tools, cars, computers, trains, and desks.Drawings and interviews enable students to communicate their ideas about engineers.