The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council request funding to hold a workshop to disseminate the findings of a privately-funded, two-year study of the status and nature of efforts to teach engineering to U.S. K-12 students. The symposium and other dissemination activities inform key stakeholders about the role and potential of engineering as an element of K-12 STEM education and also inform the programmatic activities of organizations and individuals concerned about engineering education. The report provides a brief history of engineering, reviews the evidence for the benefits of K-12 engineering education, discusses a large number of curriculum projects and associated teacher professional development efforts, summarizes the cognitive science literature related to how students learn engineering concepts and practices, and concludes with the committee's findings and recommendations. The report is of special interest to individuals and groups interested in improving the quality of K-12 STEM education in the U.S.: engineering educators, policy makers, employers, and those concerned with development of the technical workforce, as well as those working to boost technological literacy of the general public. For educational researchers and for cognitive scientists, the report exposes a rich set of questions related to how and under what conditions students come to understand engineering and design thinking.
