K-12

The greatest threat to the prosperity of the United States is arguably the nationwide deterioration of primary and secondary education, particularly in math and science, and the inability of the engineering enterprise to diversify its student body and its workforce. Engineering educators, almost exclusively located in higher education, now realize that the pipeline to careers in engineering emerges in elementary school and that the decision to pursue a future in math/science/engineering is often made before a student enters high school, long before colleges come calling. Engineering does not have a formal presence in primary and secondary school; therefore, to affect change we must creatively collaborate with K-12 schools, principals and teachers to energize and diversify the pipeline of students who pursue futures in engineering.

My group has received a great deal of satisfaction from our work on three pipeline projects: Adventure Engineering, Teach Engineering, and Engineering Pathway. Through these projects, we develop curriculum and web resources, conduct workshops for teachers, work with students in their classrooms, and conduct research on how students react to and learn engineering-based curriculum. For more information, click on the logos below or view some education publications.