Humanizing Engineering for Preservice Elementary Teachers through Sustainable Engineering Stories

Authors

• Jeffrey D. Radloff, SUNY CortlandFollow
• Madison M. Morris, University of Oklahoma Norman CampusFollow
• Jacob Pleasants, University of Oklahoma Norman CampusFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Jeffrey Radloff: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2625-6963

Madison Morris: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1840-0550

Jacob Pleasants: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1886-6270

Abstract

Meeting the goals of US K–12 science education reform requires that preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) understand engineering as a specialized discipline and a human endeavor that addresses real-world issues. Yet in their formal education, few PSTs receive opportunities to learn about the humanistic dimensions of engineering: engineers’ personal values and motivations, the sociocultural nature of engineering work, and the societal significance of engineering. Storytelling about engineering offers a practical way to give PSTs access to these ideas. This study examines the impacts of integrating storytelling about engineering in a science methods course for future elementary school teachers. Over a two-year period, we iterated on and studied our approach, in which PSTs (n = 87) read, discussed, and reflected upon a series of stories, and also cocreated, copresented, and reflected upon their own engineering stories. In the latter year of the study, we developed a new set of stories that focused on sustainability to further advance a humanistic perspective of engineering. The data collected were pre-and postsurveys about the nature of engineering, PSTs’ cocreated engineering stories, and individual reflections. Data were analyzed using a convergent mixed methods approach, focusing on changes in PSTs’ conceptions of engineering. Analyses revealed shifts in PSTs’ understandings of engineering that aligned with the stories as well as an increased confidence in teaching about engineering. As such, the stories appeared to humanize engineering and offered PSTs a discrete and interdisciplinary way of integrating engineering into their future classrooms. Implications are discussed for teacher educators and researchers.

Recommended Citation

Radloff, J. D., Morris, M. M., & Pleasants, J. (2026). Humanizing Engineering for Preservice Elementary Teachers through Sustainable Engineering Stories. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 16(1), Article 1.
https://doi.org/10.7771/2157-9288.1480