Understanding K–12 Engineering Outreach Programs
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
The United States relies on technology. To continue the development of new and the expansion of existing technologies requires a strong background in science, math, and engineering. Because students are falling behind in these areas, many universities are attempting to reverse this trend and attract more students to their engineering programs through outreach programs. These outreach efforts can take a variety of forms, with the simplest being the development of classroom and web-based materials. Outreach programs can also include professional development programs, engineering contests, on-campus activities, activities at schools, and the sponsorship of teaching fellows and service learning programs. Programs can be directed at preservice teachers, teachers, and/or students as well as specific groups such as females or minorities. The programs may occur throughout the school year or during summer vacations. Personnel presenting the outreach programs can include older K–12 students, teachers, college students, and/or university professors. Regardless of the mechanism, each outreach program has one common goal, to increase the interest that K–12 students have for math and science and, thus, engineering.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abbitt, J. D., III, and Carroll, B. F.(1993). “Applied aerodynamics experience for secondary science teachers and students.” J. Eng. Educ., 82(3), 185–188.
Adelson, G., and Blais, R. R. (1998). “Project lead the way: A model program for initiating, funding, and maintaining a successful pre-engineering program in the nation’s high schools.” Proc., 1998 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Anwar, S. (2000). “A contemporary science and engineering education program for 8th and 9th grade students.” Proc., 2000 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Asoodeh, M. M., and Steidley, C. W. (1997). “Our “flying circus” of CIM.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Benenson, G., Neujahr, J. L., Seignoret, H., and Goldman, E. (1997). “Encouraging engineering students to become teachers.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Biernacki, J. J., Walhof, L., and Shao, Y. (1997). “Infrastructure materials: An inquiry-based design sequence.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Bottomley, L. J., and Parry, E. A. (1998). “Exciting children about science and engineering: The science of playgrounds.” Proc., 1998 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Bottomley, L. J., Parry, E. A., Washburn, S., Hossain, A., and Meyer, R. (2000). “Engineering students in K–12 schools.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Bottomley, L. J., Rajala, S., and Porter, R. (1999). “Engineering outreach teams: K–12 outreach at North Carolina State University.” Proc., 1999 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Bruck, H. A., Rocheleau, D. N., and Rogers, C. A. (1998). “Development of statewide engineering head start program.” Proc., 1998 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Burghardt, M. D. (1996). “Hofstra’s Center for Technology Education: A model for engineering involvement in K–12 education.” Proc., 1996 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Carroll, D. R.(1997). “Bridge engineering for the elementary grades.” J. Eng. Educ., 86(3), 227–231.
Crawford, R. H., Wood, K. L., Fowler, M. L., and Norrell, J. L.(1994). “An engineering design curriculum for the elementary grades.” J. Eng. Educ., 83(2), 172–181.
Cyr, M., Miragila, V., Nocera, T., and Rogers, C.(1997). “A low-cost, innovative methodology for teaching engineering through experimentation.” J. Eng. Educ., 86(2), 167–171.
deGrazia, J., Sullivan, J. F., Carlson, L. E., and Carlson, D. W. (2000). “Engineering in the K–12 classroom: A partnership that works.” Proc., 2000 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
deGrazia, J., Sullivan, J. F., Carlson, L. E., and Carlson, D. W.(2001). “A K–12/university partnership: Creating tomorrow’s engineers.” J. Eng. Educ., 90(4), 557–563.
Demetry, C., and Nicoletti, D. W. (1997). “Camp REACH: An engineering summer camp for middle school girls.” Proc., 1997 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Dozier, R. J., Blaisdell, S. L., and Anderson-Rowland, M. R. (1997). “Teaching and learning in an era of equality: An engineering program for middle school girls.” Proc., 1997 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Duffy, J., Tsang, E., and Lord, S. (2000). “Service-learning in engineering: What, why, and how?” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Erwin, B. (1998). “K–12 education and systems engineering: A new perspective.” Proc., 1998 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Fadali, M. S., Robinson, M., and McNichols, K. (2000). “Teaching engineering to K–12 students using role playing games.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Genalo, L. J., Athreya, K. S., and Dieterich, A. K. (1998a). “Internet Explorers: An NSF sponsored internship.” Proc., 1998 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Genalo, L. J., Bruning, M., and Adams, B. (2000). “Creating a K–12 engineering educational outreach center.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Genalo, L. J., Wright, C. T., and Wright, K. B. (1998b). “Toying with technology in elementary education.” Proc., 1998 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Genalo, L. J., Wright, C. T., Jr., Wright, K. B., and Collier, C. L. (1997). “Toying with technology: Mobile robots and high school interns.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Hanesian, D., and Perna, A. J. (1998). “Chemical engineering and chemistry experimentation as an introduction to engineering for K–12 students.” Proc., 1998 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Hannan, J., et al. (1997). “An engineering design summer camp for a diverse group of high school students.” Proc., 1997 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Jordan, C. L., Anderson-Rowland, M. R., and McCartney, M. A. (1999). “Recruiting underrepresented minorities through an engineering summer institute.” Proc., 1999 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Jordan, W., Elmore, B., and Silver, D. (2000). “Creating a course in engineering problem solving for future teachers.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Langen, G. (2000). “Ohio State teaching fellows to enhance elementary science, math education.” News Release, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, Ohio.
Mathias-Riegel, B.(2001). “Engineering that’s elementary.” Prism,10(7), 34–36.
