Conference Session

K-12 Engineering Outreach Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Schwartz, Cornell University; Catherine Norton, Cornell University; Sue Schwartz, The Learning Web

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

possibly, free) outreach program. In this paper, we explain our program structure and presentour findings. The data shows that apprentices were positive about their experiences, though theyrequested additional hands-on instruction. We close the paper with recommendations and plansthat attempt to combine the ideas of in-class mentoring along with traditional instruction.1. BackgroundThis section explains the various fields that we used to build our pilot outreach program: gamedesign & development, mentoring & apprenticeship, and service learning. Our program mergesthese concepts such that college students involve local youth directly in game projects duringclass.1.1 Entertainment EngineeringASEE’s January 2005 Prism introduced entertainment

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers – II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn Barger, University of South Florida; Richard Gilbert, University of South Florida; Robin Little, Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary School; Chuck Parsons, Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary School; Kim Parsons, Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary School; Pat Van Driessche, Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary School; Debbie O'Hare

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Elementary Education from the University of South Florida. His experiences include over 30 years teaching in Kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms and 1 ½ years as a resource teacher. Chuck has curriculum writing experience and has presented at various state and national venues.Kim Parsons, Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary School KIM PARSONS is the Reading Coach for Kindergarten through Third grade at Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary School Center for Mathematics and Engineering. She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Arts in Education from the University of South Florida. Prior to her position as Reading Coach, Kim’s experience

Conference Session

Engineering in Elementary Schools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Euridice Oware, Purdue University; Brenda Capobianco, Purdue University; Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

that maintain and improve the lives of people in society. According to the NationalAcademies’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report, sustained expertise in science andengineering are fundamental to maintaining American’s high standard of living and the economy- yet “the scientific and technological building blocks critical to our economic leadership areeroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength.” 1 Some warn that there is agap between the needed number of scientists, engineers, and other technical professionals andthe actual production of these professionals. 2 Also, employment growth of the science andengineering workforce will slow if trends such as retirement and degree trends continue. 3Misconceptions and

Conference Session

Engineering Student Involvement in K-12 Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malinda Zarske, University of Colorado at Boulder; Janet Yowell, University of Colorado at Boulder; Jacquelyn Sullivan, University of Colorado at Boulder; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado at Boulder; Diana Wiant, Centaurus High School

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

one high school (240 students).Fellows also led five before- or after-schoolTEAMS clubs. The Fellows’ sought-after hands-on activities have become an integral teachingcomponent for teachers and an anticipated thrill Figure 1. Students in the TEAMSfor the students. program explore biomedical engineering. Page 12.1475.2Program GoalsThe goals of the TEAMS program include the development of an engineering continuum ofgrades 3-12 learning that culminates in greater numbers of students from populations typicallyunderrepresented in engineering — girls, students of color, low-income youth, and first-generation

Conference Session

Engineering Student Involvement in K-12 Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kate Caldwell, North Carolina State University; Jessica McCoy, North Carolina State University; Lynn Albers, North Carolina State University; Althea Smith, North Carolina State University; Elizabeth Parry, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

students in careers inengineering [4][9].In the slightly older tradition of K-12 outreach, researchers have explored the positive influenceof service learning on college students. Their results imply that developing curricula for andworking with younger students improves the communication skills of college students [1][3][10][11].Additional studies have suggested that K-12 outreach impacts female students more than theirmale peers [2][10]. Despite the wealth of knowledge addressing the positive aspects of K-12outreach to the involved college students, there is concern that the GK-12 initiative was an“overhasty expansion” of NSF resources. At the program’s inception, many universityadministrators expressed disapproval at the projected costs of the

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers – II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steve Shumway, Brigham Young University; Jared Berrett, Brigham Young University; Andy Swapp, Milford High School; Ronald Terry, Brigham Young University; Thomas Erekson, Western Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

sometype of competitive basis.1 In addition, professional development participants should beprovided with some type of special recognition for their involvement.Locke comments that professional development programs are most successful when theparticipants are involved in the planning process.2 This aspect of professional development isoften overlooked as it is much easier for the deliverers of professional development to pre-planactivities rather than plan activities in collaboration with participants. Despite the effectivenessof this collaboration, Wade found that professional development is more effective when theleader then assumes the primary role of the “presenter” of information and the participants are“receivers”.1From their meta-analysis

