IEEE Pre-University Education Activities

1. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Beth Babeu Kelly, Sr. Manager, Educational Programs Douglas Gorham, Managing Director IEEE Educational Activities 2 September 2007

2. Pre-University Education Focus • 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 • Emphasis on programs for the adults who influence students, e.g., school counselors and teachers

3. The Need • Industry representatives contacted by IEEE expressed serious worries about the decreasing propensity of young students to choose education programs that would enable future engineering studies and subsequent engineering careers.

4. The Need Cont’d • The perception of young people and those who influence them is critical to the future of the engineering profession. According to the National Academy of Engineering, there are misconceptions that obscure both the contributions of engineers and the skills and competencies that define the engineering discipline. These misconceptions discourage many talented young people, especially women and other under-represented groups, from considering an engineering career.

5. Percentage of Undergraduate 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

6. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

7. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

8. Volunteers TryScience (VolTS) • VolTS addresses the need for content experts to volunteer in informal education settings • Working with the NY Hall of Science and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) • Goals include: • Increasing knowledge and skills of volunteer coordinators in museums • Support scientists and engineers • Increase the quantity and quality of volunteer commitments • Develop a recognition program for volunteers

9. VolTS Cont’d • IEEE volunteers participated in focus groups in 2006 • Recognition program includes: • IEEE EAB Meritorious Award in Informal Education, approved in November 2006 • Develop a VolTS Award Certificateto be used by volunteer coordinators worldwide • Generate a letter to a Volunteer’s Employeracknowledging their contribution

10. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

11. Summary of TISP 2001-2007 • 57 TISP presentations have taken place, led by IEEE volunteers, in Malaysia, South Africa and the US • Over 1480 pre-university educators have participated, representing more than 160,000 students • More than 90% of the attendees indicated that they would use the concepts presented in their classroom instruction

12. Sample TISP Topics • “Everything You Wanted to Know About Electric Motors But Were Afraid to Ask” • “Rocket Cars and Newton’s Laws” • “Rotational Equilibrium: A Question of Balance” • “Effective Lighting” • “Get Connected with Ohm’s Law” • “Design and Build Your Own Robot Arm” • “Learn to Program and Test Robots for Classroom Use”

13. What did we do in 2006? • 5 TISP training workshops were held in 2006 for Sections in: Region 1 (Boston), Region 3 (Memphis), Region 4 (Indianapolis), Cape Town, South Africa and Putrajaya, Malaysia • Over 330 people attended these training sessions representing 36 IEEE Sections. • More than 900 teachers have participated in an IEEE volunteer led TISP presentation in 2006

14. What we are doing in 2007? • Expanding to • Region 2 (Baltimore) • 7-8 September • Region 5 (Dallas) • 13-14 July • 70 attendees • Region 9 (Rio De Janiero) • 17-18 August • 100 attendees from 13 countries • Region 9 (Piura, Peru) • 4-5 August • tudent Branch model • 105 attendees from 3 countries

15. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

16. ASCE/ASME/IEEE/JETS Partnership • We have formed a partnership with NACAC and ASCA to assist school counselors • We have developed print materials for educators outlining the resources of each society • Since 2000 we have directly impacted over 13,000 engineers and more than 7000 educators in workshops, exhibits, webinars and presentation sessions at engineering and educator meetings • In 2007 we will: • develop professional development modules for school counselors focusing on engineering as a career option • Conduct training workshops for volunteers • Conduct professional development workshops for educators • Make presentations and sponsor exhibits at educator conferences

18. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

19. “Meeting the Growing Demand for Engineers and Their Educators 2010-2020” • First time event • To be held on 9-11 November 2007 in Munich, Germany • 100-125 attendees is our goal • Attendees from industry, government, professional societies, pre-university education and academia

20. Objectives bring together representatives of the various organizations with decision making ability; understand who are the customers and constituents; understand pre-university education trends in various areas of the world, and generate an “inventory” of effective activities. Outcomes identify and agree on a set of action items; identify opportunities for collaboration; develop an action plan to accomplish the purposes of the Summit; institutionalize identified practices; and disseminate opportunities for collaboration. Objectives and Outcomes

21. Planning Committee

22. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

23. On Line Portal TryEngineering.org “Strong On-line presence”

24. TryEngineering.org– summary • Overall a major success story • Biggest advantage: a tangible public service by IEEE to the pre-university community • Biggest surprise: success of “ask an engineer”

25. TryEngineering.org A portal for students, parents, school counselors and teachers

26. TryEngineering.orgCurrent Status • TryEngineering.org has been on-line since June 2006 • Available in seven languages • Please visit and provide us with feedback • Some statistics (as of 1 August 2007) • 28,800 = average # of visitors per month • 25-47 minutes = average time a visitor spends on the site • 126,835 = average # of page hits per month • 4,727 = average number of university searches per month • 10,223 = average # of lesson plans downloaded per month • 1,821 = # questions submitted to Ask an Expert • Top 5 countries based on visitor percentage = US, India, China, Canada, UK

27. TryEngineering.orgStatus of Non-English Versions

28. IEEE Pre-University Education Activities Include: • VolTS project with the NY Hall of Science • Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) • Joint collaboration efforts with ASCE, ASME and JETS • An International Pre-University Engineering Education Summit • TryEngineering.org • Design Squad

29. Design Squad • Education Outreach to Introduce Young Students to Engineering • a new, live-action reality TV series that debuts nationwide on PBS stations during Engineers Week 2007, aims to introduce nine- to 13-year-olds and their families to the engineering design process. • Two teams of high school students use their problem-solving skills to design, construct, and test an intriguing, fully operational and unique engineering project.

30. Design Squad Cont’d • Hands-on activities that work in conjunction with each episode will play an integral role in the outreach campaign. • EA is working with IEEE USA to organize “train the trainer” workshops • Major funding provided by IEEE, Intel and the National Science Foundation

31. Questions? Comments? Contact Douglas Gorham d.gorham@ieee.org