A Pathway to Engineering Technology Opportunities NTPN Conference Dallas, Texas Presented by Don Fischer ND State Supervisor for Technology Education Department of Career & Technical Education Bismarck, ND

National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Program (ATE) Engineering Technology Competencies: Integrating Curriculum and Forging Pathways.

Goal:  Develop a curricula and implementation model that results in increased ability and pursuit of careers within the field of engineering. Model: K-12 students apply critical math, science, and technology knowledge while planning, designing, testing, revising, and implementing engineering activities. Challenge: Prepare, motivate, and retain students in the pursuit of engineering related opportunities.

Objectives  Objective 1: Online Teacher Education Model Design, implement, and document a model of effective, interactive, online teacher training that results in teacher retention and satisfaction.  Objective 2: Develop and Disseminate Classroom Implementable Products All participating teachers will develop three standards-based products for each of their eight course units. These classroom implementable products will score at least a 2.5 on the rubric and will be shared online.  Objective 3: Articulated Standards-based Engineering Technology Pathway Create an articulated standards-based engineering technology course series that informs, motivates, and prepares middle and high school students for progressively more sophisticated competencies.

Partners  Bismarck Public Schools (fiscal agent, implementation)  Valley City State (curriculum and teacher training)  Bismarck State College (curriculum, support)  ND Department of Career and Technical Education (curriculum and support)

Overview  This project is developing a curricula and an implementation model that has provided in increased ability and fostered the pursuit of higher education in the field of engineering. The curricula and model is resulting in middle and high school students applying critical math, science, and technology knowledge while they plan, design, test, revise, and implement engineering activities.  The value added product, as a result of this project, is standards-based units of study at the 7-12 level and an articulated pathway for learners to successfully transition to two-year engineering technician programs. The units of study are assembled into two separate curricula for the middle and high school levels and a model implementation plan.

ETP Timeline

The Model  Research-based curriculum Standards-based and interdisciplinary  Comprehensive pathway and articulation plan (K-14)  Instructional model Unit design Instructional strategies

Understanding by Design Wiggins & McTighe (1998) defined essential questions in the following way: “Essential Questions call for the students to make meaning of more carefully selected activities, and they call for teachers to devise assessment tasks related to answering the. Regardless of which questions the teacher or class chooses, such questions render the unit design more coherent and make the student’s role more appropriately intellectual. Without asking and pursuing such overarching questions, the student is confronted with a set of disconnected activities, resulting in minimal understanding of important ideas. Without such questions to focus instruction, teaching easily falls into superficial and purposeless coverage.” Wiggins G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Enduring Understanding  Each of the units deliberately focus on the enduring understanding of the unit.  Readings, lab activities, and assessment work together to reinforce these ideas for the students.

Enduring Understanding High School: Students will understand the historical significance and continued importance of engineering as a profession. Middle School: Students will understand how inventions and innovations are conceived and the affects they have on society. Example of enduring knowledge from the first unit of each course:

Sample Essential Questions from Innovation & Engineering Design  Are inventions always good?  “Design” has the requirements of being both creative and systematic. How can a person be both creative and systematic?  Why do major historical events, such as the Sputnik, Pearl Harbor and 9-11, impact engineering and education?  What do Legos have to do with engineering design?  How do individual solutions or inventions change the whole of society?  Why do all products require continuous design changes or refinement?  What type of technology have you chosen not to use based on the negative impacts it may have?  How has technology affected your morals or values?

Sample Essential Questions from Design for Engineering  How would you prepare yourself as a K-12 student and then as a college student for success as an engineering professional?  How does the creation of individual solutions to technological problems lead to a changed world and changes in our daily lives?  Why can’t engineering communication be defined as a single skill?  How has technology changed the way we communicate design ideas graphically?  How does modeling and prototyping fit into the research and development process?  What is the connection between ethics and inventions?

Teacher Training 10 teachers will enroll in their respective online course offered by VCSU. The 10 teachers will participate in a hands- on lab series spanning both levels (middle and high school). Teachers will receive feedback on their lessons from both internal and external reviewers.

Teacher Participants  Phase 2: 10 teachers Middle School (5) High School (5)  Participating Schools Bismarck Public Schools, North Dakota Fargo Public Schools, North Dakota Hatton & Northwood Public School, North Dakota Surrey Public School, North Dakota Lisbon Public School, North Dakota Rogers Public School, North Dakota Detour Area Schools, Michigan Lake Park – Audubon High School, Minnesota

Courses  TECH 665: Innovation and Engineering Design (middle school) Course prepares prospective teachers to teach a middle school course emphasizing engineering design activities to understand how criteria, constraints, and processes affect designs. Brainstorming, visualizing, modeling, constructing, testing and refining designs will be studied.  TECH 660: Design for Engineering (high school) Course provides an orientation and exposure to the careers and challenges of engineering. Major engineering concepts included are modeling, systems, optimization, technology-society interaction, design and ethics.

Online Course Delivery  Course is delivered through Valley City State University

Online Course Delivery  Valley City State University Online Course Homepage

Online Course Delivery  Course Overview

Online Course Delivery  Unit and Assignment Description

Unique Success  The Engineering Technology Pathways project is contributing to the field of Technology Education nation-wide. The ETP project provides a model for distance delivery of a standards-based technology education curriculum.  The ETP project provides professional development for a 'cohort' of instructors in gaining knowledge, theory, research and pedagogical methods.  The standards-based technology education curriculum implements a proven researched- based model utilizing Understanding by Design.

Unique Success Continued  The work of this grant is significantly influencing the format and distance delivery of the Technology Education Masters Degree program through Valley City State University.  The development of student-ready materials as part of each course and the posting of these materials within an online standards-based database is significant.  Many secondary instructors throughout the nation are struggling with standards-based curriculum design, these courses and the deliverables are serving as a model for others.  The ETP initiative is accelerating the process of moving technology education into the world of 'standards-based.'

Website

Resource Bank  Middle School  High School  Website includes a listing of Classroom Ready Units and Products

Resource Bank

NDETP Questions