Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland; Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington; Richard Ladner, University of Washington; Annemarie Poginy, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

about15 hours using a computer per week. Her career interests before attending the Game of Lifeworkshop included publishing and editing, since writing came naturally to her. She knewtechnology would be a part of her life in terms of email, word processing, correspondence, butshe had no desire “to work in front of a computer all day long”. She rated herself as average to abit higher than average when assessing her confidence in using technology before attending theworkshop as compared to her peers. She was also sure that college would be part of her future.She says, “Overall, my experiences with DO-IT were good, but I found many of the classes andactivities were not as useful to me as they could have been. The experiences of livingindependently in

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharon Kurpius-Robinson, Arizona State University; Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University; Chell Roberts, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

18%Factor 2: Familiarity with DET 2.19 0.58 10.9%Factor 3: Stereotypical Characteristics of Engineers 2.71 0.62 7.4%Factor 4: Characteristics of Engineers and Engineering 3.60 0.36 7.3%Importance of DET. As a whole, the teachers thought that DET was important. As indicated byitem means of three or higher, teachers were more interested in learning more about DETthrough workshops than through in-service, peer training, or college courses and believed thatpre-service education was important for preparing them to teach DET. The teachers’ mainmotivations for teaching science were: to promote an enjoyment of learning, to promote an understanding of the natural and technological world

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

P. Ruby Mawasha, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Wright State University; Paul Lam, University of Akron

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

in student being removed from the program. To demonstrate theimportance of the student’s academic performance, when ever the GPA of the student falls below3.0, his/her place is replaced by some other student based on the high school teachers’recommendation. This is implemented to encourage students to work hard while in middle andhigh school and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. This also creates peer competition, which in turnencourages hard work necessary to secure admission into the program.Hands-on Experience The human mind grasps concepts better when an activity is performed in real time comparedto when read from a book. Hands-on experience provides students an opportunity to learn bydoing, which also enhances their ability to think

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

which paired medical implants with design considerations, forexample, “total hip replacement/wear” or “heart valve/fatigue”. These medical implant/designconsideration pairings were developed so that each engineering concept would be taught with arelevant application, as shown in Table 2. Another element of successful group work is having a highly structured project7,12. Tothis end, various benchmarks were described which assisted students in developing their projectover the course of the semester. These were: - A write-up which included the history of the device and the current state-of-the-art configuration - A lesson plan in a specified format - A two-minute “elevator speech” demonstration for their peers, teachers and

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

report that the students have gainedsome knowledge of engineering, and 75% of the teachers are satisfied with the students’ learningwhile the classroom mentor is there (as reported by both the teachers and classroom mentors).The biggest impact for the school is that the students are having fun, with 90% of the teachersand 92% of the classroom mentors noting this.The teachers’ testimony to the students’ learning is perhaps the most convincing evidence thatthis program has impacted the students. One middle school teacher writes, “I think this program Page 11.718.7is extremely valuable. My students learn to problem solve in a real world setting

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

Development. In addition, she has developed numerous tools to mentor young women considering engineering as a career and has been involved in the development of a women in engineering role model book for K-12 Page 11.1349.1 students.Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology PATRICIA A. CARLSON is professor of rhetoric at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She is a long-time advocate of writing in engineering education. Carlson has been a National Research© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Council Senior Fellow for the U. S. Air Forcer, as well as having had

Conference Session

Promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suzanne Soled, University of Cincinnati; Patricia McNerney, University of Cincinnati; Laura Koehl, University of Cincinnati; Kelly Obarski, University of Cincinnati; Anant Kukreti, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, demonstrations, laboratory exercises, individual andgroup projects, and field experiences to: 1) enable high school students to directlyexperience authentic learning practices that require them to use higher-order thinkingskills; 2) encourage creative problem-solving skills that require collaborative learning,teamwork, writing, and presentation; 3) cultivate an interest in service learning, in whichstudents are active participants, achieve outcomes that show a perceptible impact, andengage in evaluative reflection; and 4) better motivate and prepare secondary schoolstudents for advanced education. The Fellows have been and continue to be trained tocreate and implement these activities.Through the course of each year, the Fellows complete a specially

