Encouraging Central Texas School Children to Pursue Technology Careers

1. CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING Encouraging Central Texas School Children to Pursue Technology Careers WELCOME! Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | engineerintheclass.org

2. AGENDA • Overview of Central Texas Discover Engineering • Hands-on Activity • “Changing the Conversation” • Next Steps: Q&A Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | engineerintheclass.org

3. CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING? Encouraging Central Texas School Children to Pursue Technology Careers Grand Challenge #1: Make Solar Energy More Economical

4. WHAT IS CENTRAL TEXAS DISCOVER ENGINEERING? • OUR MISSION • Excite kids about STEM careers • Provide group-oriented, in-class, hands-on engineering activities • Engage engineers as volunteers in the community • Support the efforts of the National Engineers Week Foundation. • ENGINEERS IN OUR AREA • Provide hands-on experiments that demonstrate teamwork and logic • Discuss their jobs and explain a “Day in the life of an engineer” • Discuss the reasons they chose engineering Grand Challenge #2: Provide Energy from Fusion

5. LOCAL LEADERSHIP • STEERING COMMITTEE • Host meetings year-round • Subcommittees include: • Marketing, Fundraising, School Recruitment, Outreach, Volunteer Matching, and Inventory Control • CURRENT MEMBERSHIP • 3M • Applied Materials • AT&T Labs • City of Austin • HVJ Associates • IBM • IEEE • Intel • MACTEC • Skillpoint Alliance • SWE • University of Texas at Austin Grand Challenge #3: Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods

6. ENGAGING ENGINEERS • VOLUNTEER INVOLVEMENT • Engineers serve as role models • Describe their jobs, education and engineering in an engaging way • Lead hands-on, teamwork and problem-solving activities in the classroom • VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT • One-hour “Lunch ‘n Learn” on high-tech campuses • Sign up for weekly e-newsletter • OUR IMPACT • Recruit hundreds of engineers throughout the region • Introduce engineering to over 10,000 students each year Grand Challenge #4: Manage the Nitrogen Cycle

7. STEP 1: Sign UP ONLINE Once registered, we will provide: • School & Teacher Name • Contact information • Grade and number of students • Preliminary date(s) for visit • Activity Ideas & Resources • Classroom Giveaways Grand Challenge #5: Provide access to clean water

8. STEP 2: PLAN YOUR VISIT • Talk with the teachers • What are the grade levels? • How many classes will you see? • How many students are in each class? • How long are the class periods? • What are they doing in class? • Are there any special requirements? • Work with the teacher to develop your plan • PLAN WITH YOUR TEAM • The classroom teacher is your first team member! • Will school volunteers be available? • Plan for a 1:12 volunteer-student ratio (if possible) Grand Challenge #6: Restore & improve public infrastructure

9. STEP 3: Prepare Your TEam • Build your Team • Recruit Co-workers, Friends & Neighbors • Engineers & Managers • Scientists & Technicians • No experience needed! • Request Volunteers • send dates, times, and number of volunteers needed to volunteer@centexeweek.org • MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION DAYS • Pick up student & teacher items for your visit • Paperclips, T-shirts, tattoos, erasers, etc. Prepare your team: • What is expected of each person? • How do they get there? • When should they arrive? • How long will they be there? • Select & practice the activity Grand Challenge #7: Advance Health Informatics

10. STEP 4: Follow Through • Say Thank You • Write a brief note to thank the teacher & students • Provide Feedback • Track # of completed visits & students we reached • Update contact information • Improve training, outreach & activities • Volunteer Feedback | Teacher Feedback • Stay Involved • Share photos/testimonials: volunteer@centexeweek.org • Volunteer at other STEM events during the year Grand Challenge #8: Engineer Better Medicines

11. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VISIT • Get to the school early • Check-in • Assemble your team • Meet with the teacher • Introduce yourselves briefly (10%) • Who knows what an engineer does? • What you do and examples • Establish the rules • Engage students in hands-on activity (60%) • Talk about what you did (10%) • Ask for questions (10%) • Clean up • Say “thanks” Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #9: Reverse Engineer the Brain

12. MIDDLE SCHOOL VISIT • Get to the school early • Introduce yourselves (15%) • Why you became an engineer • What you do and problems you have solved • Can you find something in this room that hasn’t been touched by an engineer? • Establish the rules • Engage the students in hands-on activity (50%) • Talk about what you did (10%) • Ask for questions (15%) • Clean up • Say “thanks” Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #10: Prevent Nuclear Terror

