ENCOURAGING CENTRAL TEXAS SCHOOL CHILDREN TO PURSUE TECHNOLOGY CAREERS WELCOME! Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | ENGINEERINTHECLASS.ORG CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING

Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | ENGINEERINTHECLASS.ORG AGENDA 1.Overview of Central Texas Discover Engineering 2.Hands-on Activity 3.“Changing the Conversation” 4.Next Steps: Q&A

ENCOURAGING CENTRAL TEXAS SCHOOL CHILDREN TO PURSUE TECHNOLOGY CAREERS Grand Challenge #1: Make Solar Energy More Economical CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING?

OUR MISSION Excite kids about STEM careers Provide group-oriented, in-class, hands-on engineering activities Engage engineers as volunteers in the community Support the efforts of the National Engineers Week Foundation. ENGINEERS IN OUR AREA Provide hands-on experiments that demonstrate teamwork and logic Discuss their jobs and explain a “Day in the life of an engineer” Discuss the reasons they chose engineering Grand Challenge #2: Provide Energy from Fusion WHAT IS CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING?

STEERING COMMITTEE Host meetings year-round Subcommittees include: o Marketing, Fundraising, School Recruitment, Outreach, Volunteer Matching, and Inventory Control CURRENT MEMBERSHIP 3M Applied Materials AT&T Labs City of Austin HVJ Associates IBM IEEE Intel MACTEC Skillpoint Alliance SWE University of Texas at Austin Grand Challenge #3: Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods LOCAL LEADERSHIP

ENGAGING ENGINEERS VOLUNTEER INVOLVEMENT Engineers serve as role models Describe their jobs, education and engineering in an engaging way Lead hands-on, teamwork and problem-solving activities in the classroom VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT One-hour “Lunch ‘n Learn” on high-tech campuses Sign up for weekly e-newsletter OUR IMPACT Recruit hundreds of engineers throughout the region Introduce engineering to over 10,000 students each year Grand Challenge #4: Manage the Nitrogen Cycle

STEP 1: SIGN UP ONLINE Once registered, we will provide: School & Teacher Name Contact information Grade and number of students Preliminary date(s) for visit Activity Ideas & Resources Classroom Giveaways Grand Challenge #5: Provide access to clean water

STEP 2: PLAN YOUR VISIT Grand Challenge #6: Restore & improve public infrastructure TALK WITH THE TEACHERS What are the grade levels? How many classes will you see? How many students are in each class? How long are the class periods? What are they doing in class? Are there any special requirements? Work with the teacher to develop your plan PLAN WITH YOUR TEAM The classroom teacher is your first team member! Will school volunteers be available? Plan for a 1:12 volunteer-student ratio (if possible)

STEP 3: PREPARE YOUR TEAM BUILD YOUR TEAM Recruit Co-workers, Friends & Neighbors Engineers & Managers Scientists & Technicians No experience needed! REQUEST VOLUNTEERS send dates, times, and number of volunteers needed to MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION DAYS Pick up student & teacher items for your visit Paperclips, T-shirts, tattoos, erasers, etc. Prepare your team: What is expected of each person? How do they get there? When should they arrive? How long will they be there? Select & practice the activity Grand Challenge #7: Advance Health Informatics

STEP 4: FOLLOW THROUGH SAY THANK YOU Write a brief note to thank the teacher & students PROVIDE FEEDBACK Track # of completed visits & students we reached Update contact information Improve training, outreach & activities Volunteer Feedback | Teacher Feedback Volunteer Feedback Teacher Feedback STAY INVOLVED Share photos/testimonials: Volunteer at other STEM events during the year Grand Challenge #8: Engineer Better Medicines

Get to the school early –Check-in –Assemble your team –Meet with the teacher Introduce yourselves briefly (10%) –Who knows what an engineer does? –What you do and examples Establish the rules Engage students in hands-on activity (60%) Talk about what you did (10%) Ask for questions (10%) Clean up Say “thanks” Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VISIT Grand Challenge #9: Reverse Engineer the Brain

