Core Ideas of Engineering and Technology

Last month, Rodger Bybee's article, "Scientific and Engineering Practices in K-12 Classrooms," provided an overview of Chapter 3 in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas" (NRC 2011). Chapter 3 describes the practices of science and engineering that students are expected to develop during 13 years of schooling and emphasizes the similarities between science and engineering. This article addresses Chapter 8 of the "Framework," which presents core ideas in technology and engineering at the same level as core ideas in the traditional science fields, such as Newton's laws of motion and the theory of biological evolution. Although prior standards documents included references to engineering and technology, they tended to be separate from the "core content" of science, so they were often overlooked. Giving equal status to engineering and technology raises a number of important issues for curriculum developers and teachers, a few of which will be discussed in this article: (1) How does the "Framework" define "science," "engineering," and "technology"?; (2) What are the core ideas in Chapter 8?; (3) Why is there increased emphasis on engineering and technology?; (4) Is it redundant to have engineering practices "and" core ideas?; (5) Do we need to have special courses to teach these core ideas?; (6) Will teachers need special training?; and (7) What will it look like in the classroom?