Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Taryn Melkus Bayles, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Julia M. Ross, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Jonathan E. Singer, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Jacqueline Krikorian; Tushar P. Sura, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Department of Education

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

program has allowed for a more in depth cohesion of engineering content,pedagogy, and reflection. The PD program was split up into three distinct sections. In themornings, the teachers were team taught the heart lung curriculum by experienced engineeringfaculty and inquiry-based pedagogical facilitators. In the afternoons, the teachers applied whatthey learned as they taught students that were enrolled in the Upward Bound program. Whileteaching, the teachers were videotaped and observed by the INSPIRES team. After each lesson,the teachers and the INSPIRES team reviewed the recordings and collectively providedconstructive criticism to improve content understanding, teaching pedagogy and curriculumdelivery. Although this new PD program

Conference Session

Certifying Teachers in Engineering or Integrated STEM

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yvonne Ng, St. Catherine University; Lori R. Maxfield, Saint Catherine University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

teams; e) identify, formulate andsolve engineering problems; g) communicate effectively; h) understand theimpact of engineering solutions in their daily lives; and i) engage in life-longlearning. Each participated in pre- and post-surveys and reflections. Together,with our formal evaluation through tests and projects, they provide a baseline for Page 22.520.2other engineering courses regarding, knowledge, skills and dispositions necessaryfor future competent, confident and comfortable elementary school teachers ofengineering.It’s all over the news: Kindergartners doing engineering before they can evenspell the word. As school districts and state departments of

Conference Session

Engineering Design in Pedagogy

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathan Mentzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Kyungsuk Park, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

development, this research project will have implications forhigh school curriculum development, learning, and teaching methodologies.Design problems in these previous studies are ill-structured and open-ended. These kinds ofproblems have many potential solution paths stemming from an ambiguous identification of aneed. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has prepared a series ofstudies including a focus on educating engineers 14. Sheppard’s research identified reflectivejudgment as an appropriate framework for understanding the cognitive development of designthinking. “As individuals develop mature reflective judgment, their epistemological assumptionsand their ability to evaluate knowledge claims and evidence and to justify their

Conference Session

Thinking Outside the Box! Innovative Curriculum Exchange for K12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nancy Healy, Georgia Institute of Technology; Joyce Palmer Allen, National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

see in soap bubbles and the ‘rainbow’ effect in some oil slicks are examples ofthis same thin film phenomenon. Closely related are the iridescent colors that appear on CDsand DVDs, and in some bird feathers, butterfly wings, and some beetles. These result from thematerial having a regular, repeated structural unit that is about the same size as the wavelength oflight – a few hundred nanometers.How does this work?Why does the clear liquid become a colorful film?As the small drop of liquid spreads out on the water, its thickness decreases to a few microns. (Amicron is one thousandth of a millimeter.) The bright iridescent colors in the film result from theinterference of light reflecting back from the top and bottom of this thin film.Most light

Conference Session

Thinking Outside the Box! Innovative Curriculum Exchange for K12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John C. Bedward, North Carolina State University; Eric N. Wiebe, North Carolina State University; Lauren Madden, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

teacher scientific representational practices during STEM-basedelementary technology and science instruction. Many elementary schools make use of inquiry-based science kit curriculum2‐4 that supports standards-based STEM instruction. Theprofessional development was designed to enhance the use of these high-quality curriculummaterials. Through multiple modes of data collection—including classroom observations,photographing student science notebook pages, and teacher and student interviews— a research-based strategy to enhance student learning around core STEM concepts has emerged. Arecognition that professional development is cumulative and reflective, a number of cycles offormal workshops, classroom observations, interviews and analysis of

Conference Session

Special Session: Moving Towards the Intended, Explicit, and Authentic: Addressing Critical Misalignments in Engineering Learning within Secondary and University Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin Anderson, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Sandra Shaw Courter, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Mitchell J. Nathan, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amy C. Prevost, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Christine G. Nicometo, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Traci M. Nathans-Kelly, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Thomas Dean McGlamery, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amy K. Atwood, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

and Self-Objectives; examinations) Assessment andPresentations) Self-Reflection Items)In the set up to the Are students Are the students Is the teacherlesson or within the directed to actively assessed in a way presented withmaterials presented connect math and that allows them to materials in trainingduring the lesson, science concepts to demonstrate that wouldare math and science engineering connections of math explicitly connectconcepts explicitly concepts in their and science

Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Shields, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Curriculum Content Standard 9.1: 21st Century Life and Career Skills describes skillsthat prepare students to engage fully in civic and work life. The standard includes six strands,which reflect the Framework for 21st Century Learning. 4 For the purpose of this study and asmentioned above, we are focusing on the skills of collaboration and communication, although itis expected that engaging the students in a variety engineering activities will also improve theirability to think critically and solve problems. That topic will be addressed in a larger study of allof the students whose teachers are part of the NSF funded PISA2.Partner ClassThe partner school is located in Jersey City, the state’s second largest city. The school districthas 28,218

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leslie Wilkins, Maui Economic Development Board; Diana Papini Warren, Maui Economic Development Board; Frank R De Rego Jr., Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.; Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

overview of the scientific inquiry process and explicitalignment to the state science standards. Interdisciplinary STEM connections are also outlined.Three modules are provided on the following topics: energy auditing, photovoltaic solar energy,and wind energy. Each module presents some background topical information for the teacher,however the theme is facilitating authentic inquiry by way of students getting hands on withresearch, building, designing, and testing right away. Student worksheets are in the form of labreports with hypothesis development sections that help students clearly establish and controlvariables, data collection tables to facilitate multiple trials, and sections to encourage reflection,analysis, conclusion development, and

Conference Session

Engineering as the STEM Glue

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ben Pelleg, Drexel University; David Urias, Drexel University; Adam K. Fontecchio, Drexel University; Eli Fromm, Ph.D., Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

250engineering based modules that are available for public access. To assess the effectiveness of theprogram, the fellows, teachers, and students were monitored throughout the school year. Thefellows completed multiple surveys and wrote weekly reflection journals. The students weresurveyed at the beginning and end of the year, while the teachers completed mid and end of yearsurveys. Evaluations of all three populations showed positive outcomes. The fellows developedtheir communication skills in the classroom and gained experience communicating their researchto a non-specialized audience; the teachers reported their partner fellow as being a valuable assetto the classroom in a number of ways; and the students showed an increase in their knowledge

Conference Session

Core Concepts, Standards, and Policy in K-12 Engineering Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenny L. Daugherty, Purdue University; Rodney L. Custer, Illinois State University; Raymond A. Dixon, Illinois State University, CeMaST

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

                                                                                                                       1  This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0426421. Any Page 22.1508.3opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and donot necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.   The focus of secondary level engineering education, however, has largely been onprocess. The Standards for Technological Literacy (STL),9 for example, include design-orientedstandards that

Conference Session

Computer Science and Information Technology in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Meltem Alemdar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Tony Docal, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

deliver it toK-12 teachers and by extension to their students all over the United States. Electronic Professional development (ePDN) courses are designed to model bestpractices in teacher PD by incorporating inquiry-based learning and promoting the types ofactive interaction and reflection by participants that normally occur in effective face-to-faceprofessional development sessions. The Technology Integration Certificate consists of fourcourses designed to help teachers become more comfortable with technology tools and integratethem in their classrooms. The courses include an introduction to podcasting for novices, thecreation and implementation of vodcasts for more advanced users, on-line teaching for educatorsseeking to develop

Conference Session

Engineering Education Research in K-12

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brenda M. Capobianco, Purdue University; Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Irene B. Mena, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, lesson plans, and reflections.6 During this phase, we focused onidentifying indicators of concepts and categories that fit the data. Repeatedly appearing Page 22.551.3categories, concepts, and events helped us construct themes based on the events leading up to theteachers‟ attempts in implementing engineering design-based learning tasks. The viability of theconstruction of themes was then tested against other relevant data sets (e.g. field notes fromclassroom observations and other supporting documents). To ensure trustworthiness of the data,we informally conducted member checks with each teacher by sharing analytic notes frominterviews

Conference Session

Descriptions of Curricular and Model Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Morgan M. Hynes, Tufts University; Elsa Head, Tufts University; Ethan E. Danahy, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

