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Engineering Graduate Students: Engaging Today's Teachers, Training Tomorrow's Scientists and Engineers, and Opening New Academic and Career Paths for K-12 Students

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The authors present an innovative, sustainable University/K-12School partnership designed increase the number of motivated students in engineering-related careers while supporting course rigor, content learning, professional learning, and demonstrations of knowledge acquired. The model partnership, which is based on components of two other successful national University- School partnership programs, enhances a school district’s plans for coherent interventions and to build meaningful learning opportunities for all students. The partnership contributes to a significant transformation for diversity in science and engineering in the K-12 schools environment, and encourages university community members to aspire to altruistic goals in a rigorous academic setting.

Joint goals were established through a series of meetings between university and school officials, staff and master science and mathematics teachers. Goals were refined and ratified during three formal workshops, which were conducted over the course of one academic year (2006-7): To 1) guide secondary students’ development (i.e., view themselves as college-bound), 2) provide secondary teachers with university research/lab experiences and professional development opportunities, and 3) engage parents in a new, model “Parent Learning Community” based on the Professional Learning Communities format3.

Participating university graduate students are paid Teaching Fellows (“Fellows”) who commit to working at least six hours per week in secondary school math and science classrooms. Each week, Fellows meet with partner teachers (“Faculty Affiliates”) at the school during planning periods, and also spend at least four to six hours in the classroom leading demonstrations, linking science and mathematics principles to real-world (engineering) applications, helping secondary students understand the importance of a college education, and providing hands-on science and engineering activities.

Both Fellows and volunteer undergraduate student tutorsi assist secondary students with homework, improving study skills, and standardized tests and examinations preparation. Summer science experiences and academic year activities for teachers offer opportunities to work on engineering research projects with university faculty. Parents are gaining “College Knowledge” through a model Professional Learning Communities / Critical Friends Group format. The model is designed to be exportable nationwide.

This paper focuses on the involvement of university graduate and undergraduate students, who are gaining teaching and mentoring experience, pedagogical training, and the experience of making positive impact the community through service. This paper features Academic Year 2007-8 First Term evaluation results from surveys collected from Fellows and Faculty Affiliates. Additional quantitative and qualitative data from Fellows and Teachers collecting during AY 2007-8 Second Term will be presented at the ASEE conference in June 2008. Secondary student data from AY 2007-8 First and Second Terms collected from over 600 students is still under

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Andrews, J., & Meadows, L., & Oguntebi, J. (2008, June), Engineering Graduate Students: Engaging Today's Teachers, Training Tomorrow's Scientists And Engineers, And Opening New Academic And Career Paths For K 12 Students Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--4465