| Kristen Bethke Wendell |
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Doctoral Candidate in Science Education Project Coordinator for the Science Through LEGO(TM) Engineering Project
Academic Background B.S., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, 2003 M.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005 Research Interests My current research focuses on how children's science ideas and practices change over the course of an instructional unit based on engineering design, and how their teachers facilitate those changes. My dissertation, defended on November 2, 2010, is a comparative case study of the learning environments and outcomes in three third-grade classrooms implementing the "Science of Sound: Design a Musical Instrument" unit. I'm interested in what children learn about the science of sound as they participate in the design and analysis of miniature musical instruments. My dissertation highlights the affordances and constraints of learning environments that use engineering-design-based instruction. Dissertation Committee: Hee-Sun Lee (Chair), Chris Rogers, Barbara Brizuela, and Janet Kolodner At the same time, I work on a grant-funded research study investigating the impact of engineering design challenges - modeled on real-world problems and using LEGO materials as tools - on elementary students' science achievement. Over 30 third- and fourth-grade teachers collaborate with us on this quasi-experimental study, which is supported by the NSF REESE program, grant # REC-0633952. For more information on this project, please click here. CEEO Responsibilities Project Coordinator for Science Through LEGO(TM) Engineering Ph.D. Qualifying Papers Wendell, K. B. (2009). Children's material science practices before, during, and after a design-based science learning experience. Unpublished Qualifying Paper, Tufts University. PDF Wendell, K. B. (2008). The theoretical and empirical basis for design-based science instruction for children. Unpublished Qualifying Paper, Tufts University. PDF Selected Papers and Presentations Wendell, K. B., & Lee, H.-S. (2010). Elementary students' learning of materials science practices through instruction based on engineering design tasks. Journal of Science Education and Technology. Online First, 14 May 2010. PDF Wendell, K. B., Connolly, K. G., Wright, C. G., Jarvin, L., & Rogers, C. (2010, July). Children learning science through engineering: An investigation of four engineering-design-based curriculum modules. Poster presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Chicago, IL. Wendell, K. B., Connolly, K. G., Wright, C. G., Jarvin, L., Rogers, C., Barnett, M., & Marulcu, I. (2010) Incorporating engineering design into elementary school science curricula. 2010 Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Louisville, KY. Wendell, K. B., & Lee, H.-S. (2010, March). Children's learning about materials science through engineering-design-based instruction. Paper presented at the Annual International Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Philadelphia, PA. Marulcu, I., Barnett, M., Wendell, K. B., Connolly, K. G., Wright, C. G., Jarvin, L., & Rogers, C. (2009). Pre-service elementary teachers' learning through LEGO engineering design challenges. In the Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Orange County, California, April 2009. Wendell, K. B. (2009). Transforming education through robotics and design: An overview of research at Tufts University. Invited keynote address at the Rulang Primary School Robofest 2009. Jurong West, Singapore, March 2009. Wendell, K. B. (2008). Transforming an elementary science unit with a LEGO engineering project: Initial observations from a research study. Invited presentation at the LEGO Engineering Conference in Woodstock, VT, October 2008. Wendell, K. B., Connolly, K., Marulcu, I. (2008). Science explorations through LEGO engineering. Workshop presented at the National Conference of the National Science Teachers Association, Boston, MA, March 2008. Bethke, K., & Newman, D. (2006). Applying K-8 science and technology curricula to engineering education: What can be learned form the Educator Resource Center at the Museum of Science, Boston? Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, IL. PDF Newman, D. J., Bethke, K. A., Hoffman, J., Carrr, C., Trotti, G. (2004). Astronaut Bio-Suit System to Enable Planetary Exploration. Proceedings of the 55th International Astronautical Congress, Vancouver, BC, Canada. October 2004. IAC paper 04-U.1.03. Curriculum Development Wendell, K. B., Connolly, K., Wright, C., Jarvin, L., Rogers, C., Barnett, G.M. (2007). Science through LEGO Engineering Curriculum Units. Design a Musical Instrument: The Science of Sound. Design a Model House: The Properties of Materials. Design an Animal Model: Animal Structure and Behavior. |
