1. The Teacher In-Service Program in South America
September
Trinidad and Tobago
Port of Spain
Litsa Micheli-Tzanakou
IEEE Vice President,
Educational Activities

2. A Few Words about IEEE
IEEE is the largest professional engineering association in the world
367,000 members in 150 countries
A 501(c)3 organization incorporated in New York
Originally concentrating on power engineering and communications, IEEE at present spans technical interests across the spectrum of technology
From nanotechnology to oceanic engineering
In many respects IEEE has become “the steward of Engineering”

3. AIEE IRE Established 1884 An American Organization
Representing the establishment
Rooted in Power Engineering
First computers working group
Now the Computer Society
Established 1908
An international Organization
Open to students, young
professionals
Quick to adopt advances in radar, radio, TV, electronics, computers
Proceedings of the Institute of
Radio Engineers (January 1913)
1963: Merger of AIEE and IRE to create IEEE

4. What is IEEE? A membership organization
A major creator and guardian of technical IP
A mechanism to bring people of common technical interests together
both geographically and disciplinarily
A guardian of the future of Engineering
An implementer of technology-related public Imperatives

5. What is IEEE? A membership organization
A major creator and guardian of technical IP
A mechanism to bring people of common technical interests together
both geographically and disciplinarily
A guardian of the future of Engineering
An implementer of technology-related public Imperatives

6. What does IEEE do?
Publishes literature in engineering, technology and computing
Organizes conferences
Develops standards
Gets engineers and technologists from different locales together
Organizes professional activities among engineering students
Educates the public about Engineering

7. What does IEEE do?
Publishes literature in engineering, technology and computing
Organizes conferences
Develops standards
Gets engineers and technologists from different locales together
Organizes professional activities among engineering students
Educates the public about Engineering

8. Total IEEE Membership 1963 - 2007
1993
1983
1973
1963
Provided by John Day from MDC Meeting Feb 07. Based on Year end data.

9. IEEE Higher Grade Membership 1963 - 2007
Provided by John Day from MDC Meeting Feb 07. Based on Year end data.
Excludes Graduate Student Member (GSM) grade

10. IEEE Student Membership 1963 - 2007
Provided by John Day from MDC Meeting Feb 07. Based on Year end data.
Above data includes Students and GSMs

11. IEEE Membership By Region 31 December 2007
67,157
R1 to 6 – 212,838
R7 – 15,947
R1 – 37,973
R2 – 32,363
R3 – 30,782
R4 – 23,555
R5 – 29,020
R6 – 59,145
Provided by John Day from MDC Meeting Feb 07. Based on Year end data.
Reflecting the global nature of IEEE, R8 and R10 are now the two largest IEEE Regions

12. Why is IEEE interested in pre-university engineering education
Because it is in our stated and un-stated mission
Because in many IEEE Sections there is marked decline in the interest of young people in Engineering
This is bad for the future of these communities and would have a negative impact on their standard of living
Because we do not believe the problem is going to be tackled effectively without us
Industry does not appear to be able to address the problem directly
Governments do not appear sufficiently concerned (yet)
Other engineering associations look up to us

13. What is the Problem?
Flat or declining engineering enrollments in most developed nations
Coupled with disappointing performance of youth in Mathematics
E.g., “free fall” in Scandinavia
Insufficient number of engineers and engineering educational programs in most developing countries
Asia is far behind Europe and the US in number of engineers per capita

14. What is the Problem?
Women & minority students conspicuously under-represented
Public perception of engineers/ engineering/ technology is largely misinformed
Resulting in early decisions that block the path of children to Engineering

15. Percentage of Science Degrees Awarded
Science degrees include life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer sciences, engineering, manufacturing, and building
Source: Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development

16. BS Degrees Awarded (US)
Retirements of engineers will increase dramatically over the next 20 years, impacting our national competitiveness and our national capacity to perform. This alone creates a national imperative.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

17. Pre-university activities in IEEE

18. IEEE’s Pre-University Initiative
New Initiative
“Launching Our Children’s Path to Engineering”
Objectives
Increase the propensity of young people worldwide to select Engineering as a career path
Build a sustained public awareness program, led by IEEE, with broad support of corporations and professional associations

19. Objective 1: Engineering in the pre-university classroom
Institutionalization of IEEE Teacher In Service Program
IEEE Section engineers develop and present technology-oriented projects to local pre-university educators
Emphasis on volunteer-teacher interaction as opposed to volunteer-student interaction
Ideally: a sustained program involving several thousand schools every year

20. Objective 2: Engineering Associations, Unite!
Center for Pre-University Engineering Education
Ideally, the resource of choice for pre-university cooperation with Engineering Associations
Ideally, a multi-association organization
With partners such as ASCE, ASME, IEE, SEE
It is about ENGINEERING, not Electrical Engineering

21. Objective 3: Strong On-line presence
New on-line portals for students, teachers, school counselors, and parents
Educational and entertaining
Focused on the audience
From lesson plans for teachers to games for children
Ideally, the premier on-line resource on engineering for pre-university students

22. Tryengineering.org “Strong On-line presence”
On Line Portal
Tryengineering.org
“Strong On-line presence”

23. The Web provides us with high potential for reachability
A successful portal can become a major resource for students, parents, school counselors, and teachers
But success is difficult in an ever-crowded medium
Effort needs to be coupled with more modern tools
Instant messaging, podcasts

24. What information is needed on line?
We met with school counselors and Engineering Associations
Need on line tools for identifying formal and informal engineering education opportunities
Engineering associations that participated in our discussions
ACM, AIChE, AIAA, ASME, ASCE, IEE, JETS, SAE, SEE, Sloane Career Cornerstone Center

25. What information is available on line?
We conducted a comprehensive review of engineering education resources
By EAB and consultants
Conclusions:
Many “Engineering Resources” are actually focusing on Science and Mathematics
Resources for teachers are largely inadequate
Wrong message is sent about the nature of engineering and the life of engineers

26. From Collegeboard.com: Law
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
fascinated by the relationship between law and society
engage in intense discussion of thorny legal problems ?

