Thoughts from the Chair
Benjamin Franklin, known for his financial wisdom, once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Keep pressing on, everything you do will pay huge dividends.
Bradley Bowen, PCEE Division Chair (bowenb@vt.edu)
ASEE Annual Conference – NEW DATES
Conference Dates: July 26-29, 2021
Registration Opens: February 8, 2021
Draft Papers Due: March 8, 2021
If you had an abstract accepted, please note the NEW due date for the draft paper. Also, to better support our members during the paper submission process, the division has revised the rubrics to better align with the ASEE organizational best paper rubric. This allows our members to be more competitive and provide a better opportunity to win an organizational best paper award. This only applies to the Evaluation, Fundamental, and RTP categories since these are the only types of papers that are eligible for an organizational best paper award. As we go through the current paper submission process, please align your manuscripts and reviews in these three categories to the new and improved rubrics. They can be found in the call for papers, also linked here: call for papers.
2021 PCEE Virtual Conference – June 23 & 24, 2021
The 2021 PCEE conference will be virtual. Two half-days in the morning (pacific time) provides an amazing opportunity to reach a broad audience of P-12 educators. Please consider presenting and spread the word to any colleagues that may benefit from attending. More information will be provided as the PCEE Conference Committee works through the details. If you are interested in being part of this planning committee please contact Andrea Burrows at andrea.c.burrows@gmail.com.
Join the PCEE Division Executive Committee
Are you interested in being more engaged and aware of the work being done in our division? Join our fun and dynamic Executive Committee! Self-nominations are encouraged. We are currently seeking nominees for the following positions:
- Chair-Elect (2-year term) which becomes Chair and then Immediate Past Chair (6-year term total)
- Program Chair-Elect
- P12 Representative (P-5) (1-year term)
- P12 Representative (6-12) (1-year term)
- P12 Representative (Other) (1-year term)
- Members at Large (2) (2-year term)
Nominations accepted until Friday, February 12th. The duties and terms of all positions can be found here.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Family Social Media Challenge
Title: Everyday Engineering Social Media Conversations
Kids are naturally curious about their world, just like engineers and innovators are interested in their jobs. Youth ask questions many adults don’t consider. In this challenge, we want families to engage in conversations through the lens of a sharp mind, as students explore the mechanisms of everyday items in their community. How does the design work, why does it operate better than other devices, how will the device look like in 10 years?
Objective: Share with the world how engineering impacts your family and community
Launch: Engineering Week – February 21-27, 2021
Format: 1-2 minute video
Prize: Free Family Engineering Kits
Eligibility: The challenge is open to all families, students grades P – 6th
Submission Deadline: Friday, April 30th, 2021, at 11:59 pm.
Creating a video:
- Pose a question to a family member about the innovation of an everyday item that many people may take for granted, but individuals in your home or community utilize it often.
- Create a video of you asking a family member the question or engaging with your family in some fashion (see example below).
- A statement needs to be shared about the future of engineering based on the student’s perception of the world and the item of question.
- Information about posting the video will be provided in a future newsletter.
Example questions:
- Why were brooms developed in that way?
- How does the mechanism work? And what problem does it solve?
- What do people still use brooms instead of vacuums?
- Do you think the broom will still be around in 10 years? If not, will the vacuum cleaner always be here, or will it too be replaced?
Share your P12 programs!
The ASEE Commission on P12 Engineering Education is collecting information about activities and programs that support engineering education in the pre-college space. These could be activities taking place with students or with teachers; held in-school, extracurricular, or in informal environments; working with just a few individuals or reaching large groups. The goal is to create a central resource so that all working in the P12 space can share with and learn from each other. Below is a link to a short survey. The information collected from the survey will be shared through a map and hub on the Commission’s website and to select programs to be highlighted in a “spotlight” section periodically. No information will be shared by the Commission without first securing the approval of those who filled out the survey. Everyone is asked to share this survey link with others they know who are involved in the P12 engineering space, whether they are members of ASEE or not.
Survey link: https://forms.gle/b6GreyywCLJBfon37
Please contact us if you have any questions.
Kathy Harper – harper.217@osu.edu
Katey Shirey – katey@edukatey.com
How can ASEE better serve the P12 educator community?
ASEE Headquarters has created a P12 educator survey to gain some insight on how they can better serve the P12 educator community and what they can offer that would encourage membership in ASEE. The survey also asks for thoughts on the annual conference. If you could please complete the survey and share this link with any educators you know at any level (teacher, school administrator, district administrator, state, etc.), it would be much appreciated. https://forms.gle/42yhBCt7CzhpMUTh9
Teachers that complete the survey will be entered into a drawing for one of several free teacher memberships as well as a top prize of free registration to the annual conference in 2021. If a teacher who has already paid for membership this year wins, the free membership can be used for 2021-2022.
Engineering Challenges for P12 Instructors and Parents
ASEE has established a Facebook page to provide engineering challenges for P12 instructors and parents. Please go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/687366151802693/ to join and see all the awesome design challenges. If you have a challenge you would like to post on the page, please email Stacy Klein-Gardner at stacy.klein-gardner@vanderbilt.edu.