2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The 2020 ASEE Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning outlines concepts, practices, and habits of mind to promote engineering literacy for graduating high school students. However, how these practices develop over time and what is appropriate for students to learn at different grade levels is still being studied. This study examined the development of middle school students' engineering practices through an informal, distance-learning engineering program. Ninety reflection videos from 30 students across three engineering design activities were analyzed using a qualitative research design. The study addressed three research questions: (1) How do students' reflections evolve over the course of the program? (2) Which engineering design practices do students reference in their reflections? (3) How do features of the design challenge influence students' engagement with engineering design practices? Coding results indicated student reflection videos primarily focused on the performance of the physical model in meeting criteria, and despite explicit prompting, only 52% of students reflected on the design process, such as explaining design decisions. Additionally, two specific elements of the design challenge—open-ended design constraints and the complexity of the building process—appeared to promote different types of engagement in the design process. This study contributes to the development of learning progressions for K-12 engineering education by providing insights into middle school students' engagement with engineering practices. The proposed classification system for engineering design challenges offers a starting framework for developing engineering activities for different learning goals, with implications for curriculum design and teacher professional development in K-12 engineering education.