PREPARING EDUCATION AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO WORK TOGETHER

1. PREPARING EDUCATION AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO WORK TOGETHER Dr. Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi URI Industrial Engineering Michele Fitzpatrick FY06 SWE-NESS President Betty Young URI School of Education Barbara Sullivan-Watts URI Graduate School of Oceanography

2. CONCEPT • Student Engineers and Pre-service Teachers learn to work together while they are still in school • Student Engineers accompany Pre-Service Teachers in the classroom • Possible involvement of professional SWE members and local Teachers

3. DEVELOPERS/FACILITATORS • Dr. Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi, URI and SWE-NESS • Dr. Betty Young, URI • Dr. Barbara K. Sullivan, URI • Dr. Susan Anderson, SWE-NESS • Michele Fitzpatrick, SWE-NESS

4. PLAN • One-day preview October 29, 2005 at URI • One-hour SWE Web Seminar in January 2006 • One-credit course taken together (Fall 2006) • Engineers get education credit • Educators get engineering credit • Convert into online modules, which can be easily replicated by other universities with both engineering and education departments

5. FOUR-DAY CURRICULUM • First Impressions • Working Together • Appreciation and Resources • Logistics and Moving Forward

6. Day 1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS • Exploring stereotypes- Post card game to stimulate conversation about feelings toward science and math education (engineers) or science and engineering (educators) - Create list of adjectives about science and math educators (engineers) or scientists and engineers (educators) • Answer personal questionsWhy you chose your field and early influences

7. 1. B. PERSONAL QUESTIONS • When did you first think about becoming an (engineer/teacher)? • What it was that first interested you in (engineering/teaching)? • Why did you decide to follow through and actually pursue (engineering/teaching) as a career? • Did you ever consider (teaching/engineering) as a career? Why or why not? • When did you first feel confident in your (engineering/teaching) abilities? • Describe the qualities of these early experiences.”

8. 1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS (cont.) • Pedagogy of Inquiry-Based Learning and trends in science education • Inquiry-based hands-on activitye.g. “Motion and Design” jigsaw • DiscussionJoint -Post cards and answers to personal questions • Small group brainstorming (groups separate)What you have to offer and what you would like to learn from the other group • Homework

9. ACTIVITY-BASED LEARNING Motion and Design Jigsaw

10. 1. G. HOMEWORK Joint: • Read recent articles on outcomes for inquiry-based learning. Engineers: • Review the list of adjectives that the educators used to describe scientists and engineers. Write a reflection paper. • Read about education standards and the developmental levels of K-6 students. • Find an elementary or middle school teacher that you know personally and interview them.

11. 1. G. HOMEWORK (cont.) Educators: • Review the list of adjectives that the engineers used to describe science and math educators. Write a reflection paper. • Read articles to learn about pipeline issues for women in engineering and shortages of scientists and engineers in our nation. • Find an engineer that you know personally and interview them.

12. Day 2. WORKING TOGETHER • Pair up and share thoughts from reflection papers • Combined groups work on hands-on team building activity – e.g. Mars Rover • Lunch discussion – • How does this change their readiness to work together/alone in the classroom? • Why did you decide to follow through and actually pursue (teaching/engineering) as a career? • Does using the kits help teachers feel more confident about using other material than in the kits to introduce engineering to students?

13. 2. WORKING TOGETHER (cont.) • Pairs of students interview each other • How did you become interested in your field? • Were any activities in school responsible and if so, what were they? • How did you feel about the kit activities last week and their usefulness for science education? • How do you feel about going into a classroom and presenting a lesson, with or without a kit? • What assistance can both groups of professionals offer each other? • Brainstorm ways to establish and maintain a working relationship between engineers and educators

14. 2. F. HOMEWORK • Read articles on effective ways to conduct K-12 outreach. • Read assigned chapter from an elementary school science textbook. Working individually, brainstorm and do background research on some activities that could be used with an inquiry-based curriculum for this topic. Prepare a short document of your own ideas, which you will combine with classmates in the next session.

15. Day 3. APPRECIATION & RESOURCES • Report on new ideas and perceptions following the previous joint meeting. (Groups separate for the next three topics) • Learn about college curricula, training, licensure, and responsibilities of the other profession. C. Educators: Make a list of things that engineers should know before volunteering in a classroom, including resources that would help engineers understand the science classroom in elementary and middle schools. Engineers: Make a list of resources that educators should be aware of related to science and engineering.

16. 3. APPRECIATION & RESOURCES (cont.) D. Educators: Scientific Discovery and Evaluation Methods, Engineering and Iterative Design Processes, Concurrent Engineering, Science and Engineering Content, Math foundations, Design for Manufacturing, Life Cycle Analysis Engineers: Child Psychology and Age Appropriate Content, Classroom Control (using role play) E. Joint: In small groups, develop an inquiry-based lesson plan to introduce the science unit for the chapter that was read for homework.

17. 3. F. HOMEWORK • In small groups of both teachers and engineers, develop an inquiry-based science education curriculum that uses inexpensive materials for a school district that can not afford kits. Prepare final reports in both written and oral format. • Educators: Write a report on your assessment of a lesson from www.teachengineering.com • Engineers: Think of a problem that you are working on now in your job or in a recent college course. Develop a script of how you would explain the scientific and engineering principles to 1) an elementary school teacher and 2) school children.

18. Day 4. LOGISTICS & MOVING FORWARD • Engineers and educators pair-off so that the engineers can try their “scripts” and receive feedback from the educators. B. Educators: Draft letters to local companies or engineering societies. Engineers: Draft letters to local school districts, teachers, or administrators. C. Joint: School district expectations and requirements for volunteers, dress codes, professionalism, etc.

19. 4. LOGISTICS & MOVING FORWARD (cont.) • Presentations by mixed student teams regarding inquiry-based kits that they developed together. • Evaluation – work in small groups to recommend materials for online training modules based on the results of their experience (what worked, what did not, what was missed? What would be important to include when trying to disseminate this nationally?)

20. CHALLENGES • Establishing university-based programs • Recruitment, incentives, reaching out • Getting the engineering students into the schools • How to convert to on-line modules

21. Thank You!

22. Questions? Dr. Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi URI Industrial Engineering Michele Fitzpatrick FY06 SWE-NESS President