Regresar

The Social Dimensions of Learning: facilitating social Dynamics for a more engaged student in a K12 Pre-Engineering Program [Work in Progress]

Abstract:

This is a Work in Progress: This qualitative-context sensitive study followed two cohorts of students (ages 14 to 18) undertaking a pre-engineering summer program at a selective university in Santiago de Chile. Participants were hosted in the FabLab belonging to the program in engineering design and innovation. The targeted participants of this program entailed diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Some middle and high schoolers belonged to families with no university professionals and some did. The program provided scholarships to all of those who were not able to submit a payment. Under a socio-constructivist theory, this study looked to understand the multiple social elements that played a role in learning. Elements involved teamwork and its related skills, co-regulation and collaborative learning processes, role models, and the formation and negotiation of identity in the learning process. This qualitative case study involved an exploratory phase where an ethnographic approach was undertaken, as well as a more structured qualitative research approach with participant observation and interviews. To identify salient themes, data collected was analyzed using Grounded Theory. Preliminary results showed how students perceive this program through comparing and reproducing the vocabulary and emotions of their past school-experiences. Additionally, role models were perceived through binary lenses in which some student monitors assumed the role of “equals” and others were perceived as traditional and strict teachers.