The EP&UDL Study

This paper provides detailed descriptions of the goals, conceptual framing, strategies, research
questions, protocols, data analyses, and findings from a study of conversation participants’
choices and connections on the topic of engineering practices and usefulness in day-to-day life,
the EP&UDL Study. The second of two foundational and exploratory studies in the Designing
Our Tomorrow (DOT) research program, the EP&UDL Study supported lines of inquiry into
STEM education public communication messaging and praxes, specifically as they relate to
engineering practices. The study is based on a supposition that conversation hosts'
communication choices can support audience participants to generate examples of the
usefulness relevance of engineering practices in their lives. The research explored how
storytelling and conversation techniques can be used as mechanisms to support caregivers and
educators in making connections to engineering practices.