Disciplinary Literacies in an Elementary Engineering Club

What is it about?

This conceptual article addresses the question: What are the disciplinary literacy practices surrounding the Engineering Design Process at the elementary level? We first provide a brief overview of disciplinary literacies. Then using examples from a research-based after-school club, we explore how disciplinary literacies contribute to the study of engineering and the engineering design process in elementary settings particularly in relation to: (a) productive communication, (b) vocabulary development, and (c) identity.

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Why is it important?

Current standards (NGSS and CCSS) include specific goals related to literacy, but they are less clear in expressing what the disciplinary literacies of engineering are and how they can be enacted, particularly for those students who are most underrepresented in engineering (e.g., girls, minorities, English Language Learners).