Using Card Sort Epistemic Network Analysis to Explore Preservice Teachers' Ideas About the Nature of Engineering

Due to the substantial emphasis on engineering in K-12 science education efforts in the USA, it is important for teachers to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of engineering (NOE) and the relationship between engineering and science. A deep understanding is characterized not only by the presence or absence of ideas but also by the interconnections among the ideas. There are few ways to measure the interconnections among the ideas associated with a deep understanding of NOE. The present proof-of-concept study addresses this need by providing a preliminary testing of card sort epistemic network analysis (cENA) and network models' potential to extend what can be learned about how preservice teachers conceptualize NOE. To test the potential of cENA, we used cENA with 52 preservice elementary teachers enrolled in a course emphasizing science and engineering practices. Our findings indicated a shift within the participant community's epistemic frame for NOE toward more expert-like views of NOE, including some emphasis on the application of science in engineering. The findings from this study suggest cENA may be a productive and fruitful methodology for capturing changes in students' understandings of NOE. cENA has the potential to guide science teacher educators' approaches in designing evidence-based learning experiences and interventions to improve learners' depth of understanding about NOE. Rigorous validation of cENA is now warranted.

Automated summary

Due to the emphasis on engineering in K-12 science education in the USA, it is important for teachers to have a deeper understanding of the nature of engineering (NOE) and its relationship with science. This study used card sort epistemic network analysis (cENA) to test the understanding of NOE among 52 preservice elementary teachers. The findings indicated a shift in their understanding towards more expert-like views, including an emphasis on the application of science in engineering. This suggests that cENA may be a valuable tool for capturing changes in students' understanding of NOE.