Funds of Knowledge in Latino Students' Communities and Households that Enhance Engineering Design Thinking

Although there has been a growing body of research addressing how teachers may draw from students' funds of knowledge in science and mathematics, very little research has been conducted on how the funds of knowledge of Latino students may enhance engineering design thinking. The purpose of this study was to document the funds of knowledge of three Latino adolescents as they worked on a community-based engineering design problem. We sought to identify how the adolescents' values, interests, workplace skills, language skills, experience with household maintenance, and other funds of knowledge were used in ways that enhanced their engineering design thinking. The findings suggest that Hispanic students bring rich funds of knowledge that can be used to augment engineering design thinking and activity. By identifying these categories of funds of knowledge, we hope to move toward the creation of culturally responsive high school engineering instruction that actively seeks to connect Hispanic students' out-of-school practices to the formal practices of engineering.