For the next several weeks, the EiE Blog will explore a set of skills called “engineering habits of mind.” This phrase comes from a landmark report released by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2009 that laid out guiding principles for how engineering should be taught in grades K through 12.

In 2006, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Research Council (NRC) convened a special committee to explore the question, “How should K-12 engineering be taught?” The committee’s report, released in 2009, laid out a vision based on three principles. One was that to be effective, classroom engineering activities should help students develop engineering “habits of mind.”