~ PRE-COLLEGE ENGINEERING EDUCATION DIVISION ~
engineering education for all | early childhood through high school | in and out of school
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
Dear Pre-College Engineering Education (PCEE) Division Members,
There are two major items to share in this newsletter, followed by some new and re-posted announcements. The two major items: 1) the voting process for division leadership positions has officially started, and 2) we have another diversity/inclusion tip to share!
Please vote for our division leadership!! See the attached document for candidate descriptions for the following positions: Program Chair Elect; Secretary/Treasurer; K-12 Representatives for K-5, 6-12, and “K-12 Other;” and two Members at Large. Click on “Vote” to start the process, or follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Our diversity/inclusion tip encourages us to appeal to a broader audience. Read more, below, for some thoughts – and a link – about how we might do that more effectively.
Take care,
Pam
—
Pamela S. Lottero-Perdue, Ph.D.
Chair, Pre-College Engineering Education Division
American Society for Engineering Education
Associate Professor of Science Education
Director, Integrated STEM Instructional Leadership (PreK-6) Post-Baccalaureate Program
Department of Physics, Astronomy & Geosciences
Towson University
DIVERSITY/INCLUSION TIP:
Appealing to a Broader Audience
A recent blog post by Linda Kekelis, founder of Techbridge, highlights “10 promising practices to interest girls in engineering,” many of which are great practices to appeal to any broader audience of students. She offers that “teachers should … reach out to more kinds of students, not just the student who’s doing well in math,” and that we need to “be mindful of [our] messaging.” Part of this being mindful is to “know your audience and create marketing content that is culturally responsive to the interests of your target group.” The bottom line is that it takes thought and effort to continue to diversify the students who participate in elective or extracurricular engineering activities. Check out the rest of her blog post at: http://linkengineering.org/
If you have a diversity/inclusion tip or resource you would like to share with the division, please email Morgan Hynesmorganhynes@purdue.edu.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (due Feb 22):
Underwriters Laboratory, Inc. Innovation Education Award (ULIEA). (Information posted here from a forwarded email from Christiane Maertens with the North American Association for Environmental Education.) Last year, we teamed up with UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.), the global safety science leader to hold the first UL Innovation Education Award competition. The competition challenges organizations to demonstrate the real value of STEM education and skills in a 21st century world where our daily lives demand tech-savvy skills and a broader understanding of science, and math in tackling major issues and problems, such as how we can improve and sustain the environment.
A STEM focus can take on many creative, diverse features. For example, green engineering design is at the heart of DiscoverE’s Future City (http://futurecity.org/), last year’s grand prize winner ($100,000) in the UL Innovative Education Award. The group holds it own national competition inviting teams from middle schools to design virtual reality scale models of cities that emphasize environmental sustainability and address issues such as clean energy and water, solid waste management, storm water runoff and urban agriculture.
For 2016, we’re looking for ideas like these which champion the partnership of STEM with sustainability education, as part of the second annual UL Innovative Education Award competition. The ULIEA competition highlights the best standards of work being carried out by nonprofit organizations across the U.S. and Canada who are leading the way to inspire a passion for STEM education in young people through a focus on the environment.
To enter the ULIEA competition: Qualified applicants, which can represent either a whole organization or one program within a larger organization, must be a US 501(c)(3) not-for-profit or registered with either the Canada Revenue agency or a Canadian provincial revenue agency as a non-profit organization. Eligible organizations must have children in grades K-12 as their principal audience. Schools for K-12 students are not eligible to apply but not-for-profit organizations that serve school populations are eligible, as are university programs provided they meet the other organizational eligibility requirements. For more information, see bit.ly/ULIEANAAEE .
