Outreach to K–12 Teachers: Workshop in Instrumentation, Sensors, and Engineering
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 136, Issue 2
Abstract
During the summer of 2007, The Workshop in Instrumentation, Sensors, and Engineering (WISE) introduced 20 middle and high school teachers to hands-on engineering design in an intensive 2-week residential workshop at Polytechnic University. Teachers were introduced to sensors, instrumentation, and engineering in a planned and integrated learning environment. Guided training consisting of lectures, tutorials, structured engineering workshops, and discussions exposed the teachers to foundational elements of engineering through the use of sensors and computerized data acquisition, which were presented as vital tools to be used in engineering and science education and profession. By the end of the WISE project, participants completed 70 h of in-class professional development. In addition, learning continued into the evenings and weekend, as participants took part in activities that exposed them to contemporary engineering concerns and projects. These supplemental activities provided an additional 15 h of professional development. Exposure to a hands-on, technology-rich, multidisciplinary learning experience in the workshop has prepared the participating teachers to provide their students with enriched learning opportunities and stimulate them to seek higher achievement in science and mathematics. Participating teachers accorded the workshop an overall score of 8.8 (out of 10) in the project evaluation.
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Acknowledgments
WISE was funded by a NYS Education Department Engineers of the Future Program Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDC400687. The writers thank Richard Organisciak, superintendent of New Rochelle SD and Arnold Goldstein, assistant superintendent of Bellmore Merrick SD for their support. Most lab exercises were developed under NSF Grant No. NSFDGE-0337668: GK12 RAISE. The writers thank the following Polytechnic research assistants whose participation in WISE made it a success: Brandi Barra, Amir Bozerg-Haddad, Harish Chandra, Alp Gokce, Mahmoud Mahmoud, and Ilya Zarankin. The writers are also grateful to the following engineers for lecturing about current engineering concerns: Ray Sandiford, P.E., Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Karen Armfield, P.E., DMJM Harris; Franc Roger, Blue Helios Inc.; Mike Wetherell, P.E., Urban Engineers; Lisa Barrett, R.A.; and Joel Voltera, P.E., Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers. Finally, the writers wish to thank the participating teachers for attending the WISE project and for so enthusiastically pursuing their studies.
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© 2010 ASCE.
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Received: Feb 19, 2009
Accepted: Sep 25, 2009
Published online: Oct 12, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2010
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