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Guest Blogger Patty O'Brian Novak: Talking to Children About Engineering Young children are natural engineers. They learn through experimentation - "hey, this ball keeps coming back even after 1000 rolls!" They are also naturally curious about the world around them. This natural curiosity and experimentation provide multiple opportunities for talking to children about engineering. Below, I've included some tips and suggestions for getting started. Remember your focus One key point in talking to young children is remembering to focus on them more than on the engineering. They will retain more from your conversation if your tone is light and playful. Keep it simple Let children hear the word "engineer" or "engineering." Say these words at various points in your conversation or play (because children learn best through playing) using simple phrases such as: "Engineers helped make this book, or this ice cream, or this game." Or "You seem to enjoy puzzles, then you might enjoy engineering." Involve the children Ask young children "what do you think happened?" and listen to their thoughts and ideas. There are no right or wrong answers here. Let their ideas flow. Children excel at brainstorming new ideas - a crucial 1st step in the engineering design process. Encourage them with nods of your head and "I see" or "uh-hum." Some examples of open-ended questions could be: "Oh no, my cake is soggy in the center. How did that happen?" Or "I wonder why this pen isn't working?"Look for teachable moments If a favorite toy is difficult to assemble or their crayon keeps breaking, ask "What would you change about this toy?" Or "How would you design a crayon that doesn't break?" Lastly, make it real Look for examples of engineering in everyday life - cell phones, computers, cars, dolls, action figures, refrigerators, ovens, etc. Talk to children about how they can be "ice cream engineers," or "doll engineers," or "video game engineers." My 5 year old daughter loves to work with paper. We often say to her "You could be a paper engineer." And my 8 yr old son loves LEGOs. We talk about how he could be a Lego test engineer. We even went to the LEGO corporate website to search on jobs. I read a few of the engineering positions to my son and he decided test engineer is what he wanted. For many children, the word "engineering" is foreign to them until about age 10 or 11. There are many ways to talk to young children about engineering and the best time to start is now. I hope this blog post gives you the ideas and confidence to talk with young children about engineering. Patty O'Brien Novak loves showing young children how fun & colorful engineering can be. She has done engineering presentations for children as young as preschool and lives by the motto of "the younger, the better!" Patty recently published her first children's book about engineering titled "Engineering the ABC's: How Engineers Shape Our World." The book is available on the Engineering Education Service Center website as well as Amazon and most online bookstores. Patty thanks Celeste for her support. To learn more about Patty, visit www.PattyOBrienNovak.com
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Posted by Celeste Baine on January 20, 2010
Talkback
From Donna - We are writing a new curriculum for our Gifted & Talented Program which is entitled "Experiencing Engineering." Our grade level is 3, 4, & 5 grade. Do you have any suggestions for us. We do small group learning and want to include as many "hands on" activities as we can.
Thanks.
Posted on January 20, 2010 at 8:38 am PST From Pam Waterman - I love all these simple comments that you can slip into everyday conversations. This book makes a great addition to any parent's library, as well as a resource for teachers to have for classroom reading and discovery.
Posted on January 20, 2010 at 9:05 am PST Response from Patty O'Brien Novak - Pam, thank you for your kind words! Comments are disabled for posts older than 6 months.
