Student Recruitment

Mark D. Conner, Director

THE ENGINEERING ACADEMYAT HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL

THE ENGINEERING ACADEMYAT HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL

in the Context of Globalization

The Proverbial Outline

I. Is there a problem?

II. Are you part of the solution?

III. How do you get started?

IV. Q & A

Falling Way Behind

U.S. Asia

Asia = China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Natural science = math, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biological, and earth,

atmospheric, ocean, agricultural sciences and computer sciences.(Source: Science & Engineering Indicators, 2002)

The National Picture

Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2002

How Important is K-12?

• Numerous studies over the past 5-6 years…with noticeably similar conclusions

National Commission on Mathematics & Science Teaching

“Before It’s Too Late” (9/00)

Goal 1: Establish an ongoing system to improve the quality of mathematics and science teaching in grades K–12.

Goal 2: Increase significantly the number of mathematics and science teachers and improve the quality of their preparation.

Goal 3: Improve the working environment and make the teaching profession more attractive for K–12 mathematics and science teachers.

Business-Higher Education Forum“A Commitment to America’s Future” (1/05)

1. Establish a P-16 Education Council in each state.

2. Simultaneously address and align the five P-12 system components:

– Content standards– Curricula– Assessments– Teacher preparation– Accountability practices

3. Engage business and higher education in more effective P-12 reform roles.

4. Implement coordinated national and state-specific public information programs. (aka “marketing”)

Business Roundtable“Tapping America’s Potential” (7/05)

1. Build public support for making improvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics performance a national priority.

2. Motivate U.S. students and adults, using a variety of incentives, to study and enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers, with a special effort geared to those in currently underrepresented groups.

3. Upgrade K–12 mathematics and science teaching to foster higher student achievement, including differentiated pay scales for mathematics and science teachers.

National Academy of Sciences“Rising Above the Gathering Storm” (10/05)

RECOMMENDATION A: Increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K–12 science and mathematics education.

Action A-1: Annually recruit 10,000 science and mathematics teachers by awarding 4-year scholarships and thereby educating 10 million minds.

Action A-2: Strengthen the skills of 250,000 teachers through training and education programs at summer institutes, in master’s programs, and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate (AP and IB) training programs and thus inspire students every day.

Action A-3: Enlarge the pipeline by increasing the number of students who take AP and IB science and mathematics courses.

Statewide specialty high schools. Specialty secondary education can foster leaders in science, technology, and mathematics. Specialty schools immerse students in high-quality science, technology, and mathematics education; serve as a mechanism to test teaching materials; provide a training ground for K–12 teachers; and provide the resources and staff for summer programs that introduce students to science and mathematics.

The National Summit on Competitiveness

“Investing in U.S. Innovation” (12/05)

• Revitalize Fundamental Research

• Expand the Innovation Talent Pool in the United States

– By 2015, double the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded annually to U.S. students in science, math, and engineering, and increase the number of those students who become K-12 science and math teachers.

– Provide incentives for the creation of public-private partnerships to encourage U.S. students at all levels to pursue studies and/or careers in science, math, technology, and engineering.

• Lead the World in the Development and Deployment of Advanced Technologies

Domestic Policy Council“American Competitiveness Initiative” (2/06)

• A system of education through the secondary level that equips each new generation of Americans with the educational foundation for future study and inquiry in technical subjects and that inspires and sustains their interest;

• Institutions of higher education that provide American students access to world-class education and research opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology;

• Workforce training systems that provide more workers the opportunity to pursue the training and other services necessary to improve their skills and better compete in the 21st century.

Nation: Grade 12 - ScienceNational Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Below Basic At/Above Basic At/AboveProficient

Advanced

1996 2000

Why Focus on High School?

Viable engineers

Nation: Grade 12 - MathNational Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Below Basic At/Above Basic At/AboveProficient

Advanced

1992 1996 2000

Why Focus on High School?

Viable engineers

Why These Trends?

• HS graduates are unpreparedunprepared for the rigor of the undergraduate curriculum.

• HS students generally don’t know what engineers do and may often make uninformeduninformed decisions (both to and not to pursue engineering).

• The HS math and science curricula are not engagingnot engaging and are perceived as irrelevantirrelevant.

• To many, the undergraduate engineering curriculum is not engagingnot engaging or perceived as irrelevantirrelevant.

• Of the 1.1 million HS students who took the ACT in 2005, only 5% planned to seek an engineering or only 5% planned to seek an engineering or science degreescience degree

unpreparedunprepared

uninformeduninformed

not engaging and irrelevantnot engaging and irrelevant

not engaging and irrelevantnot engaging and irrelevant

The Disconnect

• Industry hasn’t worked closely with Higher Ed. to shape curricula and attract more students to these fields.

• Neither Industry nor Higher Ed. has worked closely with K-12 schools to shape curricula and make these career fields attractive to students.

• There will continue to be a disconnect until all There will continue to be a disconnect until all three create a synergy to address these critical three create a synergy to address these critical issuesissues

The Litmus Test

• Checking priorities…

– DayTimer

– Checkbook

• Is there evidence that industry and higher-ed are doing more than talking about the problem/crisis?

Are you part of the solution?

Show of Hands…

• How many of you are happy with the number and quality of students in your program?

• Do you notice anything missing in them?

• Are you doing anything about it?

Knowing “Your Kids”

• Can you name the top 5 feeder high schools in your area?

• Can you name the key teacher-leaders at those schools?

• What specific outreach activities do you have with those schools?

Not Done Yet

• What is the difference between your approach to K-12 outreach today and 10 years ago? 20 years ago?

• What is your school's/college's vision/mission statement? Does K-12 outreach factor into this?