,technical support and instruction empowering them to work at their own pace. This supportalleviates some of the load on the teacher to address technical or troubleshooting issues freeinghim/her up to focus on teaching and learning.The interactive environment of the curriculum tool integrates text, graphs, tables, pictures,movies, and LEGO MINDSTORMS programming that can be used to design lessons thatscaffold engineering design challenges and investigations (see Figures 1-4). Students link thevirtual (computer) world with the physical world (robotics creations) in the curriculumenvironment allowing them to collect all their data, ideas, reflections, and artifacts (throughpictures and video) into one place. In this curriculum environment, students

Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ramakrishnan Sundaram, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

survey questions challenged them to reflect on the system-level effectiveness of these brief project activities. Each project activity lasted about 55minutes. In this short duration, the objective was to have the students observe and relateto the STEM aspects of electrical and computer engineering by directly engaging inproject assembly and validation. The survey consisted of mostly broad questions for thestudents to reflect on the experience in the ECE laboratories and the effectiveness of ECEprojects to relate to or reinforce some of their STEM learning at school.Quantitative sectionThe quantitative section required graded responses (on a scale from 0 to 5) to thefollowing questions. The score of 0 indicates that the student found no evidence

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation of K-12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy S. Klein-Gardner, Vanderbilt University; Amber C. Spolarich, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, sketches, and an explanation of its suitability to the desert environment. We evaluated the effectiveness of the curricula developed through the RET programbased on the following research question: Does the use of this challenge-based instructionincrease the motivational impact of teaching units? We developed the hypothesis that studentswould find science and engineering more exciting, interesting, and applicable to their daily livesbecause of their teacher’s participation in the RET program. This would be reflected in higherstudent motivational levels during the instruction of the RET teacher’s research-based module ascompared to a control teacher’s instruction.Student Motivation Survey In order to gauge student motivation, an

Conference Session

Engineering Design in Pedagogy

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ibrahim F. Zeid, Northeastern University; Sagar V. Kamarthi, Northeastern University; Claire Duggan, Northeastern University; Jessica Chin, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

appreciate the EDP and the thinking framework it provides, we use aninnovative approach in Day 1 of Week 1 by giving the teachers a design challenge before wediscuss the EDP with them. We asked teachers to design a 3-legged chair that is stable and safeand that can carry the maximum amount of weight. We divide the teachers into teams of 3.After they finish and test their designs, we ask them to reflect on their experience and use theirreflection to discuss the EDP and its value. Such experience and discussion help them in theirdesign activities of Day 4 and 5. Figure 1 shows some teacher activities during the designchallenge. Page 22.824.5

Conference Session

Making Elementary Engineering Work: Lessons from Partnerships and Practice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elisabeth W. McGrath, Stevens Institute of Technology; Carol Shields, Stevens Institute of Technology; Augusto Z. Macalalag Jr., Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

states thatalthough there were more than 56 million pre-K-12 students enrolled in U.S. public and privateschools in 2008, no more than 6 million students have had any kind of formal K-12 engineeringeducation since the early 1990s.2 The famous quote attributed to Albert Einstein, that thedefinition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results, appearsquite relevant to this problem. Continuing the status quo in developing America’s futuretechnical workforce will not result in the increased human resource talent pool that is needed tosustain and grow the U.S. economy and that reflects the diversity of the U.S. population.At CIESE, we have waged a multi-front campaign since 2004 to infuse engineering into

Conference Session

Engineering Education Research in K-12

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen A. High, Oklahoma State University; Melanie C. Page, Oklahoma State University; Julie Thomas, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

implement reflects themany ways engineer take designs from ideas to reality. Many engineers do build designs using abroad array of techniques. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between engineeringdisciplines is the specialized methods and technologies they use to implement designs. Howeversome engineers implement ideas through manipulation of information, such as designingcomputer software or producing plans. Here the real value is the information in the blueprint orcode, not the medium (paper or magnetic disk) that contains the information. Another option forimplementing a design is to contract another company to build it. In this case the engineer workswith the company to ensure the work is done properly.The fourth step of the engineering

