1. Dr. Laura Bottomley Mr. Rob Matheson Ms. Elizabeth Parry Ms. Pam Townsend Bringing Relevance to the Precollege Classroom through the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges of Engineering

2. NAE Grand Challenges www.engineeringchallenges.org Sustainability—Energy and Environment Make solar energy economical Próvida energy from fusion Develop carbon sequestration methods Provide access to clean water Manage nitrogen cycle Health—Engineering and Life Sciences Advance health informatics Engineer better medicines Reverse-engineer the brain

3. NAE Grand Challenges (cont.) www.engineeringchallenges.org Security—Physical infrastructure and Information Technology Restore and improve urban infrastructure Prevent nuclear terror Secure cyberspace Joy of Living—Personal technologies and Education Enhance virtual realete Advance personalized learning Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

4. NAE Grand Challenges vs. Maslow’s Hierarchy Grand Challenges 2008 Maslow’s Hierarchy 1943 Sustainability Health Security Joy of Living Physiological Needs Safety “Belongingness” and Esteem Self-actualization

5. History of the Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School (STEM ECHS) 2003—NC Innovative Education Initiatives Act 2005—first NC Early Colleges opened. Currently 74 in NC. 2009—NC Legislative action to establish the Joining Our Businesses and Schools (JOBS) Commission. Can innovative schools support economic and business development in NC? 2010—NC State University Dean of Engineering suggests to the JOBS Commission that the NAE Grand Challenges are a key to identify 21st Century jobs and will serve as a “hook or relevance” for underserved and under- represented students to study STEM in precollege education 2010—JOBS Commission recommends that a pilot STEM Early College High School focused on the Grand Challenges open in 2011 August 2011—STEM ECHS opened with fifty-five ninth grade students. An additional cohort added for the 2012-13 school year.

6. Targeted Students for Recruitment Ryan Haymore—Dean of Students Underserved students—those who do not maximize their potential in traditional, relatively large, comprehensive high schools Under-represented students—those who are not represented in the STEM disciplines by proportional representation (by gender, ethnicity, etc.) First-time college going students in their family Willing to accept the challenges of an integrated, accelerated, project-based high school and college education through the early college model

7. Recruitment Practices, Selection Process, and Demographics (Ryan Haymore, Dean of Students) Recruitment practices, lead by the Dean of Students, includes middle school visits, booth at the Magnet School Fair, school tours, and open houses Paper and online application phases—includes middles chool state test scores and course grades; student essay; and teacher and administrative references to form holistic view of student Scored against rubric to form selection pool, then stratified random selection of students Currently 50:50 by gender, over 60% non-white, over 50% first-time college goers, and over 40% free or reduced lunch (socioeconomic factor)

8. Academic and Vocational Goals Completion of NC Future Ready Core curriculum that leads to a NC high school diploma Completion of up to two years of NC State course credit Students “college ready” and prepared for educational activities beyond the first two years of college Students prepared to function as productive and effective citizens Students ready for the “world of work”

9. 21 Century Learning Outcomes (http://p21.org)http://p21.org Mastery of 21st Century interdisciplinary core content and themes Mastery of learning and innovation skills related to creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem- solving; and communication and collaboration Mastery of information, media, and technology skills Development of life and career skills (“soft skills”) such as flexibility and adaptability; initiative and self-direction; social and cross-cultural skills; productivity and accountability; and leadership and responsibility

10. “The Three-Legged Stool” Link the Grand Challenges to the science taught at a given grade level, integrated across STEM disciplines and the humanities (economic, ethical, legal, political, social, and sustainability issues) Project-based Learning “Whole child” development—includes Socratic seminar, college readiness, career exploration, job shadowing, internships and graduation project, etc.

11. Curriculum—Ninth Grade Grand Challenges: Access to Clean Water, Make Solar Energy Economical, Carbon Sequestration, Fusion Energy, and Tools for Scientific Discovery Honors Earth Science/Engineering Design I—”blended” yearlong, “A/B” flexible schedule, two course credits Integrated Math I/II or II/III—”Block” schedule, 90-minute classes for each semester, two credits Honors English I/World Geography—”blended” yearlong, A/B, two credits. Students learn how to apply Socratic seminar techiques to the economic, ethical, legal, political, social, and sustainability issues related to the Grand Challenges studied in ninth grade.

