Conference Session

Engineering Collaboration: Faculty and Student Involvement in K-12 Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Eschenbach, Humboldt State University; Mary Virnoche, Humboldt State University; Lonny Grafman, Humboldt State University; Forrest Stamper, Hoopa Valley High School; Laura Atkins, Humboldt State University; Rebecca Raymond, Humboldt State University; Katie Mills, Humboldt State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

AC 2009-1116: IMPROVING EARLY INTEREST AND CONFIDENCE INENGINEERING: CREATING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES, K-12TEACHERS, THEIR STUDENTS, AND ENGINEERSElizabeth Eschenbach, Humboldt State University Beth Eschenbach is a Professor of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University. Beth left civil engineering as an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, and graduated with honors in mathematics and in psychology. She obtained her MS and PhD at Cornell in Environmental and Water Resources Systems Engineering. She completed a postdoc at the Center for Advanced Decision Support in Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES) at UC Boulder. Beth’s career goals include increasing the

Conference Session

Gender and Minority Issues in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tirupalavanam Ganesh, Arizona State University; John Thieken, Arizona State University; Monica Elser, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University; Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Chell Roberts, Arizona State University; Sharon Kurpius-Robinson, Arizona State University; James Middleton, Arizona State University; Jay Golden, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

first of thesefocused on eliciting students’ notions of current career goals that were then juxtaposed againstthe multi-faceted aspects of engineering student graduates (females and underrepresentedpopulations). The second of these were facilitated by project directors and were featured on thedifferent Engineering fields. Students and parents explored Engineering Go For It!: Make aDifference, Change the World10 with an interactive presentation from the facilitators. Theexperience started with a review of images from the “Engineering Is…” sections (pp. 4-9) of thepublication that was followed by small group discussions with participants and family members

Conference Session

Thinking, Reasoning, and Engineering in Elementary School

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michele Strutz, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

without anyone’s influence. All agegroups listed their science and math teachers but in different positions of influence. Friends orneighbors who were engineers were identified in all age groups, and a relative who was anengineer was identified in four of the five age groups. The participants’ guidance counselor wasidentified as influential in the three higher age groups, but not identified in the lower two agegroups’ lists of the top nine influencers. Today, Guidance Counselors seem to be focused on thesocial and emotional needs of their students, and do not have much time to guide their studentswith career counseling (K.E., personal communication, 2/6/08).Table 3Influencers on Individual’s Decision to Pursue Engineering

Conference Session

Enhancing Recruitment and Retention in Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mitchell Nathan, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Natalie Tran, California State University, Bakersfield; Amy Atwood, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amy Prevost, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Al Phelps, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

development opportunities).Vignettes as Measures of Teachers’ Decision MakingThe vignettes were intended to reveal elements of teachers’ decision-making for advisingfictional students toward or away from engineering classes, and to elicit their expectations forstudent success in advanced engineering studies and careers. The vignettes were designed toallow us to make comparisons about factors that influence teachers’ recommendations. Whileeach vignette presented a moderately rich portrait and provided numerous attributes describingstudent personal characteristics, interests and academic abilities, we focus on two major factorsthat are likely to influence teachers’ perceptions of engineering preparation: student academicperformance and student social

Conference Session

Think Outside the Box! K-12 Engineering Curriculum

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Hutchinson, Purdue University; Lynn Bryan, Purdue University; George Bodner, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

need to question the techniques being used and therefore, nochange was seen. In contrast, if teachers’ beliefs did not match the instructional strategies, theywere more apt to change.Although not discussed as beliefs in their study, Peers, Diezmann, and Watters, indicated that theteacher’s beliefs about teaching, learning, himself, and his students affected his readiness toimplement the reform.5 This included: how accepting he was to the need for change, hispersonal interest in the change, how willing he was to explore the reform, his openness tocollaborating with others, and his ability to utilize self-reflection.5Roehrig, Kruse, & Kern also discussed the affect of school factors on the teachers’implementation of an inquiry-based