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hui-Hui Wang, University of Minnesota; Tamara J Moore, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota; Mi Sun Park, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

were conducted in between eachtraining day. The PLC activities were highly structured and closely tied to the training days. ThePLC session provided an environment to meet together and reflect on what they learned duringthe training sessions, and to share/learn to implement ideas from the training into theirclassrooms. Each PLC session required that teachers handed in some documents to theresearch/teaching team, such as lesson plans and samples of students’ artifacts and homework toshare their ideas and reflections about STEM integration with other teachers. The second PLCdocuments particularly focused on integrating engineering into science or mathematics teaching.Therefore, we provide some examples of teachers’ lesson plans and reflections

Conference Session

Making Elementary Engineering Work: Lessons from Partnerships and Practice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine M. Cunningham, Museum of Science

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, with an eye toward improving how they work. • Willing to allow observers: It’s necessary to see how the lesson works in a variety of classes. Our teacher partners must be willing to have us watch the lesson. Partly, we are observing where the materials could better support the lesson. But equally as important, teachers who are very skilled at their profession often improve a lesson as they teach. They can ask just the right question, find an explanation that better resonates with the children, or as they are reflecting think of better ways to structure the activity. They contribute all this expertise to the building of better lessons.Characteristics of Good Partnerships for Development and Testing

Conference Session

Descriptions of Curricular and Model Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Hsiao, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

and ApplicationIt is interesting to note that words such as manage, integrate, safety, and professionalism aresecondary themes that arose from the questionnaire responses. In addition, the misconceptionthat “marine, technology, and military engineering” are Engineering disciplines reflects thecommon misuse of the word “engineering”. Technologists’ education in marine, factory, anddefense instrumentation is a common form of vocational training in NL, such that teachers mayknow of technologists as “engineers” and thus define their knowledge of what Engineering is viainteraction with these members of their community.The primary research gathered focused the development of the hands-on laboratory kit usingmaterials science to demonstrate

Conference Session

Computer Science and Information Technology in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Papini Warren, Maui Economic Development Board; Leslie Wilkins, Maui Economic Development Board

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

living, and unique culture.In order to train and cultivate the local workforce in Hawaii, education programs are needed atall levels along the workforce pipeline, from K-12 to post-secondary certification programs tohigher education degree programs. These education programs must also target the populationsunderrepresented in engineering and technology fields. In response to this need, in 2008, WITestablished the GeoTech for Hawaii Schools statewide initiative to specifically target the K-12public schools, helping them to integrate the use of GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing.Hawaii Public School DemographicsHawaii public schools are reflective of the diversity of the island chain‟s population. Less thanfifteen percent of Hawaii‟s K-12 student

Conference Session

Research and Models for Professional Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Augusto Z. Macalalag Jr., Stevens Institute of Technology; Chris Jurado, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

defined these skills as the ability to apply prior knowledge to a newsituation, organize concepts, resolve disagreements, generate new ideas, engage in inquiryprocess and synthesize information. For instance, Evelyn described how she fosters problemsolving in her classroom: “One of the traits of people who have been very successful in theirlives... they have been able to problem solve and look at situations from different angles and trydifferent solutions. And in the classroom, one of the things that I try to get the students to do is,when they find themselves stuck to the point where they don’t know how to proceed or they don’tsee that they can go any further…, getting them to reflect on steps – you know, what do I know sofar, what is it that we

Conference Session

Robot Mania!

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Meltem Alemdar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jeffrey H. Rosen, Georgia Institute of Technology, CEISMC

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

awarded Georgia Tech a contract to develop online professional development (PD)courses for STEM teachers. Electronic professional development (ePDN) courses are designed tomodel best practices in teacher PD by incorporating inquiry-based learning and by promoting thetypes of active interaction and reflection by participants that normally occur in effective face-to-face professional development sessions. In this study, the collaborative online courses and theirimpact on teachers’ professional development are described. Additionally, a case study approachwas employed to examine the effectiveness of online PD courses in classrooms and schools.Each teacher experience after completing the robotics course was presented as a case, and eachcase was used

Conference Session

Research Related to Learning and Teaching Engineering in Elementary Classrooms

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John C. Bedward, North Carolina State University; Eric N. Wiebe, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Coyne9employed mathematical models to support bioengineering students engaged in physiology tobetter understand issues of ergonomics and body movement. Models are also created as complexvisualizations used to analyze specific properties and behaviors of materials. Adhikari10 created avirtual modeling environment to analyze specific asphalt properties using 2D and 3D discreet Page 22.1075.2elemental modeling process. These examples reflect sophisticated modeling techniques that areappropriate in pre-engineering and college engineering courses. In several of these examplesstudents are engaged in multiple drawing iterations prior to physically or virtually

Conference Session

Thinking Outside the Box! Innovative Curriculum Exchange for K12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh, Arizona State University; Lisa Stapley Randall, Arizona State University; Johnny Thieken, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

elaborated on topics whereappropriate, to include informal questioning concerning issues that were deemed important, butnot reported in the group share activity. The activity culminated with students reflecting on theirlearning experience with descriptive notes and drawings in their engineering notebooks.1. Many, Many Microbes. This activity began with facilitators distributing two photographs ofmicrobes to each team of four students and rotating the sets of pictures to another group until allteams have seen all sets of photos. Through a whole group discussion, students brainstormedtopics such as living vs. non-living, characteristics of microbes, where they live, what they eat

Conference Session

Computer Science and Information Technology in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ethan E. Danahy, Tufts University, Center for Engineering Education and Outreach; Ashley Russell, Tufts University, Center for Engineering Education and Outreach

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

text input, audio record, image capture, andmovie record. UDL features can be utilized in several manners to best support the contentand to aid in information processing and conceptual understanding. By makinginstructional goals, strategies, and materials flexible in these ways, potential barriers tolearning are lowered and opportunities to learn are increased. By integrating UDL tools into a digital platform designed for cultivatingengineering education in K-12, the researchers aim to provide a means for improvingSTEM learning outcomes for all students. The software interface is utilized in thisresearch to promote teaching science through engineering by leveraging features inherentto the platform. Learning through design is reflected

Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shamsnaz Virani, University of Texas, El Paso; Iris B. Burnham, Burnham Wood Charter School District; Virgilio Gonzalez, University of Texas, El Paso; Miroslava Barua, University of Texas, El Paso; Elaine Fredericksen, Ph.D., University of Texas, El Paso; Sally J. Andrade, Andrade & Associates, Inc., El Paso, TX

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

required to function in work and homeenvironments characterized by increasing technological sophistication. A decade ago, the GlennCommission Report 1 voiced grave concern that declining performance and interest in STEMsubjects among U.S. students would significantly impact efforts to increase the size of atechnical workforce already too small to meet the hiring needs of the nation’s firms, that werepoised to face drastic reductions as Baby Boomers reach retirement age. Since the release of thatreport, STEM education reform has been a growing priority of both government and privatesector agencies, as reflected by a proliferation of STEM initiatives at national, state, and locallevels

Conference Session

Extending a Hand Back: Older Students Inspiring Younger Students

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

AJ Almaguer, University of California, Berkeley; Roy Tangsombatvisit, University of California, Berkeley; Matthew Ford, University of California, Berkeley; Susan Yushan Chen, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley Engineers and Mentors; Lisa A. Pruitt, University of California, Berkeley; Neil Ray, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, relevant scientific knowledge, and reflective discussion opportunities toimprove the quality of mentoring.The program is also unique in that it offers different levels of involvement for the mentors. Onone hand, students can enroll in the BEAM mentor training course and teach at an after-schoolprogram. However, BEAM has partnered with the Lawrence Hall of Science and its IngenuityLab to offer students a chance to guest mentor once to see if BEAM is right for them. Thisflexible system allows involvement from college students who are passionate about teaching, Page 22.302.3whether they can devote a large amount of time or only for a few hours a

Conference Session

Middle School Engineering Programs, Curriculum, and Evaluation

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jed S. Lyons, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

53 (engineers) and 54 (scientists) percent of the studentsexpressed uncertainty regarding the potential salaries of engineers and scientists. Approximately42 percent of the students believe engineers and scientist “make a lot of money.”Four questions on the survey addressed student attitudes towards engineering and science. Thefrequency distributions of responses to these questions are shown in Figure 2. The first two ofthese questions asked students to select the statement that best reflected their feelings or“affection” for the engineering or science disciplines. Approximately 63 percent of the studentindicated they either “love” or “like” engineering on the pre-survey. This percentage increased to72 percent on the post-study survey. When