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With water-filtration project, third-graders show power of UNDs new Center for Engineering Education Research

Whats a beach bum to do when its the dog days of summer, the wind is still, the skin is sticky and the giant lake just a paddleboard away looks as thick as pea soup?

We dont know, but theres a bunch of third-graders in Devils Lake who might just have an answer.

Julie Robinson, director of UNDs new Center for Engineering Education Research, says teachers there, and elsewhere in North Dakota and Minnesota, are learning how to incorporate standard engineering practices into the classroom to engage young learners in finding solutions to issues or problems that are relevant to them and their communities.

Its a model lesson that represents a big part of CEERs mission, Robinson said.

The formal collaboration between UNDs colleges of Education & Human Development and Engineering & Mines made possible by a three-year strategic investment aims to transform PreK-20 engineering education and broaden pathways to engineering through research partnerships and outreach.

Before the CEER was created, a few of us between the colleges already were collaborating on some projects, Robinson said. We had this intent to create STEM education, particularly engineering education, that is more inclusive of diverse communities both in education and in the workforce.

Were talking about this deep need to really understand how we can support teachers at all levels so that were providing education that affords student learners regular opportunities to see engineering as something that can provide solutions to community interests something all students can see themselves doing by identifying with it and engaging with it in very relevant, personal and authentic ways.

Teachers in Devils Lake used whats called a culturally relevant engineering design framework to help guide instruction that began with students identifying a community-based need or problem in this case, improving the water quality at a nationally known recreation area popular for fishing, swimming and other water sports.

But before the problem even was identified, Robinson said, the teacher would prompt an open group discussion.

What do you like to do at the lake? What have you noticed about the lake? Whats the special history behind it? Have you heard any stories about how its changed over the years?

Once the youngsters determined that the lake isnt always the most squeaky-clean for swimming, they were ready to take the next step.

They do some investigation and exploring to learn more about the issue, Robinson said. The teacher might bring in an elder from the Native community to talk about the importance of the natural resource within that culture. They take a tour or bring in an expert from the water treatment plant to talk about what that process looks like.

Later, with the teachers guidance, they do a little more research and get the chance to build their own water filtration systems. In small groups, they experiment with different filtration materials sand, gravel, activated charcoal to see what works best to capture the yuck. They test, redesign and improve their filtration systems until theyre satisfied with the results.

Then, theres some sort of final stage where theyre justifying their design solution to a broader audience, Robinson explained. When youre an engineer, theres a reason youre doing all those tests, right? Now you have to bring it back to the context of community and present your findings to the stakeholders, the City Council or maybe the school principal.

Third-graders likely arent designing a functioning solution thats going to work in the long term, but the project is helping them to see, Oh, I can do this engineering thing. I can come up with some innovative ideas to address a problem that can impact my community.

Thats the win, and thats how engineering can be introduced at a very young age, Robinson said. Students easily can build on that core knowledge from year to year so that engineering becomes real rather than just an abstract concept in a textbook.

Engineering instruction thats thoughtfully designed is equity-centered and very inclusive, she added.

Its giving all students a voice and a sense of ownership over their learning because they can approach it in so many different ways that build on their individual strengths, Robinson said. When we allow students to solve problems and connect what they learn back to themselves, we can reach some of the most underrepresented students because were making it about their own lived experiences. Theyre applying these pieces of science, math, technology, design, writing and even art to do something thats very real.

The learning becomes fun, and it disproves one of the biggest misconceptions about engineering: that its just for people who are good at the hard sciences and math.

Robinson says the teachers who have used the culturally relevant engineering design framework in their instruction have reported that students who ordinarily have been some of the most disengaged in the classroom have become passionate leaders.

It never gets old, one excited teacher recently told her. I never tire of seeing that.

And thats exactly one of the underrepresented demographics educators want to ensure they reach. Another one is Native American students.

Robinson says Native Americans are overwhelmingly the most disproportionately underrepresented group in all engineering fields. Only 0.3% of the overall engineering workforce is Native American, with only 0.07% being Native American women.

These trends can be traced back to educational pathways, she says. While 5% of North Dakotas overall population is Native American, they make up only 1.5% of the Universitys total number of enrolled students across all programs and colleges. Further, only 0.4% of the students enrolled in UNDs College of Engineering & Mines are Native American or Alaska Native.

These are statistics CEER hopes to change not only by embedding engineering concepts in the education of UNDs future teachers but also by networking to increase personal development opportunities for practicing teachers and acting as a ready resource for dozens of school districts.

A quick peek at the CEER webpage shows multiple grant opportunities through the College of Education & Human Development and College of Engineering & Mines, as well as a long list of funding opportunities for engineering education research through the National Science Foundation.

Robinson said CEER also wants to create more industry partnerships that, in turn, could lead to even more pathways for engineering.

We need many different kinds of people with different backgrounds, voices and perspectives if we truly want to be innovative and make life better for people, she said. Thats not going to happen if we have only one type of person going into engineering. Building that breadth of perspective and strong diversity in our workforce begins with our education.

So, what about those Devils Lake third-graders, you wonder. What would they tell the overheated beach bum? Well, probably something like

The waters fine. Go jump in the lake!

>> THE CEER LEADERSHIP TEAM includes Ryan Summers, associate professor and Rose Isabella Kelly Fischer professor, Teaching & Leadership, College of Education & Human Development; Rachel Navarro, training director and professor of Counseling Psychology, College of Education & Human Development; Frank Bowman, Chemical Engineering Department chair and Thomas C. Owens Endowed Chair of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering & Mines; and Beth Klemetsrud, assistant professor, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering & Mines.

>> WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CEER OR BECOME AN AFFILIATE? Contact Julie Robinson at julie.robinson@UND.edu.

>> SEE THE WORK IN ACTION by attending the one-day PreK-12 STEM Conference on Aug. 1. The conference is part of UNDs Pages & Pathways: The Science of Learning series.

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