K-12 / Computing across the Curriculum Jeff, Phil, Robert, Gavin, Mike, and Kate Ziemer (Northeastern ChE, SIOC K-12 Website initiative, BoD-elect)

Mission: Increase interest, awareness, and excitement for science and engineering, and chemical engineering in particular, in K-12 students by utilizing web-based tools to enable local volunteers to focus on exciting students in K-12 about engineering and science by disseminating national best practices and making local connections between the ultimate customers (students and teachers) and the resources (volunteers, information, companies, and resources), while increasing awareness of AIChE activities to the general public. AIChE/SIOC K-12 Web Initiative (established in Summer 2008) Centralize, Connect, Coordinate, and Communicate: Leveraging The National Volunteer Base and Ideas for Enhanced and Expanded Local Impact in K-12 Outreach.

K-12 Web Initiative Searchable and interactive database of modules, presentations, “How-To” instructions, brochures…. Collection of screened and formatted best practices from around the country related to chemical engineering and societal challenges that chemical engineers are involved in solving Way for volunteers to find activities/programs; way for teachers to find activities or local volunteers; way for new volunteers to find a way to contribute in their local area – way to connect with teachers to identify and meet their needs Way for AIChE to develop new outreach opportunities enabled by web technology – blogs, chats, interactive modules What will make us different?? MORE than just a database!

What to learn and how early? – Recognize that physical phenomena first and quantities may be involved – Then qualitative relations and quantitative relations – Thus evolve computational thinking Another aspect is: Communicate what engineers/ ChE are and do. Think about etomica’s three levels: 1.Observe and experiment with parameters. 2.Examine algorithms and build simple models. 3.Use or preview more sophisticated concepts, algorithms and applications. 11 Discussion

“CACHE” already is working with bringing engineering / ChE to high schools – Dave Allen’s UTeach education of HS teachers AIChE has a long record but low-level and grass- roots in K-12 outreach that is ramping up – Traditionally people going to schools (one-off) Frequently, NSF Career awardees do embedded outreach (partner with teacher, RET) How to get into curricular expectations and K-12 educational materials? 12 Discussion

Root of present UG (lack of) understanding of “computational thinking”: – We teach solution methods. – We aim to get across concepts that were used to build the solution methods (“algorithms”). – It’s harder to teach the incorporation of concepts into computer models – especially without teaching some kind of programming skills. Recognize it’s not to teach them to be programmers. Compare Excel vs. Matlab vs. Fortran/C/C++. To some extent, programming is newly cool – or it can be sold as cool (e.g., apps). Can algorithms be cool? – Maybe by deconstructing game logic. – Maybe by hot computing and graphics (GPGPUs). 13 Needs: Look to UG education

Expand “Computing across the Curriculum” task force’s mission to include K-12. Support AIChE’s new efforts in K-12. Address “algorithms across the curriculum” along with “computing across the curriculum.” Possible UG aspects: – Address improved ways to use Matlab / Excel to teach algorithms and computational thinking. – Actually press for teaching programming logic in new realization of context. K-12: – Work with AIChE K-12 initiative to incorporate connections with ChEcomputational thinking. A natural aspect is “computers for working with numbers” (vs. simulation). Teacher training / education is an aspect of AIChE initiative. CAChE should have a HS-level focus for its greatest impact. – Work with state-based teacher associations (workshops at meetings – UTeach aspect) and textbook scientific committees. – Polymath Lite. 14 Possible CACHE actions