|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
The following HTML text is provided to enhance online readability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML. Please use the page image as the authoritative form to ensure accuracy. 
FIGURE 4-1 A beads-and-threads model of K–12 engineering curricula. cific attributes of engineering design, such as analysis, constraints, modeling, optimization, and systems. The sections below describe of how these threads play out in the curricula. The Mathematics ThreadWe defined mathematics as patterns and relationships among quantities, numbers, and shapes. Specific branches of mathematics include arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus. Our analysis suggests that mathematics is a thin thread running through the beads in most of the K–12 engineering curricula.3 The thinness of the thread reflects the limited role of mathematics in the objectives, learning activities, and assessment tools of the curricula. The mathematics used in the curricular materials reviewed by the committee involved mostly gathering, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data. For example, in the “A World in Motion” curriculum, students build and test small vehicles (e.g., gliders, motorized cars, balloon-
|
|
|||||||||||||||
