James M. Conrad and Venkateswara R. Chitturi
University of Arkansas, Computer Systems Engineering
313 Engineering Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Office:(501) 575-6036 FAX:(501) 575-5339
E-mail: {jmc3,vc02}@engr.engr.uark.edu
The future of any country lies in its ability to use its resources to build a strong technological base. One of these critical resources any country can count on is the young men and women in secondary schools. The question that arises is the approach required to bring technology awareness to our middle, junior high, and high schools students. Who will be partners in accomplishing this task? One of the resources identified is the science and mathematics teachers in schools who are in direct contact with the students. With this objective in mind, The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education was founded at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Institute objectives are to increase the awareness of and interest in engineering and technology among this group and create a technologically literate youth. A byproduct of these objectives is that many of these students will choose engineering and technology careers.
This paper describes the pilot teacher training workshop, the materials development process for the workshop, the methodology used to evaluate the Institute, and evaluation results. Instructions to access the workshop educational materials developed are also included.
The authors of Science for All Americans [1] state, ``The terms and circumstances of human existence can be expected to change radically during the next human life span. Science, mathematics and technology will be at the center of that change causing it, shaping it, responding to it. Therefore, they will be essential to the education of today's children for tomorrow's world.'' This tells us that the future of America's global competitiveness depends upon a well-educated, technologically literate work force. The key to developing this workforce lies in our ability to teach our youth about the importance of science and technology in our rapidly-changing, rapidly shrinking world. Careers in engineering and technology are the fastest growing fields in America. For example, Money magazine projects a growth of 112%over the next ten years for computer engineers in its annual career survey [2].
Recent studies suggest that students lose interest in science courses in junior high and high school. In a study that tracked 1982 high school seniors, it was revealed that only 23%were interested in science and engineering disciplines in their senior year. As high school sophomores only 24%were interested in science and engineering. Only one half of the students surveyed thought that science would be useful to them in the future, and less than one-third thought that they would pursue a career in science. Enrollments in undergraduate engineering programs have decreased by 17%in the last decade [4]. Therefore, it is not surprising that too many of our youth are unaware of the excitement and the wonderful careers that engineering has to offer.
There is strong urgency to introduce engineering at an early age. According to David Schwartz of the Society of Automotive Engineers, ``It is important to get young people aware of and interested in engineering at an early age. As children get older, they feel engineering is something they're not capable of doing [3].'' Educators and professionals need to create an interest in engineering among students and project engineering as interesting, fun, and relevant to their everyday lives. A survey of more than 400 engineering students at the University of Arkansas was administered in the Fall of 1994. Students repeatedly emphasized that the ideal age to learn about engineering was in the sixth through ninth grades.
Recognizing the importance of engineers, mathematicians, and scientists in the state's economy, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and Department of Education have developed the Arkansas Statewide System Initiative-a bold attempt to systematically change mathematics and science education in public schools. While the ``Science Crusade'' and ``Math Crusade'' programs have proven very successful, they have done little to address engineering and technology development to students and teachers. The University of Arkansas and Arkansas Department of Higher Education have teamed to create an Institute to address this need.
The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education was established to introduce middle, junior high, and high school teachers to the principles of engineering and technology, expose them to latest technological advances, and stress the importance of math and science in technology.
The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education was founded to accomplish the following goals:
The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education conducted a three-week workshop in July of 1995. Secondary teachers from around the state were invited to apply for one of fifteen positions for the pilot workshop. A steering committee of University of Arkansas faculty reviewed 42 applications and selected the teachers from middle, junior high, and high schools in Arkansas. Selection was based on many factors, including the qualifications of the applicant, the geographic location of his or her school, the level of commitment of the applicant, and willingness of his or her school administration to integrate engineering and technology concepts learned in the workshop into the school's curriculum.
The workshop was held on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus. Participants were provided room and board in University dormitories, were paid a $1000stipend to compensate for the loss of part-time summer employment, and received reimbursement for travel to and from the workshop. Graduate credit was given for participating in the workshop. University of Arkansas faculty and engineering professionals served as faculty for the workshop and were responsible for developing educational materials, demonstrations, and laboratory experiments.
The workshop activities included the following components:
Laboratory experiments involving different branches of engineering were developed. Other important areas were also addressed. The subjects and various branches of engineering identified for this purpose were:
Each section of the workbook focuses on a particular engineering discipline. It includes a three to five page introduction about a particular branch of engineering followed by short laboratory experiments.