Get to the school early Introduce yourselves (15%) –Why you became an engineer –What you do and problems you have solved –Can you find something in this room that hasn’t been touched by an engineer? Establish the rules Engage the students in hands-on activity (50%) Talk about what you did (10%) Ask for questions (15%) Clean up Say “thanks” MIDDLE SCHOOL VISIT Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #10: Prevent Nuclear Terror

Get to the school early Introduce yourselves (15%) –Can you find something in this room that hasn’t been touched by an engineer? –Why you became an engineer –What things you and other engineers do –What qualities make for a good engineer Establish the rules Engage the students in hands-on activity (50%) Talk about what you did (10%) Ask for questions (15%) Clean up Say “thanks” HIGH SCHOOL VISIT | ACTIVITY-BASED Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #11: Secure Cyberspace

Get to the school early Establish the rules Talk about engineering (50%) –What you do and a “day in the life” –What other engineers do –What qualities make for a good engineer –What to expect in college & the first day on the job –Have a range of engineering disciplines represented Ask for questions (50%) –Be prepared! Say “thanks” HIGH SCHOOL VISIT | CAREER-BASED Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #12: Enhance virtual reality

HAVE FUN! Grand Challenge #13: Advance Personalized Learning

FOR MORE INFORMATION TRICIA BERRY, UT – AUSTIN KATIE KIZZIAR, THINKERY LONNY STERN, DISCOVER ENGINEERING ENGINEERINTHECLASS. ORG Grand Challenge #14: Engineer the Tools of Discovery

ACTIVITY TIME!

CHANGING THE CONVERSATION: MESSAGES FOR IMPROVING PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF ENGINEERING National Academy Of Engineering (NAE) Report

The Study In-depth interviews Youth “triads” (same-sex groups of three 9-11 year olds) Adult and teen focus groups Online survey that oversampled for African Americans and Hispanics 3,600 teens and adults Input from a cross section of the engineering community and others

Youth today... Teens have limited understanding of engineering or engineers (or STEM) Want well-paying jobs that make a difference See engineers (or STEM workers) as helping people, but not directly See engineers (or STEM workers) as desk jockeys, disconnected from people Few teens (<15%) describe engineering as “nerdy or boring”

Student Preconceptions Both believe engineering is a very good career choice African American boys (more than girls) think salary extremely important to job choices African American girls want a job that makes a difference  Hispanic girls (more than boys) think engineers are “nerdy & boring” Hispanic boys are more likely to believe engineering has a positive effect on people’s everyday lives

Qualitative Gender Findings Real gender differences Boys like space exploration and designing video games Girls gravitate to using DNA evidence to solve crimes Teen girls not sold! Engineering is creative? Work is rewarding? Engineers have a positive effect on people’s everyday lives?

Qualitative Gender Findings Younger girls pick images involving female engineers; boys more likely to pick images that features “things”

Engineering Messages Recommendations Stop reinforcing the images of “nerdy and boring” Stop focusing on math & science as the needed inputs and instead focus on: Outputs Career opportunities Making a difference in the world Use the word create, not build (or STEM) ^

Most Appealing Messages Engineers are creative problem-solvers Engineering is essential to our health, happiness and safety Engineers help shape the future Engineers make a world of difference Engineers connect science to the real world* * Least appealing overall, especially among teen girls

Engineering Messages Recommendations Use images of people, not things: especially avoid using gears and mechanical looking things Use the following five words in describing engineering: discovery, design, imagination, innovation, contribution Describe engineer as creative problem solvers, essential to health, happiness and safety Emphasize that engineers shape the future (or STEM) ^ (and scientists) ^

Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | ENGINEERINTHECLASS.ORG DISTRIBUTION DAYS Pick up teacher & student giveaways for your classroom visit LIFE STORAGE 2607 W. Braker Lane 12 – 1 PM Tue | Mon | Mon | Tue | Wed 1/12 | 2/15 | 3/21 | 4/12 | 5/4 to schedule a pick-up with your

Index Card Tower How much can your tower hold before collapsing? How tall can you make it? Materials: Index Cards Paper clips Task: Working in teams of 2-3, design and build a structure using ONLY index cards and paper clips. Your tower must be at least a foot high and able to support the weight of at least one book for 20 seconds or longer.