Viewing K-12 mathematics and science standards through the lens of the first-year introduction to engineering course classification scheme

While there have been efforts to integrate engineering into K-12 through the planned development of standards, only recently have these plans come to fruition, albeit with seemingly little progress to appropriate integration. While the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (among others) have provided a preliminary attempt to bring engineering into K-12, the research within this paper invites a different perspective on evaluating the preparation students are receiving for the first year of engineering. The hypothesis surrounding this review suggests that there exists a mapping of topics found in a first year engineering course, the classification scheme, into the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards. Such a mapping would be multifaceted, enabling the construction of lessons tied to not only to Common Core, but also to the topics in the Classification Scheme. This paper will present the argument for the flexibility between the documents. Discussion on applications to advance K-12 Engineering Education will also be included with particular attention to the use of the Classification Scheme for First Year Engineering Courses as a foundation for the STEM pathway curriculum.