Conference Session

Engineering in High Schools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Greg Russ, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Jonathan Rice, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Carolyn Parker, George Washington University; John Raczek, University of Maryland; Bruce Jarrell, University of Maryland-School of Medicine; Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Julia Ross, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

professional development workshops.RationaleThe recent report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” written by a pre-eminent committee(National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine)identified four recommendations that federal policy makers should take to bolster U.S.competitiveness in science and technology. At the top of their list was “to increase America’stalent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education”1. In addition, theNational Science Foundation predicts that between 1998 and 2008 employment opportunities forengineering will increase by twenty percent, yet the trend of declining enrollment in engineeringdisciplines is expected to create a shortage of engineers in the U.S. in the near

Conference Session

Assessment of K-12 Engineering Programs and Issues

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Hutchinson, Purdue University; Shawn Stevens, University of Michigan; Namsoo Shin Hong, University of Michigan; Molly Yunker, University of Michigan; Cesar Delgado, University of Michigan; George Bodner, Purdue University; William Fornes, Purdue University; Nick Giordano, Purdue University; Joseph Krajcik, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

has a positive effect on theirscience achievement;1,2 however, there is little research as to what topics increase students’interests.1 Nanoscale science and engineering is one topic currently being investigated as a wayto increase students’ interests due to its integrated nature and increasing popularity in society.This paper will examine the qualitative data gained from 58 in-depth student interviews of adiverse population. The phenomenographical analysis of interviews identified six characteristicsof topics that students report as influencing their interests: relationship of activities or questionsto students’ personal interests, the relationship of activities or questions to everyday life, priorknowledge, prior experience, the use hands

Conference Session

Engineering in Middle Schools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John McLaughlin, MacLaughlin Associates; Gail Hardinge, College of William and Mary; Eugene Brown, Virginia Tech; Kirk Jenne, Office of Naval Research; Robert Stiegler, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Figure 1. VDP Summer Camp, Dahlgren, Virginia, 2005There were two types of problems used in the VDP: 1) Robotics Challenges requiring thesolution of problems having both a societal and Navy focus using LEGO Mindstorms equipmentand 2) specially-constructed Breakout Experiments which were used to illustrate specificmathematics and science topics. Page 12.1425.2The Robotics Challenges used the LEGO Mindstorms kits and the ROBOLAB programmingenvironment and were modeled after the activities of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL), a highlysuccessful program which operates robotics competitions both throughout the US andinternationally. In the first year of the

Conference Session

Standards Based Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sara Titus, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; John Raczek, University of Maryland-College Park; Bruce Jarrell, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Carolyn Parker, George Washington University; Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Julia Ross, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

of the five trials (in two different schools).Since testing is ongoing, additional data will be incorporated into this manuscript in the finalversion. To measure learning, students were given an online assessment consisting of multiplechoice and matching questions before and after completing the module. The assessmentquestions can be broken down into two categories: scientific concepts and design concepts.Scientific concepts include a range of topics, some of which were likely covered in previouscourses (e.g. molecules, membranes, solutes) and others more specific to hemodialysis (e.g.diffusion, concentration gradient, dialysate). Student scores on scientific content showed anaverage increase of 8% ± 3% (see Figure 1) with the most

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Erin Cejka, Tufts University; Chris Rogers, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

work with elementary students(grades K-5), 7 with middle school students (grades 6-8), and 2 with high school students (grades9-12).Among the teachers who currently had classroom mentors placed in the classroom, 21participated in the study. 19 of these teachers are female, and 2 are male. 11 teachers work inpublic school classrooms, 1 in a private school classroom, and 9 with after school programs. Likethe sample of classroom mentors, the majority of the teachers (14) work with elementary school Page 11.718.6 5students, while 5 work with middle

Conference Session

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Hunter, Tennessee Technological University; Jessica Matson, Tennessee Technological University; Susan Elkins, Tennessee Technological University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