Mattox, D. M., and Ghahramani, B. (2000). “Learning style, oriented web-based support modules for K–12 education.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
McGourty, J., and Lopez, G. (2000). “Undergraduate engineering students as mentors in an inner-city high school: A pilot program.” Proc., 2000 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
McKenna, A., and Agogino, A.(1998). “A web-based instructional module for teaching middle school students engineering design with simple machines.” J. Eng. Educ., 87(4), 437–444.
Mengel, S. A. (1997). “K–12 and the World Wide Web.” Proc., 1997 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Muller, C. B., and Carlsen, W. S. (1997). “Fostering educational innovation at the level of individual professionals in K–12: A case study.” Proc., 1997 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
National Research Council (NRC). (1996). “National science standards.” National Research Council Rep., Washington D.C.
National Science Board (NSB). (2000). “Science and engineering indicators—2000.” Rep. NSB 00-1, Arlington, Va.
National Science Foundation (NSF). (2000). “Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering.” Rep., NSF 00-327, Arlington, Va.
National Science Foundation (NSF). (2001). “NSF graduate teaching fellows in K–12 education (GK-12).” Rep. NSF 01-114, Arlington, Va.
Ohland, M., Hoit, M., and Kantowski, M. (1996). “Teaching teachers to teach engineering: The 19th annual SECME summer institute.” Proc., 1996 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Ondracek, R. P., and Leslie-Pekecky, D. (1999). “ScienceWorks: A university-based science outreach group.” Proc., 1999 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Poole, S. J., deGrazia, J. L., and Sullivan, J. F. (1999). “Assessing K–12 pre-engineering outreach programs.” Proc., 1999 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Price, A. H. (2000). “Recommendations for establishing small scale K, 1 outreach.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Pritchard, M. S., and Tsang, E. (2000). “Service learning: A positive approach to teaching engineering ethics and social impact of technology.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Proulx, D. (1996). “Concurrent engineering: A new way to introduce the engineering profession to high school students.” Proc., 1996 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Rathod, M. S., and Gipson, J. H. (1997). “The SMARTE enrichment projects: Laboratory based learning for 8th grade students.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Rathod, M. S., and Gipson, J. H. (1999). “The SMARTE enrichment projects: Summer academy for middle school teachers.” Proc., 1999 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Reid, K. J. (2000). “The young scholars summer program in electronics and computers.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Robinson, M., and Fadali, M. S. (1998). “A model to promote the study of engineering through a capstone course for pre service secondary science and mathematics teachers.” Proc., 1998 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Robinson, M., Fadali, M. S., Carr, J., and Maddux, C. (1999). “Engineering principles for high school students.” Proc., 1999 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Sanoff, A. P. (2001). “Building tomorrow’s workforce.” ASEE Prism Online, 〈http://www.asee.org/prism/feb01/index.htm〉 (Feb. 2001).
Sappington, T., and Toghiani, R. K. (2000). “SEE for kids: K–6 outreach efforts at Mississippi State University.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Schmahl, K. E. (1996). “Introducing engineering to girl scouts.” Proc., 1996 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Sharp, J. M., Chandler, T. L., and Petersen, J. A. (2000). “Teaching teachers to apply engineering: A tale of two high school classrooms.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Stevens, K. K., and Schlossberg, S. M. (1998). “Technology Connection—A program for precollege orientation and recruiting.” Proc., 1998 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Sullivan, J. F., Davis, S. E., Derazia, J. L., and Carlson, D. W. (1999). “Beyond the pipeline: Building a K–12 engineering outreach program.” Proc., 1999 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Taylor, K., and Homkes, R. (1996). “VISION 95: A teacher improvement program gets bigger and better.” Proc., 1996 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Titcomb, S. L. (2000). “An engineering design teaching guide for high school teachers.” Proc., 2000 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
“Toledo area partnership in education: Support teachers as resources to improve elementary science (TAPESTRIES).” (2001). 〈http://www.tapestries.ut-bgsu.utoledo.edu〉 (Sep. 2001).
Tsang, E., Martin, D., and Decker, R. (1997). “Service-learning as a strategy for engineering education for the 21st century.” Proc., 1997 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Tsang, E., and Newman, E. J. (1998). “Service-learning’s effect on engineering students and K–12 teacher partnership in an “Introduction to Mechanical Engineering” course.” Proc., 1998 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
Vickers, K., and Samson, P. (2000). “The role of a middle/high school engineering design contest in student preparation for higher education and careers.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
“West Point bridge design contest.” (2003). 〈http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/〉 (Jan. 2003).
Wilson, S. S. (2000). “Developing a plan for recruiting and retaining women and minorities in engineering technology at Western Kentucky University.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Wilson, D. M., and Chizeck, H. (1999). “Aligning outreach with cognitive development: K–12 initiatives in electrical engineering at the University of Washington.” Proc., 1999 Frontiers in Education Annual Conf., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
“Women in engineering (WIE) summer camp.” (2001). 〈http://www.engr.udayton.edu/Special/wie/default.htm〉 (Sep. 2001).
Zachary, L. W., Sharp, J. M., and Adams, B. M. (2000). “Engineering connections: Teaching engineering mechanics to K–12 teachers.” Proc., 2000 ASEE Annual Conf., American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 130 • Issue 2 • April 2004
Pages: 95 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 1, 2001
Accepted: Jan 2, 2003
Published online: Mar 15, 2004
Published in print: Apr 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.