THE NEED FOR TEACHER LEADERS IN K–12 ENGINEERING

EDUCATION
Teachers are typically not policymakers, but they possess the knowledge and
information from which effective policies are created, observed Donna Migdol, a
STEM teacher and professional developer for the six elementary schools in
Oceanside, New York, and cochair of the convocation planning committee. “We
know how students learn. We know that the emotional, social, and intellectual
well-being of our students is as important as their academic success. . . . We
know that some policies can have opposite effects than what they were designed
to have, and we often know why.” Teachers also have a deep understanding of
the needs of students at different grade levels and in different contexts. One view
is that “engineering merits stand-alone treatment as a distinct course of study at
the K–12 level.” Another view is to have positive impacts on students, teachers,
and schools, Migdol said, “teachers’ voices, and the students’ voices. . . must be
heard.”
“We know how students learn. We know that the emotional, social, and intellectual well-
being of our students is as important as their academic success. . . .We know that some
policies can have opposite effects than what they were designed to have, and we often
know why.”
Donna Migdol
Teacher leadership11 and policymaking are different in scope but deeply
connected, Migdol continued. Teachers know about the effects of policy change
in classrooms,

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8
Information is available at https://www.teachingchannel.org (accessed March 10, 2017).
9
These videos are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PL33Z5ruVbWDJFt5vo_FFCtGt7_csYjYcP (accessed March 10, 2017).
10
These separate targeted summaries are available
at http://nas.edu/K12_Teachers’_Voices_in_Engineering (accessed March 10, 2017).
11
The roles of teachers as leaders can be diverse and directed at various levels of the
education system. For example, Table 4-5 in the 2015 report Science Teachers’ Learning:
Enhancing Opportunities, Creating Supportive Contexts (National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC: TheNational Academies Press, page 85) and
accompanying text summarize the various roles that teacher leaders may assume.
Additional research on teacher leadership is available in Schiavo, N., Miller, B., Busey, A.,
and King, K. (2010). Summary of
Page 4
Suggested Citation:"Increasing the Roles of Teachers in
Policymaking for K12 Engineering Education." National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
2017. Increasing the Roles and Significance of Teachers in
Policymaking for K-12 Engineering Education: Proceedings of
a Convocation. Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press. doi: 10.17226/24700.
×

schools, and districts. For instance, some districts have policies that enable
students to engage in systemic, sustainable STEM education throughout each
grade, with teacher leaders providing professional development for other
teachers. And some districts pool resources throughout a region to create
exemplary models for state education departments as they consider
policymaking.
Opinions differ on the best way to teach K–12 engineering, noted Norman
Fortenberry, ASEE executive director and the other cochair of the planning
committee. One view is that engineering merits stand-alone treatment as a
distinct course of study at the K–12 level. Another calls for K–12 engineering to
be used as an integrator of math and science that provides context, “because
research shows that the kinds of thinking and processes in which engineers
engage can improve student learning and achievement in math and science,”
Fortenberry said. Finally, there is the view that engineering should be one
component of a fully integrated STEM course of study “that does not distinguish
among the elements but fuses them to craft tools for discovery, analysis, and
innovation.” The expertise of teachers is particularly valuable in resolving
differences and addressing many other issues in K–12 engineering education,
Fortenberry said.
“Somebody who spends all day on their feet in a K–12 classroom has a lot of expertise. For
instance, components of the No Child Left Behind Act would not have been written the way
they were if teachers had been involved to a greater extent.”
Laura Bottomley
With the active involvement of teacher leaders, engineering education has the
potential to build bridges among content areas in K–12 education, said Laura
Bottomley, teaching associate professor in the colleges of engineering and
education, director of the Engineering Place and Women in Engineering at North
Carolina State University, and a two-time recipient of the Presidential Award for
Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. K–12
education is typically more interdisciplinary than higher education (particularly in
the lower grades and in project-based courses in high schools), which meshes
well with the interdisciplinary nature of K–12 engineering education, she pointed
out. For example, the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering identified by the
National Academy of Engineering are inherently interdisciplinary, requiring
contributions from many different fields to enhance sustainability, health, security,
and joy of living (Box 1-1).12 “Not a single one of those problems can be solved
by an electrical engineer alone,” Bottomley said.
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, engineering is particularly well suited to
boost student achievement and literacy in all STEM subjects. The ultimate goal
of K–12 engineering education “is not to make engineers,” said Bottomley. “It is
to make critical and creative thinkers regardless of what they’re going to
become.” If some students become engineers, that is of course a “very big win,”
but all students should be able to analyze problems and arrive at solutions, she
said.
“We have to acknowledge [teachers’] expertise,” Bottomley observed, and
“somebody who spends all day on their feet in a K–12 classroom has a lot of
expertise.” For instance, components of the No Child Left Behind Act would not

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Empirical Research on Teacher Leaders’ Instructional Support Practices. Prepared for the
Math and Science Partnership Knowledge Management and Dissemination Project,
Education Development Center, Washington, DC. Available
at www.mspkmd.net/pdfs/blast05/3c2.pdf, accessed March 10, 2017.
12
For more information on the Grand Challenges for Engineering,
see http://www.engineeringchallenges.org (accessed March 10, 2017).
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"Increasing the Roles of Teachers in
Policymaking for K12 Engineering Education." National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
2017. Increasing the Roles and Significance of Teachers in
Policymaking for K-12 Engineering Education: Proceedings of
a Convocation. Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press. doi: 10.17226/24700.
×

have been written the way they were if teachers had been involved to a greater
extent, she argued. “Somebody who is a practitioner might have been able to
say, ‘Do you realize the unintended consequences that this is going to have at
my school?’” The narrowing of education and teaching to the test that were a
consequence of the legislation might never have occurred with greater teacher
involvement, according to Bottomley.