Conference Session

Gender and Minority Issues in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tiffany Iskander, University of Utah; Paul Gore, University of Utah; Cynthia Furse, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Page 14.644.4engineering experienced a second peak in 1999/2000, which could reflect the risingpopularity of computer video games. Of significant interest is the differences betweenthe peak in the early 1980’s and that of 2000 is that in the 1980s both men and womenexpressed a significant rise in interest, with the women nearly reaching the same level ofinterest as the men. The peak of 2000, however, was predominantly noticeable amongmales. This observation exemplifies the potential of societal influences on engineeringmajor interests.In Figure 1, focus is placed on the top four most populated majors. The interests incomputer and information sciences (top right panel) show the speculated impact ofsociocultural events such as the introduction

Conference Session

Enhancing K-12 STEM Education with Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrie Koehler, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Eugenia Fernandez, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Charles Feldhaus, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

undergraduate students’ perceptions of teaching, much relevant information canbe found. Following college graduation, these individuals will become professionals in various STEMareas. Even though the undergraduate students have not entered the workforce, they have given muchthought and consideration to their career choices and preparation. Since the undergraduate STEMstudent and the STEM professional have pursued similar career preparation, STEM undergraduatestudents’ attitudes toward teaching are reflective of STEM industry professionals’ perceptions towardteaching.The number of organizations offering financial support to individuals to encourage them to shift from aspecific industry into education continues to increase. In Indiana, beginning next

Conference Session

Enhancing K-12 STEM Education with Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lydotta Taylor, EdVenture Group; Erika Shaffer, EdVenture Group; Gary Winn, West Virginia University; Robin Hensel, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Page 14.726.10opinions, 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.”

Conference Session

Robot Mania in Precollegiate Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Linda Hirsch, New Jersey Institute of Technology; John Carpinelli, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Howard Kimmel, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Ronald Rockland, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Levelle Burr-Alexander, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

robotics curricula in their classroom. Average responses for the six teacherswho implemented the robotics curricula and returned their students’ attitudes surveys changedslightly from 3.2 at the end of the training program to 3.0 at the end of the school year. Thissmall decrease is not significant and probably reflects the fact that not all teachers were able tocover all topics in the curricula. Page 14.1222.7 ASEE 2009StudentsUnfortunately because only six of the 20 teachers (two middle and four high school) returnedstudents’ pre- and post- attitude surveys the

Conference Session

High-School Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mercedes McKay, Stevens Institute of Technology; Debra Brockway, Stevens Institute of Technology; Beth McGrath, Stevens Institute of Technology; Henry Harms, Stevens Insititue of Technology; Eirik Hole, Stevens Institute of Technology; David Janosz, NJTEA

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

industrialsoftware to collaborate on the design; practice inventive thinking and problem-solving to developdesigns; collaborate in class-based and worldwide teams; and develop and present a finalproduct. Students are introduced to a systems-thinking approach that encourages them to seetheir design effort in a larger context. They have to reflect on the problem they are trying tosolve, the resources that are available, and assess the desirable as well as potentially undesirableimpacts their design will have in its intended environment. Local as well as worldwidecollaboration fosters teamwork, innovation and invention, effective communication, and other21st century workforce skills.Over the course of three years, this project will develop, pilot, and

Conference Session

Best Practices in K-12 Engineering Panel

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Klein-Gardner; Michele Dischino; Manjit Khosla, HALS Academy; Patrick Foster, Central Connecticut State University; Carol Shields, Stevens Institute of Technology; Dan Fagan, Wallace Primary School; Martha Cyr, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; John Staley, Doherty Memorial High School

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

incorporate additional elements into ourprogram such as field trips, including a trip to the CCSU campus, as well as guest speakers fromindustry and stronger assessment tools. Requiring the pre-service teachers to conduct their lessons and activities with two separatebut similar groups of middle school students worked very well both during and after school. Thisallowed time for the CCSU students to reflect on their teaching methods and make modificationsaccordingly. This technique also allowed for all HALS students to participate in every activitywhile keeping class and group sizes manageable.Conclusions Our collaboration can serve as a model for additional partnerships within our local district aswell as for university and K-12 educators in

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce Gehrig, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Lyndon Abrams, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Deborah Bosley, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; James Conrad, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Stephen Kuyath, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Psychological Measurement, 55, 1016-1031, Dec. 1995This paper is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0554405. Anyopinions, 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. Page 14.1256.11

