Building a STEM Pathway with Engineering by Design

Abstract

The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) is aligning high school advanced technology education curriculum with college-level engineering technology programs to increase the number and diversity of high school students pursuing two or four-year degrees in engineering technology. Skilled engineering technicians are a critical part of the nation’s hightech workforce and frequently require an associate’s degree. To help meet that demand, CCBC, with funding from the National Science Foundation, created an articulated pathway with Baltimore Public Schools in Maryland utilizing Engineering by DesignTM (EbD) courses developed by the International Technology and Engineering Education Association (ITEEA) and used by many secondary schools throughout the United States. After taking a fundamental technology course, high school students may elect to enroll in the EbD advanced technology education courses called Advanced Design Applications (ADA) and Engineering Design (EngD). Upon successful completion of these two courses, high school students can earn articulated credit for CCBC’s Introduction to Engineering Technology course. Receipt of college credit opens the door of higher education to many students who may not have considered college an option. The model developed by CCBC is being replicated by other colleges. As each college has a unique introductory course for its engineering technology program, supplemental materials will be developed for ADA and EngD to meet the college’s specific course requirements. A library of supplemental materials will gradually be created that will enable colleges to create an articulated pathway with their Local Education Agency (LEA) by pulling from existing materials rather than having to create their own. Since the ITEEA EbD curriculum is widely used throughout the state of Maryland and across the country, the potential exists to expand this approach nationwide. In addition to creating an articulated pathway from high school to a college-level engineering technology program, CCBC developed a training program for school counselors. The training makes counselors better able to encourage students, especially those from underrepresented groups, to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and to enroll in the EbD series of advanced technology education courses with the goal of continuing education beyond high school. Topics covered with the counselors include local STEM job opportunities and needed skill sets, micromessaging, neuroscience, and the EbD articulation initiative. The development of the articulated pathway and the training of counselors are helping to broaden participation in engineering technology careers by creating a more seamless and efficient pathway from high school into technician jobs requiring an associate’s degree.