” – a breakout session based on GPS/GIS technology for information technology, computer science, and social studies teachers. • “Operations Research – Using Mathematics to Make Decisions” – a breakout session for mathematics teachers. • “Technical Writing” – a breakout session for English teachers • a tour of TTU engineering and science research facilitiesAs previously mentioned, attendees also received a CD containing specific resource materialsrelated to each of the presentations.Table 1 contains a summary of the survey results for the TTU workshop. The results indicate theworkshop was successful in achieving the stated objectives. Comments collected with the surveyindicated the teachers were pleased with the content

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Mativo, Ohio Northern University; Arif Sirinterlikci, Robert Morris University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Baseball bat was selected as the product since itwas simple and fit in well with the time constraints. Introduction to Materials Sciencewas briefly covered and students performed Rotational Molding, Vacuum Forming (inFigure 1), Compression Molding, and Injection Molding activities. After the completionof the previous set of introductory activities with technical content, the students weregiven basic information on how to manage a project and what tools available to assist inhandling the projects. A Microsoft Project example, A Gantt Chart, was presented. Ahandout relating to team-work basics resources was prepared and given to the students.Communications, conflict managements, and leadership issues were included within thehandout.Figure 1

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Eschenbach, Humboldt State University; James H. Johnson, Howard University; Chris Brus, University of Iowa; Dan Giammar, Washington University; Bette Grauer, McPherson High School; Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Liesl Hotaling, Stevens Institute of Technology; Gbekeloluwa Oguntimein, Morgan State University; Steven Safferman, Michigan State University; Tim Wentling, National Center for Supercomputing Applications

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Page 11.1349.2 Safferman has a MS and Ph.D. in environmental engineering and a BS in civil engineering, all from the University of Cincinnati. He is a professional engineer in the state of Ohio. His research and teaching experience revolves around agricultural and human waste treatment, ecosystem engineering, and pollution prevention. Dr. Safferman is author or co-author on 1 patent, 4 book chapters, 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, 15 conference proceedings, and over 40 conference© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 presentations/poster sessions. He is an associate editor for the ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering and a member of the NSF CLEANER (Collaborative

Conference Session

K-12 Activities

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dean Aslam, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

of micro and nano dimensions can helpunderstand the role of technology in making micro-devices and -systems. Page 11.1240.2Micro and Nano Dimensions and Related Technologies As in the current work the technology is used as vehicle to teach Science, Engineering and Figure 1 HOW SMALL IS Spider Silk A MICROMETER? 5 m 200 m Spider Diameter Hair

Conference Session

Gender and Accessibility Issues in K-12 Engineering Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Uchechukwu Abanulo; Ananth Iyer; John Helferty, College of Engineering, Temple University; Joseph Fischgrund, The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

hearing impaired pre-college students will begiven. The goals of the program will also be described in detail, and didactic strategies, pedagogicalconsiderations and empirical observations will be presented. This program, which has been run onceat the Pennsylvania school for the deaf, was evaluated based on responses of the students and theirscience teacher. Results of the evaluation procedure will be analyzed in this paper.1. IntroductionDuring the past decade, organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the AmericanSociety of Engineering Education have put in a lot of effort in taking engineering beyond collegewalls to students in pre-college institutions1. These efforts came about as a result of observations thatmany young

Conference Session

Engineering in Elementary Schools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kate Hester, Museum of Science, Boston; Christine Cunningham, Museum of Science, Boston

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Yale University and a PhD in Science Education from Cornell University. Page 12.639.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Engineering is Elementary: An Engineering and Technology Curriculum for ChildrenOverviewAs our society becomes increasingly dependent on engineering and technology, it is moreimportant than ever that everyone have a basic understanding of what engineers do, and the usesand implications of the technologies they create. Yet few citizens are technologically literate, inlarge part because technology and engineering are not taught in our schools 1.Just as it

Conference Session

Assessment of K-12 Engineering Programs and Issues

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Cunningham, Museum of Science, Boston; Cathy Lachapelle, Museum of Science, Boston

