University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program K-12 Engineering: Preparing Tomorrow’s Engineers Presented by: Malinda Zarske April 3, 2011 Integrated teaching and Learning Program University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program K-12 ENGINEERING OVERVIEW  Why K-12 Engineering?  What are the benefits for K-12 Students?  National level K-12 Engineering efforts  Resources for K-12 Engineering  K-12 Engineering at CU Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program WHY K-12 ENGINEERING?  Promote and strengthen a multidisciplinary, hands-on, engineering learning environment  Integrate engineering theory with practice  Increase and diversify the engineering pipeline  Develop students’ engineering skills, including leadership, entrepreneurship and communication skills

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR K-12 STUDENTS?  Engineering education advances learning  Project-based learning has been shown to enhance student understanding of math and science concepts by making them relevant and more enjoyable  Engineering education bridges classroom lessons to real-world experiences  Concrete and applicable engineering concepts connect what is learned in school with what goes on in the outside world The impact on students is real

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program NATIONAL LEVEL EFFORT  Engineering in K-12 Education book release, September 2009  Recommends long term research, teacher preparation, formal credentialing, focus on best implementations  Engineering Education for Innovation Act, U.S. Congress, February 2010  50 participants to meeting in NC on Beginning the Dialogue in K-12, May 2010  #1 issue was define core ideas, find resources, teacher preparation  Several states have incorporated engineering into their science standards  Several hundred K-12 engineering initiatives nationwide

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ASEE K-12 DIVISION  The K-12 Division membership is growing rapidly; currently we have 761 paying members; 12 th largest division out of 50 divisions  The K-12 Division has 40% women  131 final papers at June 2011 conference  Almost 20 percent of articles in the JEE were K-12 practice-related over the past four years

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ONLINE RESOURCES  TeachEngineering Digital Library  ASEE Engineering Go For It!  Engineer Your Life

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program  Driven by four NSF GK-12 engineering grants and a US Department of Ed FIPSE grant  An NSF NSDL collection  More than a “website” Consistent look & feel Database-driven Smart search engine for multiple and flexible searches Standards based for all 50 states  Promotes hands-on engineering  Free use TeachEngineering DIGITAL LIBRARY

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program TeachEngineering USAGE AND ACTIVITIES Usage continues to rise during 2010  Usage continues to rise during 2011  During February, TE received over 161,588 “clean and functional” hits from 59,227 different visitors (unique IP addresses)  Most users from the US, then Great Britain, Canada, and India.  Aerospace:  5 curricular units, 35 lessons, 35 hands-on activities  Structures:  15 curricular units, 95 lessons, 125 hands-on activities Hits are considered “clean” when they do not originate from a robot, spider or crawler, from TeachEngineering developers or testers or from special events such as training and experimentation. “Functional” hits are requests for fully-functional web pages, not including requests for isolated images.

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program eGFI  American Society of Engineering Education  Includes interactive website, e-magazine, e-newsletters, and posters

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ENGINEER YOUR LIFE  Project involving WGBH Educational Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering in partnership with the Extraordinary Women Engineers Coalition, The National Science Foundation, Northrop Grumman Foundation, Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr and the United Engineering Foundation (ASCE, ASME, AIChE, IEEE, AIME)

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ENGINEER YOUR LIFE

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program EFFORTS AT CU BOULDER  ITL K-12 Engineering Program  Support from the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program  Engineer Your Life messaging

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ITL PROGRAM K-12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION  Largest K-12 engineering program in nation  Tomorrow's Engineers... creAte. iMagine. Succeed. (TEAMS)  Eight graduate Fellows teach ~1,800 grades 3-12 students in 66 classrooms weekly  11 u.grad Fellows lead 8 TEAMS Clubs at 5 schools  Denver School of Science and Technology  Teach trimester-long grades 9-11 Creative Engineering electives  Summer K-12 engineering design camps  Summer teacher professional development workshops

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program ITL Program & Laboratory  Serves 4,200+ students annually - all majors  Supports 65 courses and 88 faculty  Inviting places — design studios, team work areas, active learning spaces, manufacturing & electronics fabrication centers  K-12 courses based on successful ITL courses

University of Colorado at Boulder – Integrated Teaching and Learning Program

Thank you! Industry partners interested in impacting and influencing prospective students always welcome! Insanity is “doing what you’ve always done and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein Mindy Zarske