• How many of you have faculty members that are actively involved in working with area high schools and/or K-12 leadership to shape their programs? (Aren't you their ultimate consumer?)

• Who do you target with any outreach that is done?

The Current Landscape

• More high school students with more technology in their possession…and less knowledge of and interest in how the technology works.

• Declining work ethic

• Minimized “wow” factor

Making Engineering Relevant

• Define “engineering” in a way that will resonate with 21st century teenagers.

…in 20 words or less.

Why Engineering?

• Engineering provides the contextthe context for math and science content

• Engineering emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, and resourcefulness

• Engineering design is engaging!

• To attract more students to engineering, we need to show students that engineering is engineering is cool!cool!

Engineering for Technological Literacy

• Reading literacy was the essential element of education in the 20th century.

• Technological literacy will become the essentialessential elementelement in the 21st century. U.S. economic growth is based on the need for a technologically technologically advanced workforce.advanced workforce.

• Workers who aren’t technologically literate will face a standard of living comparable to those who comparable to those who couldn’t read and write in the 20couldn’t read and write in the 20 thth century! century!

How do you get started?

Bridging the Gap

• Grass-Roots Efforts

• Extracurricular Activities

• Design Competitions

• Individual High School Courses

• Focused, Long-Term High School Curriculum

Outreach to K-12 People

• Teachers

• Principals

• Superintendents

• Build partnerships with your school/college of education

Undergraduate Tutors

• Schools offering Calculus & Physics are usually in need of tutors.

• Train undergraduate engineering students.

• Alternate between the high school and university campuses.

• Begin building bridges with these teachers.

Take Open House on the Road

• Take the dog-and-pony show on the road.

• Make sure you have the right people “on tour”.

• Aim Low…age-wise! Think long-term.

Engineering Explorers

BEST Robotics

BEST Robotics, Inc.

• 6-week “design-to-market” competition– RC robot– Engineering Notebook– Oral Presentation– Display

• Free to schools

• Engineering Mentors

• www.bestinc.org

The Infinity Project

The Infinity Project

• One-year high school engineering curriculum

• Focal point of the content is Digital Signal Processing

• Strong text. LabVIEW DSP. TI Hardware.

• Solid training.

• UCF Model!

An All-Out K-12 Initiative

• Partnership between Hoover City Schools and Auburn University

• A “Pipeline” Program

• Culminating in a Focused, 4-Year High School Engineering Curriculum

– The Engineering Academy (at Hoover High School)

Initiative Goals

• Develop an engineering culture at all levels of K-12 by developing hands-on programs:

– Provide real-world Science & Math applications

– Allow students to experience engineering!

• Develop an engineering mentor program at all school levels to “demystify” what engineering is and what engineers do

Engineers(models)(models)

Engineering Design(practice)(practice)+ =

Engineering is““demystified”demystified”

Creating a Pipeline

• Cultivate interest

• Begin preparing academically

Middle School

High School

• Rigorous four-year curriculum

• Exposure to AL universities and industry

• Academic preparation

• Tiered curricular programs possible

University

• Well-prepared & motivated students

• Internships

• Increased graduation rates

The Engineering Academyat Hoover High School

• Conceived in the Fall of 2003

• Exposure and focused preparation for undergraduate engineering curricula– Math, Science, and Engineering– “Original” elective sequence

• First freshman class entered in 2004

• First graduating class in 2008

The Engineering Academy Concept

• Four-year high school curriculum– Math culminating in Calculus– Biology, Chemistry, and a strong

emphasis on Physics (2 years)– Engineering Electives to provide:

1education re. the engineering profession, 2context and 3essential skill set• Technical Communication• Engineering Design Process• Working on a Team

• Engineering Drawing• Programming Logic• …to name a few!

StartingPoint!

Copyright © 2004 Mark D. Conner

Academy Curriculum

Year

9th

10th

11th

12th

Math

Honors Geometry

(Honors) Alg. II

w/ Trig.

(Honors) Pre-Calculus

(AP) Calculus (AB or BC)

Science

Honors Biology

(Honors) Chemistry

Physics orAP Physics B

AP Physics B or

AP Physics C

Engineering

Intro. to Engineering/ Engineering Drawing & Solid Modeling

Engineering Instrumentation & Analysis

Engineering Computations

Engineering Design & Entrepreneurship

The number of students taking Algebra I in the 8th grade must increase if we are to raise standards and expectations for math and science education.

The answer to “When will we ever use this stuff?”

Copyright © 2004 Mark D. Conner

Academy CurriculumAcademy Curriculum

• Introduction to Engineering (9th)– Engineering Design Process (hands-on), Basic Computer

Skills, Hand-Drawing Techniques, Solid Modeling• Engineering Instrumentation & Analysis (10th)

– Discipline-Specific Research & Design, Engineering Instrumentation, Data Collection & Analysis

• Engineering Computations (11th) – Programming Logic, MATLAB, LabVIEW, Intro. to Finite

Element Modeling & Analysis• Engineering Design & Entrepreneurship (12th)

– “Concept to Market,” Marketing, Engineering Economics, Senior “Capstone” Design Project

• Ethics and Oral/Written Communications Skills (9-12)

Copyright © 2005 Mark D. Conner

Key Points

• Taught by engineers…consistent with NCLB!

• Purely elective coursework

• Coupled with BEST & Infinity

• Collaboration with higher-ed and industry

• Geared to prepare students for undergraduate engineering curricula

Minimizing Hurdles

• “Para”-Education

• Design competitions, tutoring programs, “guest speaking”, elective coursework…all fall outside of DoE governance!

• Form alliances with those in education.

Questions?