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

-2006, we also collected pre- and post-assessments fromclassrooms in one district in Massachusetts that did not complete any EiE units. The purpose ofdata collection has been and continues to be twofold: (1) to learn more about what students Page 12.640.2nationally know about engineering, technology, and the engineering design process and (2) toevaluate the Engineering is Elementary curriculum in terms of its effect on students’understanding of engineering, of technology, and of related science topics.Previous research on young students’ understanding of engineering and technology concepts issparse2-4 though research to guide the growing field

Conference Session

K-12 Engineering Outreach Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Rogers, Murray State University; Steve Cobb, Murray State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

courses appropriate for engineering such asphysics and calculus while also developing decision making and teamwork skills are vital.However, brainstorming, organizing, marketing, funding, and delivering, effective K-12 outreachactivities can be an enormous task. The purpose of this paper is to provide some insight intosome strategies in each of these planning areas in the context of a large-scale, year-long outreachactivity. Page 12.1456.2Figure 1: A Moonbuggy (left) is a human-powered vehicle that must fit or be collapsible to fit into a 4 foot cubic volume (right) and be carried 20 feet by its two drivers (1 male and 1 female).The West

Conference Session

Elementary School Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sean Doherty, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Shweta Shanbhag, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Martha Cyr, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

engineering design activities in their classrooms, we also assessed theimpact of teacher team size. Some of the things we considered are: if a team of teachers attendsthe workshop to learn the content, are they more effective implementing it than teachers who didnot attend the workshop as part of a team? Does the size of a team make a difference?This paper discusses how the content is presented, and measured results for varying size teams.IntroductionIn 1993, the Massachusetts legislature passed the Education Reform Act, which called for thecreation of curriculum frameworks [1] or guidelines for what should be taught in all schools atdifferent grade levels. This law also called for a “comprehensive assessment system” that foreach school would measure

Conference Session

Elementary School Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen High, Oklahoma State University; Caroline Beller, Oklahoma State University; Pamela Fry, Oklahoma State University; Adrienne Redmond, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Science and Engineering?AbstractDr. Karen High, faculty member in Chemical Engineering, was a Laboratory Instructorfor the fall 2005 Semester for CIED (Curriculum and Instruction Education) 4353 atOklahoma State University. The course is “Science in the Elementary SchoolCurriculum.” This course covers the purposes, selection and organization of content,teaching and learning procedures and evaluation of outcomes in elementary schoolscience and its participants consist of education students typically without anybackground in engineering or science.Approximately 75% of class time is devoted to laboratory activities and field experiencesthat promote the science content, process, learning theory, philosophy and curriculaappropriate for grades 1-8

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reginald Hobbs, Tufts University; Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Igor Verner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Chris Rogers, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

public high schools, whilemost college bound students take four full years of science.1 Engineering courses are offered,but in most high schools are not required for graduation.The state of Massachusetts in their educational frameworks currently requires the teaching of theconcept of pressure in any introductory engineering course, specifically in a unit involvingenergy and power technology. The cardio-vascular system according to state frameworks istaught in grades 6-8: Identify the general functions of the major systems of the human body(digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, protection from disease, andmovement, control, and coordination) and describe ways that these systems interact with eachother2 and in grades 9-10

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Elmore, Mississippi State University; Adrienne Minerick, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Page 11.1406.2meaningful experience within time constraints. This discussion will conclude with anassessment of the number of students that can be involved in the program as well as logisticaland travel constraints for student participants.II. The value of high school students performing engineering and science research“In the end, the fate of children depends on our ability to use technology constructively andcarefully…Technological decisions made today will determine, perhaps irrevocably, the kindof physical and social world we bequeath them and the kind of people they become”1 Kenneth Keniston, 1977Advanced technology surrounds students throughout K-12 education. They readily use

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Thompson, University of South Carolina; Jed Lyons, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

included the text, “I don’t know” were assigned zero scoresin each category. The sum of all four items (maximum possible score 10), as well asscores from each category were then used as an initial assessment of students’perceptions of engineering. The descriptions provided in Table 1 were the criteria used todetermine point totals on student work.Table 1. Draw an Engineer Scoring Guide Engineering Artifacts (Tools/Equipment/Models/Symbols) 0 1 2 Any of the Any of the following found: Any of the following found: following - Artifacts or description associated - Artifacts or description associated found: with building

