Pre-University Education Coordinating Committee (PECC) Educational Activities Board 16 February, 2008 Arthur Winston, Chair

Tasks l Currently there are 4 functions assigned to the PECC: l TryEngineering.org l Teacher-in Service Program (TISP) l International Pre-University Conference l Liaison with USA

TryEngineering.org l I should state that Moshe, and the staff including Doug and Yvonne have been very much involved and contributing to all the PECC tasks l Yvonne will provide a short demonstration of TryEngineering.org but first an overview

TryEngineering.org (cont.) l IEEE and IBM have created a new Web site that combines information on engineering careers with interactive activities l Intended for pre-university students, parents, teachers, school counselors, TryEngineering.org lets the visitor explore how to prepare for an engineering career, ask experts engineering-related questions, find schools and programs, and play interactive games

TryEngineering.org (cont.) l Sections: l Find a University – Search for accredited engineering and engineering technology degree programs l Life of an Engineer – Profiles of real-life engineers highlight what an average work day can be like l Become an Engineer – Students can learn how to prepare for a career in engineering

TryEngineering.org (cont.) l Ask an Expert – Visitors can send an engineering-related question to either an engineering undergraduate student or an engineer l Lesson Plans – Teachers can download free lesson plans that are aligned with national US education standards on a variety of topics l Play Games – participants can try their hand at virtual activities that introduce them to basic engineering concepts

TryEngineering.org (cont.) l Statistics (as of 31 December 2007) l 2.5 Million total page hits in 2007 l 33,575 = average # of visitors per month l 156,807 = average # of page hits per month l 5,581 = average number of university searches per month l 2818 = questions submitted to Ask an Expert l Visitors come from the US, India, China, Canada, UK and scores of other countries

TISP l Piloted by the Florida West Coast Section in 2001 l Purpose l To enhance the level of technological literacy of pre-university educators l To establish engineer/educator partnerships to promote applied inquiry-based learning l To expose teachers to career options for their students in engineering and other technical fields

TISP (cont.) l Sample Presentation Topics: l “Everything You Wanted to Know About Electric Motors But Were Afraid to Ask” l “Build Your Own Robot Arm” l “Effective Lighting” l “Light Waves and Spectroscopes” l “Get Connected with Ohm’s Law” l “Build Working Models Using Household Items” l “Rotational Equilibrium: A Question of Balance” l “Cracking the Code”

TISP (cont.) l Sixty six + presentations to date l Over 1570 pre-university educators have participated l Science, technology and mathematics disciplines l Elementary teachers account for 17% of the attendees l 180,000+ students represented l Over 90% of the respondents agreed that they would use the concepts presented in their classroom instruction, and that doing so would enhance the level of technological literacy of their students l Volunteers tell us that ~40% of the teachers attending a TISP session use the concepts presented in their classrooms within 60 days

International Pre-University Conference l An international conference, “Meeting the Growing Demand for Engineers and Their Educators ” was held in Munich Germany from the 9 – 11 November 2007 l Purpose: Discuss the growing demand for engineers and their educators, and actions required to meet that demand for engineers and their educators in the period

International Pre-University Conference (cont.) l Arthur Winston was the Conference Chair assisted by Bill Sparkman, Program Committee Chair and Moshe Kam and Doug Gorham and a team made up of US and European members including representatives from IEEE Germany, VDE, and the Fraunhofer Institute

International Pre-University Conference (cont.) l Objectives: l Establish and expand partnerships and open channels of communication among the constituent organizations l Make recommendations to the relevant organizations based on best practices identified and agreed upon l Develop action plans that help those countries and educational sectors most in need of solutions to implement the recommendations

International Pre-University Conference (cont.) l Outcome: l 135 attendees from industry, academia, engineering societies, and pre-university educators l 61 papers focused on attracting students, collaborations, educators, pedagogical approaches, or national systems. l Breakout session recommendations/suggestions l Address the image/perception of engineers and engineering l Develop resources (hands-on and informational) for pre-university teachers and counselors

International Pre-University Conference (cont.) l Other suggestions: l engineers in the classroom program l teacher in-service training l best practices in collaborations between industry, academia, government l Internships for high school teachers l holistic engineering degree program l establishing innovation think tanks at universities l establishing curriculum standards for engineering

USA Precollege Education Committee (PEC) l The chair of PEC is invited to our PECC Meetings and we are invited to PEC Meetings l There is a PEC Meeting in Salt Lake City on the weekend of 7 March, however this time conflicts with a meeting of the Foundation Board, where I am a VP l Rob Reilly, PECC member will attend