The introduction includes a brief history, traces how this branch of engineering has evolved, and lists specific job titles along with responsibilities that are part of the job. The introduction also describes the course work that engineers would be required to take during the Bachelor's program and also explains how the students can be better prepared for the engineering program by taking courses in mathematics, physics, and computers during their Junior and Senior year in high school. A list of career options, salaries, and rewards available to engineers was presented to help the students in making a choice. The introduction also contains a list of career guides, a list of the professional organizations, and a list of possible field trips.
Three to five short experiments related to the different branches of engineering explained above followed the introductions. These experiments make use of familiar science concepts. By introducing to these young men and women the type of activities engineers perform and by showing how the principles of science are applied in the real world, students can gain a greater appreciation of engineering and technology. At the end of each lab experiment are some activity-based questions that will test the concepts learned. Feedback of the experiments was gathered from selected school teachers in Arkansas and the experiments were revised accordingly.
Evaluation of the work conducted at The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology was very important. The evaluation process was divided into three different sections which consisted of:
The evaluation in each of the three areas described above was divided into two forms. In the first form
the participants were asked to choose one answer from the five different options:
1) Strongly Agree
2) Agree
3) Undecided
4) Disagree
5) Strongly Disagree
Each of these options were given an integer score in the range of one to five (1 if the answer was Strongly Agree and 5 if the answer was Strongly Disagree). An evaluation of the modules for each branch of engineering was done at the end of each session. An evaluation of the entire three weeks work was done at the end of the workshop.
The questions asked during the evaluations were:
For the entire Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education:
The participants were asked open ended questions like:
Evaluation questions regarding each experiment conducted:
The participants were asked to mark their choice from the different options for each of the questions above. The teachers were also asked to give their input to some of the open ended questions like:
Evaluation questions regarding the introduction to engineering materials:
The results of the evaluation are very encouraging. The participants at the workshop were fully involved with the activities of The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education. The participants felt that the principles of engineering and technology were well presented and they had good exposure to the latest technological advances. The teachers who attended the workshop wrote that they were fully convinced about the importance of technology in math and science education and that the activities involving various engineering disciplines were very useful. With the exception of one, all the other participants either Strongly Agreed or Agreed that they were very confident that they can share the information presented in the workshop with their colleges and students in their school district. This is very important because one of the main goals of The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education is to create a pool of technically trained teachers throughout the state who can conduct workshops on engineering and technology in their own school district and educational cooperatives. Some of the important suggestions received in the evaluation are:
The results of the evaluation of introduction to engineering show that the participants of the workshop Agree that the various different branches of engineering were well covered and also expressed that they learned more about the engineering profession, job opportunities, course work required and the future trends in engineering. The teachers were also confident that the information presented will be helpful to the students in making a career choice in engineering. Some of the participants expressed that the lesser known branches of engineering like Petroleum, Nuclear, Metallurgical, Aeronautical and Mining Engineering were left out. Some of these branches had to left out because of the limitations on time. Some of the important suggestions on additional information that would be helpful to the students in making a career choice in engineering are:
The participants felt that most of the experiments involving various engineering disciplines were easy, interesting and productive. The teachers felt that similar experiments involving various engineering disciplines can be conducted in their school districts with the help of resources at their disposal in the time allotted to them. The participants said that the modules on Introduction to Internet, World Wide Web, HTML were very interesting and very useful but Disagree that the equipment to conduct the modules is readily available. Most of the schools in Arkansas don't have accesses to the Internet and are in the processes of getting on to the net. All of the teachers unanimously agreed that activity-based learning is the best way to introduce science and technology to students.
The Summer Institute for Engineering and Technology Education described has had and will continue to have a significant impact on engineering and technology education in middle, junior high and high schools across the state. It will help improve the technological work force of Arkansas and the region and highlight the strength of technology-intensive industries that affect America's success in the global marketplace. The results of the workshop are highly encouraging and we look forward to continuing the workshops in future.
We would like to acknowledge the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Trinity Foundation, AT&TFoundation, and University of Arkansas for funding this project.
Details of the workshop and lab exercises can be obtained by anonymous ftp to engr.engr.uark.edu, subdirectory pub/engr_ed. The file workshop.txt contains detailed information on the organization of the workshop. The lab experiments for the different engineering branches are located in the subdirectories like meeg, cseg, eleg, etc. The file README.txt gives a one line description of each experiment.