Learning to talk engineering design: Results from an interpretive study in a Grade 4/5 classroom

This study reports on students' engineering-related discourses before and after a unit which focused on children's development of tool-related and discursive practices in the domain of structural engineering. Video-and audiotaped small and large-group interviews, student-produced artifacts, and videotaped small and large group activities in a mixed Grade 4/5 class constituted the data sources. Comparison of students' engineering-related images and talk before and after the instructional unit revealed considerable differences. The study has implications for the design of learning environments in which developing language-inuse is fostered rather than parroting teacher-and textbook-framed definitions.