12. “Boomtown” Project in Honors Earth Science/Eng. Design I Aligned to Access to Clean Water from NAE Grand Challenges NC Earth Science Standards (ES). Scientific Inquiry: 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05 and 1.06. Lithospheric Materials and Human Impact: 2.05, 2.06, 2.07. Hydrosphere: 4.01, 4.04 Engineering Standards (GS). Research access to clean water: 2.01, 2.02. Understand designed systems: 2.04. Formulate solutions to problems: 2.05

13. Honors English I/World Geography All projects include a focus on: Components of both the Honors English I and World Geography curricula One or more of the Grand Challenges studied in the ninth grade One or more of the 21st Century skills previously mentioned (e.g. technology integration, collaboration, etc.) Example: “Survival Guide” project using the Lord of the Flies as the novel and Access to Clean Water the theme from the Grand Challenges

14. Pedagogy—Project-Based Learning (Carrie Horton, English teacher) “All children want choice, relevance, and discovery in their learning” Every student reads, writes, thinks, and speaks in every classroom every day (www.newschoolsproject.org)www.newschoolsproject.org “Entry” event to “hook” the student “Knows” and “need to knows” identified/modified throughout the project Use of rubrics to address content 21st Century skills such as collaboration, professionalism, innovation, and critical thinking Community involvement by higher education and the business community as mentors and “authentic audiences”

15. Assessments Business and college internship Formative Formulating essential questions for activities/projects Graduation project in the fifth (“supersenior”) year High school diploma NC State transcript Project-Based Learning and portfolio of artifacts PSAT, SAT, EXPLORE (9th grade), PLAN (10th grade), ACT (11th grade), and other standardized testing Socratic seminar Student, teacher, community, and parent surveys Summative (classroom and state testing)

16. Student Achievement, 2011-12 “Remember the demographics” Honors level courses taught by “master teachers” State final exams in English and math: 100% Proficiency Teacher-made final exams: > 89% A’s, B’s, and C’s Final course grades > 89% A’s, B’s, and C’s in all courses except Integrated Math I and II (76%) Met or exceeded growth on state exams: Algebra I = 97% and English I = 75%

17. External Support Business Advisory Board NC State University NC New Schools Project (provide coaching, staff development; also serve as one of their “anchor” schools for Energy and Sustainability school network, NC Race to the Top federal funding) Partner of the NC State Centennial Campus community Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC) has provided significant community support

18. Future Challenges for the STEM ECHS and Beyond…. “Replicability” of the model and specific challenges related to schools that are when rural vs. Urban, large vs. small student populations, lack a higher education partner, etc. Selection of Grand Challenges that relate to the strengths of local/regional/state/national/global economic environments Identification of college readiness—definition, curriculum, assessment, and remediation. Also differences between higher ed partners (community college, college, university) Mentor/Mentee Program NC State research study—ethinicity, gender, and first-generation status on science motivation and identity NC State College of Engineering outreach to middle and elementary schools

19. Appendices

20. Facilities and Administrative Services STEM ECHS temporarily located on NC State University campus in 2011-13 Instructional services (curriculum, staff development, and coaching) mostly provided by Wake County Schools and NC New Schools Project (www.newschoolsproject.org) in 9th and 10th grade. In grades 10-13, students accessing NC State courses on campuswww.newschoolsproject.org Added 55 ninth-grade students, six new teachers, Career Development Coordinator, and College Liaison in 2012-13 In 2013, move to NC State’s Centennial Campus and begin significant utilization of NC State services such as the First Year College counselling services, and use of computer lab and James B. Hunt library facilities

21. Significant Resources on the STEM ECHS website (http://stemec.wcpss.net)http://stemec.wcpss.net Grand Challenges taught by grade level and science course (9th through 12 grade science sequence (all honors level) is Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. Each science course has an “attached” engineering design elective course so students at the end of four years accumulate four science credits and four engineering design elective course credits. Five-Year Course of Study—still under development and will change for each individual student depending on their course of study they pursue as they take NC State course credits.

22. Contact Information Rob Matheson Principal, Wake NC State University STEM Early College HS 1220 Varsity Drive Raleigh, NC 27606 919-515-2308 (office) 919-515-2157 (fax) 919-986-9390 (cell) rmatheson@wcpss.net