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amit Nimunkar, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sandra Courter, University of Wisconsin-Madison; GWEN EBERT, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

twenty years. The goal for ESP is to prepare high school students for collegestudy in the field of engineering and science, and to attract these students to the UW-Madison.The program targets students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds including AfricanAmerican, Latino, Native American, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong or Vietnamese. We alsoselect female students who would be first generation college students.The students are exposed to basic foundational courses that are fundamental to the engineeringdiscipline: pre-calculus or calculus depending on the background of the student, physics,chemistry, computer science, and technical writing. Students are exposed to various engineeringfields through short discipline specific laboratories and

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Hwang, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Ahrash Bissell, Duke University; Daniel Kaplan, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Matthew Mian, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Vineet Agrawal, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Jessica Manson, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Gary Ybarra, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

theprogram on student interest in and understanding of science and engineering. Finally, we suggestways in which the InnoWorks program can be expanded nationally and internationally to otherinstitutions.Motivation for InnoWorksCompared to its peers, the United States is falling behind in STEM-education. Our overall high-school graduation rate is not even in the top ten among industrialized nations,2 and Americanstudents rank 28th in math preparedness and 22nd in science preparedness. We are no longer themost college-educated nation and China graduates eight to ten times more engineers each year.As many as fifty percent of black and Hispanic teenagers in the US will never graduate fromhigh school—a substantially higher drop-out rate than that of

Conference Session

Promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan DeWaters, Clarkson University; Susan Powers, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

paper surveys,including classroom climate, teacher personality traits, student-to-student interactions, and eventhe day of the week or the time of year that students complete the assessment. Many of thesecomplicating external factors may be playing a much greater role than our program ininfluencing student attitude, which confounds the application of a straightforward quantitativedata analysis.Post-program attitude scores from our participating schools can be compared with each other andwith the results of the TIMSS study to provide a benchmark indicator of how our students’attitudes measure up to their peers, both locally and across the country (Figures 2 and 3). Datashown include the average post-program values from four questions in our “I

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eugene Brown, Virginia Tech; Robert Kavetsky, Office of Naval Research; Robert L. Stiegler, NSWCDD; Peter N. Squire, NSWCDD; Juanita Jo Matkins, College of William and Mary; Gail Hardinge, College of William and Mary; John A. McLaughlin, McLauglin Associates

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

teachers revealed that they saw engineering as beingless accessible to their students than teaching, medicine, law, and business. “It’s hard, andfemales and minorities cannot succeed in the engineering world,” is the prevailing attitude, thesurvey concluded. It is difficult to imagine that the teachers are not passing this viewpoint on totheir students.It is revealing to look at how engineering is viewed from the perspective of girls and the peoplewho influence them – teachers, school counselors, parents, peers, and the media. A recent studyby the Extraordinary Women Engineers Project (2005)3 indicates that these groups simply do notunderstand what a career in engineering involves. Engineering is just not on anyone’s career“radar screen.” The

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Vallas, University of Virginia; Larry Richards, University of Virginia; Anaïs Miodek, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

these schools range in cost, focus,targeted demographic and duration. When other summer engineering programs for pre-collegestudents include interactive activities, such as the program at New Mexico State University,11they are not necessarily combined with the range of components implemented by ITE.The emphasis of UVa’s ITE, in contrast to some other similar programs, is to reach out to the toptier of Virginia high-school rising juniors and seniors. The program puts them in a supportiveenvironment with their high-achieving peers in order to introduce them to engineering through ahands-on approach. The program reinforces the value of intellectual achievement balanced with

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

need for peer collaboration and a focus onencouraging teacher community, a finding that has now emerged as a repeating theme within theliterature1,6,7 This focus is included in the National Staff Development Council’s (NSDC)Standards for Professional Development.8 In his synthesis, Guskey did not find evidence of“Data-Driven” or “Family Involvement” NSDC Standards, but in the context of No Child LeftBehind, these characteristics must surface and will become increasingly important.9Increasing the expectations for professional development requires an evaluation process thatreflects the critical characteristics of effective PD. Kirkpatrick’s 4-levels, with over 40 years ofuse in evaluation and formative assessment, outline this process: “Reaction