Conference Session

Robot Mania in Precollegiate Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alisa Gilmore, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Bing Chen, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Neal Grandgenett, University of Nebraska, Omaha

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

student success rates (as reflected by criterion referenced testing) in science and math, including the disaggregated performance of underrepresented minority children within the classes of the participating teachers. 4. To help narrow the typical 15-25% gap in middle school student success rates between African American, Hispanic, and Native American students and their Caucasian classmates in the classes of the participating teachers.The SPIRIT Initiative’s MethodologyFrom 2006 through 2008, math and science middle school teachers were recruited from theOmaha Public School (OPS) systems, and several other Omaha-based school districts (to a lesserextent) to participate in the SPIRIT project. OPS served as a strong K-12

Conference Session

Women in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University; Katherine Titus-Becker, North Carolina State University; Heather Smolensky-Lewis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Page 14.583.7 The 94% strong agreement with the networking statements, whether student or faculty, indicate that students felt that these elements had strongly influenced their success in the first semester. In addition, 94% of the students felt that the industry visits helped them to understand engineering. Perhaps most significantly, 88% of the students felt that ESCape had provided them the motivation to succeed in engineering. The survey had three open-ended questions: 1- List all the ways ESCape helped or positively impacted you that you can think of, 2-What was the best thing about ESCape, 3-What would you change for ESCape next year? Some of the answers to these are reflected in the statement/response questions

Conference Session

Successful Mentoring and Outreach Programs for Girls and Minorities

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Chen, California Polytechnic State University; Daniel Belter, California Polytechnic State University; Teana Fredeen, California Polytechnic State University; Heather Smith, California Polytechnic State University; Shirley Magnusson, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

abilities.Furthermore, they must be able to see themselves practicing engineering as a career.We decided to focus on the engineering profession6, rather than the engineering field, andthus the survey statements (Table I) reflect personal declarations that lead to careerselection. Some of the statements deal with the self visualization of being an engineer.Many females tend to lack the confidence or fail to identify with the field (due to lack ofrole models or inaccurate stereotypes).Table I. Statements on the Engineering Days survey and the corresponding codedvariable for study Survey statement Variable “I understand what an engineer does.” understood “I plan to study engineering in college

Conference Session

Exemplary Teacher and Counselor Professional Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Macon Beck, Purdue University; Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue Universtiy; Teri Reed-Rhoads, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

schedules, the time and location of an advertised workshop must be carefullyselected. When presented with typical options for the time and location of a professionaldevelopment workshop, the majority of the responses were split between agree and disagree,except for two options. The two options that appear to be most promising are to offer aworkshop during a session at the Indiana School Counselor Association (ISCA) conference(80.4% agree or strongly agree, Item 27). This preference may reflect the survey participants’level of participation in ISCA. The data reveal that workshops scheduled during the summer(Item 30), afterschool (Item 31), or on a Saturday (Item 32) are less likely to be attended. Thisinformation paired with the listed barriers

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and K-12 Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faik Karatas, Purdue University; George Bodner, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Page 14.1273.11 Based on the findings of this study we recommended that any professional developmentprograms or teacher education curriculums that intent to enhance teachers’ scientific andtechnological literacy should take into account followings: ≠ Teachers’ knowledge about engineering is tacit, although they don’t usually think or talk about it. Thus, a professional development program or teacher preparation program should be designed to allow teachers to reflect on their views of engineering to be aware of their knowledge of and about engineering. Having practicing engineers talk to teachers in a small group environment might lead teachers to have a better understanding of engineering as

Conference Session

Think Outside the Box! K-12 Engineering Curriculum

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tara Gomez, California Institute of Technology; Oliver Loson, California Institute of Technology; Douglas Yung, California Institute of Technology; Sindhuja Kadambi, California Institute of Technology; Paul Lee, California Institute of Technology; Luz Rivas, California Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

classroom period and was critical forsolidifying the lessons taught in the reading and lecture. The lecturer would allow additional timeafter both the lecture and the laboratory exercise for a class discussion to aid in understanding thecore ideas. Classroom discussions were engaging and rewards were given to discussionparticipants as positive reinforcement.There was a daily problem set assignment that reflected the ideas discussed in the lab. Thishomework assignment was generally due on the following day. Additionally, daily homeworkalso included a 30-minute pre-reading assignment that prepared the students for the laboratory tobe performed the next day.Laboratory exercises were completed in the teaching laboratory spaces found on the

