Monday, 12 May 2008
Building Up the 'Knowledge Builders'
An interesting article I caught up to recently cited a number of college programs that seek to encourage middle and high school students to pursue a degree in engineering. The November 2007 edition of Prism, the publication of the American Society for Engineering Education, has an article entitled "Knowledge Builders" by Barbara Mathias-Riegel. It presented the effort of a Worcester Polytech Institute mechanical engineer and the mentoring that she does to high school girls with hands-on demonstrations. This effort, and that of others, is part of an evaluation being done by the National Science Foundation in reviewing its own nationwide K-12 program. Like one young lady from Worcester Polytech said about the girls she mentored, many of these college mentors say they have made "a connection with [the students], they understand me and I understand them."
The National Science Foundation has funded more than 140 K-12 projects in 46 states, plus there are private efforts also supporting K-12 programs. One such involves The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, which has 70 student chapters nationally. The funds provide for community service grants and stipends to help the students. One group of students from Duke University presented a two-hour lesson on circuits and circuit components by electrifying a pickle. The University of Colorado has a show featuring balloons, bouncing balls, space shuttle tiles and pieces of a foam mattress.
One of the continual concerns is ensuring that these student teachers have the adequate skills to keep these programs interesting and exciting. These student teachers need their own mentoring and coaching. This is an area where ASCE sections could be of great help and assistance. Has your Section discussed these types of activities with your local Student Chapters? Have you offered to help them develop the programs and skills that they can employ in the middle and high school classrooms? Does your alma mater have such an outreach effort? I think that this would be an excellent opportunity to provide a closer relationship between our Sections and the Student Chapters.
The National Science Foundation has funded more than 140 K-12 projects in 46 states, plus there are private efforts also supporting K-12 programs. One such involves The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, which has 70 student chapters nationally. The funds provide for community service grants and stipends to help the students. One group of students from Duke University presented a two-hour lesson on circuits and circuit components by electrifying a pickle. The University of Colorado has a show featuring balloons, bouncing balls, space shuttle tiles and pieces of a foam mattress.
One of the continual concerns is ensuring that these student teachers have the adequate skills to keep these programs interesting and exciting. These student teachers need their own mentoring and coaching. This is an area where ASCE sections could be of great help and assistance. Has your Section discussed these types of activities with your local Student Chapters? Have you offered to help them develop the programs and skills that they can employ in the middle and high school classrooms? Does your alma mater have such an outreach effort? I think that this would be an excellent opportunity to provide a closer relationship between our Sections and the Student Chapters.
Posted by at 10:30 AM in Planning for Future in Civil Engineering