Conference Session

K-12 Activities

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leanne Hirshfield, Tufts University; Barbara Moskal, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

facts, but that fails to promote the learning ofconceptual, higher level information.1 Examples of low level content are memorizing themultiplication tables or the process for adding or subtracting single digit numbers. Low levelproblems do not require reflective thought on the part of the student. In order for educationalsoftware to be truly effective as a personalized tutor, students need to think reflectively whileworking with the software. This study is concerned with student learning at the reflective level,where students need to dispense cognitive energy in order to reflect on and solve the problem athand. Indeed, learning conceptual information requires a higher investment of mental energythan learning low level mathematical facts.3

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ayyana Chakravartula, University of California-Berkeley; Barbara Ando, Lawrence Hall of Science; Cheng Li, University of California-Berkeley; Shikha Gupta, University of California-Berkeley; Lisa Pruitt, University of California-Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

skills. With these facts in mind,the final project for Structural Aspects of Biomaterials was developed. Structural Aspects of Biomaterials has been taught at the University of California atBerkeley for the past five years. This course is offered to junior and senior-level undergraduatestudents in both the Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering departments, and is meant tohighlight the intersections of these two fields through a focus on the mechanics of both naturaland synthetic biomaterials. The typical course size is approximately sixty students. The syllabusof the course has undergone small changes while largely maintaining the same course objectives.The course content is summarized in Table 1. Topics covered include: basic

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benita Comeau, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology; Donna Llewellyn, Georgia Institute of Technology; Michael Pastirik

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

highlightsconsequences for the first five failing years. A school exits the “In Need of Improvement”program when it meets AYP two out of three years. Page 11.1264.2 Number of Category Consequences consecutive failing years 2 In Need of Students offered choice of transferring to other Improvement- Year 1 public schools 3 In Need of Above actions & students offered supplemental Improvement- Year 2 educational services, including private tutoring 4 In Need

Conference Session

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Bradley, University of Kentucky; Janet Lumpp, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Science Foundation Career Award with the goal of using themultidisciplinary microelectronics theme to connect real world content with K-12 classroomeducation. Over the past eight years, KEEP has grown to include professional developmentworkshops, interdisciplinary collaborations across the university and industry, classroomimplementations and research, resulting in an effective educational intervention. The long termgoals of KEEP are to (1) to develop a sustainable professional development model that supportsthe transition from training to classroom implementation; (2) to create a learning community ofhigh quality STEM teachers, informed administrators, interdisciplinary university faculty andindustry partners; (3) to enhance the quality of

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olga Pierrakos, Virginia Tech; Michael Alley, Virginia Tech; Pavlos Vlachos, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

because the future engineer is expected toadapt to a varying and continuously evolving environment while simultaneously being able tooperate outside the narrow limits of one discipline, crossing over boundaries and interfacingbetween different fields. In recent years, the Boyer Commission,1 the National ScienceFoundation,2 the American Association for the Advancement of Science,3 and the NationalResearch Council4 have urged universities to “make research-based learning the standard” forundergraduate education. Participation in research deepens a student’s understanding andpromotes the communication and teamwork needed to solve complex problems. Enablingstudents to be part of the intellectual process instills in them a sense of fulfillment and

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dava Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kristen Wendell

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

teacher’s guides.1. Introduction1.1 Background Information and Literature ReviewA new trend in K-12 education is to incorporate concepts and ways of thinking from theengineering disciplines into math and science courses. A growing number of educators, startingat the postsecondary level and now spreading to the high school and elementary level, arerecognizing that awareness of and knowledge about engineering are crucial to students’ ability tonavigate our technology-dependent society. This effort by educators and policymakers to includeengineering in K-12 classrooms is part of an initiative that is often referred to as the“technological literacy” movement.The modern technological literacy movement can be said to have begun in 1996, when