13. HIGH SCHOOL VISIT | Activity-based • Get to the school early • Introduce yourselves (15%) • Can you find something in this room that hasn’t been touched by an engineer? • Why you became an engineer • What things you and other engineers do • What qualities make for a good engineer • Establish the rules • Engage the students in hands-on activity (50%) • Talk about what you did (10%) • Ask for questions (15%) • Clean up • Say “thanks” Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #11: Secure Cyberspace

14. HIGH SCHOOL VISIT | Career-based • Get to the school early • Establish the rules • Talk about engineering (50%) • What you do and a “day in the life” • What other engineers do • What qualities make for a good engineer • What to expect in college & the first day on the job • Have a range of engineering disciplines represented • Ask for questions (50%) • Be prepared! • Say “thanks” Make sure that the teacher stays in the room! Grand Challenge #12: Enhance virtual reality

15. Have Fun! Grand Challenge #13: Advance Personalized Learning

16. FOR MORE INFORMATION engineerintheclass.org TRICIA BERRY, UT – Austin tsberry@mail.utexas.edu 512.471.5650 Katie Kizziar, THINKERY kkizziar@thinkeryaustin.org 512.469.6222 LONNY STERN, discover engineering lonnystern@gmail.com 512.484.3440 Grand Challenge #14: Engineer the Tools of Discovery

17. ACTIVITY TIME!

19. Changing the Conversation:Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering National Academy Of Engineering (NAE) Report http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12187

20. The Study • In-depth interviews • Youth “triads” (same-sex groups of three 9-11 year olds) • Adult and teen focus groups • Online survey that oversampled for African Americans and Hispanics • 3,600 teens and adults • Input from a cross section of the engineering community and others

21. Youth today... • Teens have limited understanding of engineering or engineers (or STEM) • Want well-paying jobs that make a difference • See engineers (or STEM workers) as helping people, but not directly • See engineers (or STEM workers) as desk jockeys, disconnected from people • Few teens (<15%) describe engineering as “nerdy or boring”

22. Student Preconceptions • Both believe engineering is a very good career choice • African American boys (more than girls) think salary extremely important to job choices • African American girls want a job that makes a difference • Hispanic girls (more than boys) think engineers are “nerdy & boring” • Hispanic boys are more likely to believe engineering has a positive effect on people’s everyday lives

23. Qualitative Gender Findings • Real gender differences • Boys like space exploration and designing video games • Girls gravitate to using DNA evidence to solve crimes • Teen girls not sold! • Engineering is creative? • Work is rewarding? • Engineers have a positive effect on people’s everyday lives?

24. Qualitative Gender Findings • Younger girls pick images involving female engineers; boys more likely to pick images that features “things”

25. (or STEM) Engineering Messages Recommendations ^ • Stop reinforcing the images of “nerdy and boring” • Stop focusing on math & science as the needed inputs and instead focus on: • Outputs • Career opportunities • Making a difference in the world • Use the word create, not build

26. Most Appealing Messages • Engineers are creative problem-solvers • Engineering is essential to our health, happiness and safety • Engineers help shape the future • Engineers make a world of difference • Engineers connect science to the real world* * Least appealing overall, especially among teen girls X

27. (or STEM) Engineering Messages Recommendations ^ • Use images of people, not things: especially avoid using gears and mechanical looking things • Use the following five words in describing engineering: discovery, design, imagination, innovation, contribution • Describe engineer as creative problem solvers, essential to health, happiness and safety • Emphasize that engineers shape the future ^ (and scientists)

28. DISTRIBUTION DAYS Pick up teacher & student giveaways for your classroom visit LIFE STORAGE 2607 W. BrakerLane 12 – 1 PM Tue | Mon | Mon | Tue | Wed 1/12 | 2/15 | 3/21 | 4/12 | 5/4 Email: volunteer@centexeweek.orgto schedule a pick-up with your team Looking for a great team-builder for your company? Wish a real live engineer could visit your classroom? VISIT | engineerintheclass.org

29. Index Card Tower • Materials: • Index Cards • Paper clips Task: Working in teams of 2-3, design and build a structure using ONLY index cards and paper clips. Your tower must be at least a foot high and able to support the weight of at least one book for 20 seconds or longer. How much can your tower hold before collapsing? How tall can you make it?