Conference Session

Engineering in the Middle Grades

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kari Cook, Brigham Young University; Geoff Wright; Steve Shumway; Ronald Terry, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

technologyeducation, it is actually a refinement of technology education to include a broader skill set andfocus. This also reflects the view that technology education keep up with the world’s businessand economic engineering and technology focus.In light of these suggestive technology education curriculum and objectives modifications, thereis a need to evaluate the influence of the changes. The Technology Attitude Scale (TAS) andPupils Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT) have been used to ascertain students’ attitudetoward and understanding of technology, however, the tools do not include engineering issues.2Thus a comprehensive instrument was needed to measure student interest, perception, attitude,and understanding of both engineering and technology. In

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

or recommendationsexpressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the National Science Foundation (NSF). Page 14.525.3Theoretical FrameworkThe recent national emphasis on the design, development, and implementation of K-12engineering education curricula has increased interest in assessing students’ knowledge ofengineering. Many adults and students in the US have deficient understandings of engineers andwhat engineers do1. In addition, engineering is among the least gender equitable professions witha workforce that is only 11% female2. Researchers have argued that the cause for such adiscrepancy has

Conference Session

Robot Mania in Precollegiate Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elisabeth McGrath, Stevens Institute of Technology; Susan Lowes, Teachers College, Columbia University; Peiyi Lin, Teachers College, Columbia University; Jason Sayres, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

topics and “new engineer” workforce skills—that we are seeking toprovide for students through the Build IT curriculum. Page 14.215.14AcknowledgementThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grantnumber ESI-0624709. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed inthis material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.Bibliography1 Jonassen, D. (2000). Computers as mindtools for schools. Engaging critical thinking (2nd ed.). Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall.2 Chambers, J. & Carbonaro, M. (2003). Designing, Developing, and

Conference Session

Thinking, Reasoning, and Engineering in Elementary School

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Irene Mena, Purdue University; Brenda Capobianco, Purdue University; Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, and if they have participated in engineeringactivities. The post interview questions included all of the pre interview questions as well asadditional questions. These follow-up questions asked students to compare and contrast theirfirst and second drawing, reflect on class activities, and share anything new they learned.The quantitative methods included pre- and post-administration of the Engineering InstructionalKnowledge Tests and the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS). The Knowledge Testconsisted of 10 to 15 multiple-choice items that were adapted from assessments items from theEngineering is Elementary modules, Trends in International Science and Mathematics Study(TIMMS, http://nces.ed.gov/timss/ ) and state standardized exams

Conference Session

Enhancing K-12 STEM Education with Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Prevost, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Mitchell Nathan, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Benjamin Stein, University of Wisconsin; Natalie Tran, California State University, Bakersfield; Allen Phelps, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

dynamic and varies fromteacher to teacher, and even changes across classrooms taught by the same instructor, as thespecific interactions vary with different students. The assessed curriculum refers to the specificcontent that is tested and can differ markedly from the intended and enacted curricula as tests aredrafted by the federal government (thought instruments like NAEP, for example), individualstates, districts, and the teachers themselves. The learned curriculum captures the actual changesin knowledge by the individual students, which reflects the notion that students can and often dolearn more and less than offered in the instructional context

Conference Session

Engineering in the Middle Grades

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen High, Oklahoma State University; Becky Hammack, Stillwater Middle School; Beth Watt, Stillwater Middle School; Julie Thomas, Oklahoma State University; Adrienne Redmond, Oklahoma State University; Pat Jordan; Jean Dockers, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

assess how well students can work X X 43 in teams, essential for engineering Problem Solving Process Key to assess how the students are X X 43 able to solve problems, which is an invaluable skill for engineers Author generated engineering content survey X Qualitative Draw an Engineer Test X 44 Field notes by engineering and education faculty X X X Teacher interviews X X X 39 Teacher and mentor reflections as well as middle school X

Conference Session

Thinking, Reasoning, and Engineering in Elementary School

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Molly Bolger, Vanderbilt University; Marta Kobiela, Vanderbilt University; Paul Weinberg, Vanderbilt University; Richard Lehrer, Vanderbilt University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering