2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 163: Examining teachers’ enactment of engineering-focused design principles using action, speech, and gestures in elementary settings (Work in Progress)

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Poster Session

This work-in-progress presents a qualitative analysis of video recordings of engineering education in elementary classrooms. The study aims to examine how teachers enact the program's design principles in action, speech, and hand gestures within an elementary education program developed in the USA. The videos were transcribed verbatim, with the transcriptions serving as the basis for detailed coding and categorization of the data. Recurring themes related to the program's design principles utilized within the videos were identified. Teachers’ gestures were coded into categories of representational, deictic, or beat gestures. The preliminary findings suggest that teachers use a range of verbal and nonverbal strategies to engage students in engineering concepts. Teachers’ speeches often focus on setting learning in a real-world context, scaffolding student work, and demonstrating inclusivity. Teachers’ actions, such as writing, drawing, and holding up objects, provide visual support for their instruction. We also found that teachers used different hand gestures during the lessons. By employing some of these gestures, teachers help students establish connections between physical actions and engineering principles. The preliminary findings offer insights into using speech, actions, and gestures to support engineering instruction. Future steps for this work-in-progress will be to code the remaining videos of elementary classrooms.

Authors

Dr. Amelia Yeo Nanyang Technological University [biography]

Amelia Yeo is an assistant professor with the Psychology, and Child & Human Development (PCHD) department at the National Institute of Education (NIE), an institute within Nanyang Technological University. Amelia obtained her B.Soc.Sci. (Psychology) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and earned her PhD (Psychology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Her research has examined gesture production in bilinguals, gestural effects on learning, visual attention to hand movements, and the role of expectation in communication. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, as well as in peer-reviewed conference proceedings. Her work is also highly interdisciplinary, crossing the fields of cognitive science, embodied cognition, psycholinguistics and education.

She serves as the honorary secretary of the Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) for 2024-2026.
Dr. Ibrahim H. Yeter http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0175-2306 Nanyang Technological University [biography]

Ibrahim H. Yeter, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He is an affiliated faculty member of the NTU Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE) and the NTU Institute for Science and Technology for Humanity (NISTH). He serves as the Director of the World MOON Project and holds editorial roles as Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Education and Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning. He is also the upcoming Program Chair-Elect of the PCEE Division at ASEE. His current research interests include STEM+C education, specifically artificial intelligence literacy, computational thinking, and engineering.
Ms. Sharyn Anastasia Limas Nanyang Technological University [biography]

Sharyn Anastasia Limas is an undergraduate student in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, consistently earning a spot on the Dean's List due to her academic excellence. Her research focuses on psychological development and semiconductors, demonstrating a keen interest in integrating technical expertise with impactful societal applications. Sharyn is also heavily involved in extracurricular and volunteer activities, leading initiatives that support the elderly, economically disadvantaged families, and environmental conservation efforts. A strong proponent of cultural immersion and skill development, she actively seeks opportunities to enhance her learning and contribute meaningfully to her community.

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