This report highlights how, despite a looming skills shortage in the engineering sector, current school systems fail to encourage and develop the ‘habits of mind’ required for pupils to become effective engineers. The report sets out 6 ‘Engineering Habits of Mind’ and starts to ask questions about how we might adapt current approaches to teaching to foster these skills.
The Learning to be an Engineer report was a joint collaboration between SEERIH at The University of Manchester and The Centre for Real World Learning at The University of Winchester. Drawing on research conducted across 2 years the report presents a new way of framing the challenge of persuading more young people to continue STEM subjects.
This special edition of ASE’s Primary Science journal features a range of articles from teachers participating in The University of Manchester’s Tinker Tailor Robot Pi project. The articles include practical guidance on embracing tinkering in the classroom as well as unpicking some theory on what it really means to tinker.
Visit the Academy’s Learning to an Engineer web pages to access case studies about engineering in practice in primary, secondary and HE schools.
A range of videos to suppor when Using the Crumbler Controller and also Pi microprocessors.
This new report is written to provide teachers, leaders and policy makers with an insight into how engineering has been embedded into the primary school curriculum. It profiles the Tinkering-for-Learning approach, describing the 7 Principles for Primary School Engineering. Access this brand new report here
Bianchi, L. & Chippindall, J. (2018) Tinkering for Learning, The Royal Academy of Engineering and the University of Manchester.
Rose Edmondson outlines how children and teachers are engaged in this hands-on engineering challenge to enrich their STEM learning in this article.