The MEDLEE group explores aspects of engineering thinking, particularly related to mathematical thinking and design thinking, as well as the interplay between the two. At the same time, MEDLEE explores how engineering is learned not only in formal and classroom settings, but how engineering is learned in the other 85% of one’s waking hours – in informal and out-of-school experiences. Finally, much of the work conducted by the MEDLEE group is driven by a concern for equity & access in engineering education. While different members of the group focus on different topics, we collectively contribute to a more cohesive understanding of the development of mathematical and design thinking, whether amongst pre-school aged children, elementary children and college students.

Current MEDLEE projects include research on: parents reading engineering storybooks with their children; parents and children engaging in design challenges at a science museum; strategies for measuring elementary students’ understanding of the design process; middle-school students’ pathways to engineering in their out-of-school experiences; African-American male students’ experiences in out-of-school activities; girls’ experiences in high-school engineering classrooms; the interplay between mathematical thinking and design thinking; interdisciplinary learning experiences amongst undergraduate engineering students; and college students’ development of systems thinking.