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This paper investigates the long-term impact of an engineering-based GK-12 program on students’ perceptions of engineering. Student attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines and the resulting influence they have on career interests in these fields are a major concern of current K-12 education reform efforts. These reform efforts stress that scientists and engineers need to take part in science and technological education at all levels. Supporting reform documents further advocate that simple involvement is not sufficient and that collaboration between scientists, engineers and K-12 teachers needs to be focused on the teacher’s curriculum and take place in the K-12 classroom.

In the 1990s the National Science Foundation (NSF) introduced the Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) initiative, designed to support the participation of graduate students from STEM disciplines in K-12 science and math education. In GK-12 projects, STEM graduate students spend 15-20 hours a week over an academic year serving as resources for K-12 science and math teachers. This study focuses on a GK-12 project that paired graduate engineering and computer science students called Engineering Fellows (Fellows) with upper elementary science teachers. Fellows and teachers worked in yearlong partnerships co-developing and co-teaching student lessons focused on engineering examples, design approaches and problem solving techniques to show the application of science, technology and mathematics concepts.