27. From Collegeboard.com: Broadcast Journalism
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
sharp of mind and quick of tongue
learn how to find and interview sources?

28. From Collegeboard.com: Civil Engineering
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
A problem-solver who’s creative, curious, logical, and a fan of math.
Spend hours and hours working on problem sets and design projects?

29. From Collegeboard.com: Civil Engineering
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
A problem-solver who’s creative, curious, logical, and a fan of math.
Spend hours and hours working on problem sets and design projects?

30. From Collegeboard.com: Mechanical Engineering
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
A fan of science and math, a creative problem solver, and someone who likes to take things apart to find out how they work.
Rely on your math skills? Master difficult scientific concepts? Take on a heavy course load? Spend five years as an undergrad…

31. From Collegeboard.com: Electrical Engineering
It helps to be…
Are you ready to…
A fan of science and math who’s curious about the way things work
Spend hours building detailed, complicated systems
Try, try, and try again when at first a project doesn’t succeed

33. Good existing model Tryscience.org Partnership between
“Your gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide.”
Science is exciting, and it's for everyone!
Partnership between
IBM
the New York Hall of Science
the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Science centers worldwide

34. Next step – tryengineering.org
Companion site to tryscience.org
Comprehensive
Ultimate Audience: young people ages 9-18
Designed to convey excitement about engineering and design
Can-do attitude
Hands-on experience
Positive image of the engineering process and engineering
“Discover the creative engineer in you”

35. www.TryEngineering.org IEEE’s pre-university education portal
For students, parents, teachers and school counselors
A joint project of IEEE, IBM, and the New York Hall of Science
Non-IEEE investment of approximately $1.5M
US/Canada version was launched on June 2006
Seven versions in other languages have since been launched
Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Russian

36. Tryengineering.org
A portal for students, parents, school counselors and teachers
University search
By location, program, environment
Day in the life of an engineer
Hands-on and virtual projects
Class plans for teaching engineering design
Ask an engineer
Ask a student
Games
Summer camps, internship opportunities

37. Countries of Users: English Version
India (5%)
China (3.3%)
Canada
United Kingdom
Austria
Australia
Malaysia
Germany
Japan
Thailand
South Africa
Korea
Brazil

38. Most Requested Files: Lesson Plans
Build a robot arm
Cracking the Code (bar codes)
Critical Load (Civil Engineering)

39. Languages 中文 Chinese Deutsch German Español Spanish Français French 邦人
Japanese
Português
Portuguese
русский
Russian

40. TryEngineering.org Non-English sites Monthly Averages
Language
Page Hits*
Visitors*
Spanish
25890
4553
Russian
22188
2930
Japanese
21040
2666
German
20848
2593
French
20379
2746
Chinese
14611
2643
*Monthly average for period 1 June – 31 March 08

41. TryEngineering Key Statistics As of August 2008
2.5 MILLION HITS IN 2007 … 2.8 MILLION HITS IN JAN-AUG ‘08
Average # of visitors per month: 40,562
Highest number of total unique visitors: 67,006 (May 08)
Average # of page hits per month: 214,558
Average number of university searches per month: 8,362
Questions submitted to Ask an Expert: 3572

44. The Teacher in Service Program
“Engineering in the classroom”

45. The Teacher In Service Program (TISP)
A program that trains IEEE volunteers to work with pre-university teachers
Based on approved Lesson Plans
Prepared by IEEE volunteers
Tested in classrooms
Associated with Education Standards
Designed to highlight engineering design principles
The cost is less than $100 for a class of 30

46. Inception February 2001 IEEE Florida West Coast Section
In conjunction with the University of South Florida College of Engineering

47. How does it work?
Volunteers of an IEEE Section organize a TISP training event
EAB provides logistical support and instructors
Volunteers gather for a day and a half of training
With teachers and school administrators
Volunteers spread the program in their school districts

49. 2006-2007 Boston Indianapolis Kuala Lumpur Cape Town Lima, Peru
Rio de Janeiro
Baltimore
Dallas

50. 2008
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Cordoba (Argentina)
Port of Spain

51. Teacher In-Service Program Presentations
To date, over 70 TISP presentations have been conducted by IEEE volunteers
TISP presentations have reached over 1600 pre-university educators
This reach represents more than 180,000 students

52. TISP presentations by volunteers Survey Results 1124 teachers/respondents

53. TISP presentations by volunteers Survey Results 1124 teachers/respondents

55. Basics
IEEE Section engineers develop and present technology-oriented projects to local pre-university educators 
Lesson plans in English and Spanish for teachers and engineers

56. Basics (2) Lesson plans matched to educational standards
The program is focused at the primary (6-14) and secondary (15-18) school systems

57. Activity Sample

58. Build working models with household items

59. Design and Build a Better Candy Bag
Lesson Focus
Demonstrate how product design differences can affect the success of a final product
in this case a bag for holding candy.
Students work in pairs to evaluate, design, and build a better candy bag

60. What do we want to achieve in Port of Spain ?
Create a sustainable pre-university engineering education program
TISP program
Participation in TryEngineering.org
Reach 150 pre-university teachers in one year
All over the country
300 teachers in the next two years
Make TryEngineering a popular resource among teachers and students in the pre-university and university communities in Trinidad and Tobago

61. Questions and comments