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Session 3253

Creating a K-12 Engineering Educational Outreach Center Lawrence J. Genalo, Monica Bruning, Barbara Adams Iowa State University

Introduction

At Iowa State University, the College of Engineering is developing a center for engineering outreach to K-12 programs in the state and selected surrounding areas. The goals for this center are: • Iowa State University’s College of Engineering and its industrial partners will be a national model for K-12 partnering. • The College of Engineering will be a resource and delivery partner for every K-12 teacher in Iowa who wants to improve engineering-related content and career awareness. • The center will help to establish an early awareness of an engineering career path - especially critical to populations that are underrepresented in engineering. • The center will lead in learner-centered, hands-on, engineering activities with K-12 students.

Engineering Programs in Delivery

The center’s objectives are being met through various programs being delivered to students in grades K-12 and their current and future teachers. In a mobile robotics program utilizing Legos and “Not Quite C” programming, an engineering course was created which provides technological literacy, hands-on learning activities, and field experiences for future teachers. “Toying With Technology1,2,” as this program is titled, brings these hands-on activities to K-12 (primarily targeted at upper elementary students) students around the state. It provides an engineering experience for children and practice teaching experiences in a technologically oriented subject for college students.

“Investigations Through the Iowa Cable Network (ICN)” is a non-credit class, offered through distance education to high school students around the state, relating topics from high school chemistry, physics, and mathematics to applications in engineering. Each session includes a faculty-led, hands-on engineering experiment and an interactive career awareness component conducted by a current ISU engineering student. Future projects include development of for-credit engineering courses taken by high school students.

“Internet Explorers3,4” is a summer internship program where female high school students serve as mentors across the internet to younger girls by researching engineering topics and creating web page explanations written at the sixth grade reading level. This program started with a NSF grant and has been continued with industrial support for the

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Adams, B., & Bruning, M., & Genalo, L. (2000, June), Creating A K 12 Engineering Educational Outreach Center Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8247