Innovating Education for the Next Generation of Engineers – Results of an NSF-RET Program Focused on Innovation

Abstract

Engineering innovation and design continues to be vital to economic success, sustainability, and the creation of jobs in the U.S., and remains at the top of government policy agendas today. For the U.S. to maintain its edge in innovation, our youth must be inspired to pursue STEM fields and must also be exposed to the process of innovation in order to understand the synergism of the methods and approaches used in ideation, discovery and experimentation in the STEM disciplines. This paper describes a unique National Science Foundation – Research Experience for Teachers program that is thematically centered on innovation and engineering design. The overall objectives of this six week program for K-12 STEM teachers and pre-service teachers entitled Engineering Innovation and Design for STEM Teachers was to enhance the knowledge of teachers and pre-service teachers about engineering innovation and design so that they can facilitate inspirational engineering and innovation experiences in their classrooms as well as better inform their students of potential career fields and societal needs related to STEM. During the first and second summers of this program, ten teachers and five pre-service teachers were placed on teams with an engineering student, engineering faculty and an industrial mentor or community partner. Each team participated in an introductory engineering innovation and design project as well as a more in-depth project provided by the industrial mentor or community partner. The experience was enhanced through field trips to the industrial mentors’ sites, guest speakers, laboratory experiences and tours, technical writing seminars, as well as history and ethics of engineering innovation sessions. Additionally, the participants were guided through a well-structured curriculum writing experience modeled after that used for a highly successful regional STEM teacher professional development program. Through this experience, the teams made use of a curriculum template that was developed to ensure that the resulting lessons provided high quality inquiry based STEM experiences for the students that included concepts of engineering innovation and design and were also aligned with the state curriculum standards. Guided reflections, team presentations of STEM Curriculum, and developed prototypes provided evidence associated with the objectives. Local System Change (LSC), Mathematics Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) and Science Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs Instrument (STEBI) surveys were administered to the in-service teachers prior to the program. Follow-up surveys were administered to the 2012 cohort and will be administered to the in-service teachers during the 2013 academic year to identify changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices. Classroom observations of participants delivering developed STEM content provided details regarding transference to K-12 classrooms. A focus group with the engineering students provided feedback regarding their growth and experiences. Results from both qualitative and quantitative assessment suggest that this program was successful at meeting the program objectives.