Engineering Design and Problem Solving from The University of Texas at Austin

Presentation Highlights  Why and how did a top-10 school of engineering get involved in high school engineering education?  What is the Engineer Your World curriculum?  How do we prepare and support our teachers?  What’s next for our program?  How can Engineer Your World invest in your students?

Engineering is not just for college anymore. And yet little is known about effective engineering education (curriculum and instruction) at the secondary level.

Engineer Your World solves two problems.  The problems: A dearth of available, affordable high school engineering curriculum accessible to all students A scarcity of teachers prepared and supported to teach such a course  The solution: A nationally vetted, low-cost, human-centered high school engineering course A strong commitment to teacher development and support

Engineer Your World is part of a comprehensive approach. Graduate Degrees for Practitioners: Master of Arts in STEM Education – Engineering (MASEE) Bachelor’s Degrees for STEM Majors Pursing Teaching Certification Degree Programs for Current and Future Teachers Important Research in the Emerging Field of Engineering Education Research and Evaluation Independent Evaluation to Determine Project Effectiveness A model high school engineering course and supporting professional development: Curriculum for High School Engineering Education

Engineer Your World succeeds in a growing network of schools. StatesSchoolsTeachersStudents Growth of Engineer Your World network, beginning with pilot year Engineer Your World Partner Schools Engineer Your World Partner Schools

Engineer Your World is standards- based for national deployment. Satisfies national Next Generation Science Standards for engineering Meets all draft Advanced Placement ® standards for engineering Satisfies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Engineering Design & Problem Solving Aligns with New York State Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry and Design (Engineering Design) Approved by University of California System for California A-G credit

Engineer Your World is broadening participation. Curriculum attractive and accessible to a diverse population Curriculum affordable to rural and struggling urban schools

Presentation Highlights  Why and how did a top-10 school of engineering get involved in high school engineering education?  What is the Engineer Your World curriculum?  How do we prepare and support our teachers?  What’s next for our program?  How can Engineer Your World invest in your students?

Our curriculum is designed to engage students.  Authentic engineering practices  Project-based environment 80 % hands-on Teacher-guided, student-driven  Engineering (& 21 st Century) Skills Creativity and innovation Critical thinking and problem solving Communication and collaboration  Exploring engineering fields and professions

ACTIVITY: Introduce engineering and establish class norms MESSAGE: Communication and documentation matter SKILLS: Develop documentation norms Develop collaboration norms FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Overview of engineering fields/professions INTRODUCTION: Overview and Norms (1 week)

ACTIVITY: Gather and interpret customer needs to inform the redesign of a hand-powered flashlight MESSAGE: Engineers design for customers SKILLS: Interview customers and interpret needs Define design requirements FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Engineers who practice “universal design” EXPLORATION: Designing for Customers (1.5 weeks)

FOCUS: “Discovering” the engineering design process CHALLENGE: Design a pinhole camera for artists with disabilities MESSAGE: Engineered solutions evolve with changing customer wants and needs SKILLS: Analyze and interpret requirements Generate concepts Embody a design Test and redesigning Create technical documentation CHALLENGE: Discovering Design (6 weeks)

ACTIVITY: Design an experiment to brew the perfect cup of coffee SKILLS: Collect and organize data Generate and analyze statistical representations Create and interpret graphs FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Chemical engineering EXPLORATION: Understanding Data (1.5 weeks)

FOCUS: Acquiring and analyzing data to inform designs CHALLENGE: Design a safer building to withstand earthquakes MESSAGE: Engineers improve lives SKILLS: Construct, use and understand the limitations of models Apply techniques of instrumentation and experimentation Acquire, analyze and represent data to inform design decisions FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Civil engineering CHALLENGE: Designing with Data (6 weeks)

Designing with Data

FOCUS: Reverse engineering (design techniques) CHALLENGE: Redesign a hand-powered flashlight MESSAGE: Engineers design the products of our everyday lives SKILLS: Interpret customer needs Benchmark consumer products Develop design specifications Create functional models and technical drawings CHALLENGE: Reverse Engineering and Product Redesign (5 weeks)

ACTIVITY: Build and program an electric tone generator SKILLS: Build a circuit with an Arduino microcontroller Program the microcontroller using visual and textual commands FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Electrical engineering EXPLORATION: Programming Microcontrollers (1.5 weeks)

FOCUS: Systems engineering CHALLENGE: Design & deploy an automated aerial imaging system MESSAGE: Engineers collaborate to solve complex challenges SKILLS: Manage an engineering project Analyze and decompose a system Integrate subsystem designs Identify and mitigate risks Develop and execute a launch plan FIELD/PROFESSIONS: Aerospace engineering CHALLENGE: Systems Engineering (7 weeks)

Presentation Highlights  Why and how did a top-10 school of engineering get involved in high school engineering education?  What is the Engineer Your World curriculum?  How do we prepare and support our teachers?  What’s next for our program?  How can Engineer Your World invest in your students?

We start with two weeks of professional development at UT Austin. Engaging teams of teachers in authentic engineering practices “I wish every professional development would take some notes from you. Every single thing was relevant. This is one of the best professional developments that I have ever been to.” Participant Modeling effective teaching practices for project-based instruction

 Access to an emerging virtual professional learning community of 79 teachers from 12 states (and counting)  Monthly videoconferences with fellow Engineer Your World teachers  Emerging peer mentor program  On-demand access to staff engineers and instructional coaches “It's an amazing curriculum…. (T)he support from UTeachEngineering is fantastic!” Participant We continue with comprehensive induction support.

Presentation Highlights  Why and how did a top-10 school of engineering get involved in high school engineering education?  What is the Engineer Your World curriculum?  How do we prepare and support our teachers?  What’s next for our program?  How can Engineer Your World invest in your students?

Where are we going in ?  Piloting “dual enrollment” option (UT Austin credit)  Piloting computationally rigorous second-year course, possibly to enable engineering computing credit (UT Austin credit)  Piloting research into effective recruitment strategies for broadening participation  Continuing research into student impacts

Presentation Highlights  Why and how did a top-10 school of engineering get involved in high school engineering education?  What is the Engineer Your World curriculum?  How do we prepare and support our teachers?  What’s next for our program?  How can Engineer Your World invest in your students?

We are recruiting partner schools for our research. Apply for matching funds at Our Investment (up to $6500) Your Investment ($5000)

Schools applying for save $2000. Apply for matching funds at Our Investment (up to $8500) Your Investment ($3000)

What are the program costs over time? * Costs do not include dual enrollment credit.