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS (re-posted):
Museum of Science, Boston – Research & Evaluation Associate. The Research & Evaluation Associate will work as a collaborative member of the Research & Evaluation Department to conduct research and evaluation studies on the educational and visitor services programs of the Museum of Science and its collaborative projects. This will include planning studies, developing and piloting instruments, overseeing data collection, analyzing data, and reporting, under the direction of the Manager of Research & Evaluation. For more information, see: https://mos.applicantpro.com/
National GEM Consortium – Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. Since 1976, The National GEM Consortium (GEM) has been addressing a critical shortfall in American engineering and scientific talent by increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM graduate programs. Working in partnership with leading corporations, government laboratories, top universities, and top research institutions, GEM provides 100% paid graduate fellowships and high-level, paid internships to highly qualified students from largely untapped communities. The organization also provides a series of leadership development and training programs that help students to successfully navigate highly competitive academic and professional environments. Responsibilities of this position will include: Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will provide inspirational and mission-driven leadership that reflects the core values and purpose of GEM. S/he will have strategic and operational responsibility for GEM’s staff, programs, expansion, and execution of a national fellowship program. The ED/CEO will be responsible for developing deep knowledge of STEM fields, and GEM’s core programs, operations, and strategic/business plans. For more information, see:https://www.ekornferry.com/
Johns Hopkins University – Program Manager for STEM educational Outreach. JHU is looking for someone with both an engineering and an education background (formal or informal) with some political savvy, project management and inner city experience. JHU has just made a 10-year commitment to partner with Barclay Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore, MD to transform it into a PK-8 STEM school. More info about the partnership is here http://engineering.jhu.edu/
SEEKING PRESENTERS (new!):
The 26th annual “Girls + Math + Science = SUCCESS!” STEAM Careers Conference which encourages and supports young women’s career aspirations is seeking presenters from both traditional and non-traditional career fields. Join us on April 2 in Bristow, Virginia, to inspire and encourage the next generation! Please check out the conference’s website: http://www.
WORKSHOPS (re-posted):
Systems Engineering Knowledge Forum: The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) and a number of universities are working together to increase the use of Systems Engineering (SE) Knowledge in the Education of All Engineers. As part of this work we will hold a free Academic Forum meeting at George Mason University (GMU) on May 2-3, 2016 at the GMU Arlington Campus (http://arlington.gmu.edu/).
Spatial Skills Workshops: Do you want to see your students, especially females, improve their performance in classes that rely upon spatial skills? Help them! Attend one of the Center for STEM Education for Girls’ Teaching 3D Spatial Skills Workshops this spring atAtlanta Girls’ School, Garrison Forest School, or Western Washington University. K-12 Teachers, Informal Educators, and University Professors are welcomed. Registrations open now! See bit.ly/1UwrozS for more information or contact Dr. Stacy Klein-Gardner atstem@harpethhall.org. Register by March 10th!
FROM ASEE Headquarters (re-posted):
Seeking Volunteers: ASEE Strategic Doing Team: We are seeking volunteers to engage in ASEE’s Strategic Doing efforts through the Transformation Team. The purpose of this team is to help ASEE transform how it supports teams of faculty, administration, and students as they transform engineering education at their institutions. This is a great opportunity to engage with and serve ASEE and its members while building a network of colleagues interested in transformation of engineering education. Expected monthly time-commitment: 2-3 hours. To join or for more information, please contact the team lead, Gurlovleen Rathore (Gurlovleen.rathore@gmail.com)
(Five-minute) Survey: Engineering Education Transformation Network: Are you working to transform engineering education? Do you want to connect with like-minded colleagues to expand your efforts, leverage best practices and/or resolve challenges you have encountered? Complete a brief survey to help ASEE’s Transformation Team develop a network to support your ongoing efforts to transform engineering education. Questions? Contact ASEE’s Strategic Doing Transformation Team lead, Gurlovleen Rathore (Gurlovleen.rathore@gmail.com)
FREE BOOK for SURVEY HELP (re-posted):
Free K-12 book for completing a quick survey on K-12 engineering: Can you help us with a project to show K-12 educators that engineering is accessible and possible for them? At Start Engineering, we are developing a free e-book on this subject and would like to collect both aggregated and narrative data from experts in the field. The first 50 respondents can receive a free K-12 engineering book from our list of publications. Please complete the 10-question survey and let us know what book you would like to receive. For more information, please contact Eric Iversen at eiversen@start-engineering.com
We hope that these newsletters keep you informed about the division and some opportunities related to engineering education across the country. If you would rather not receive such communications, please email T.Manicom@asee.org and ask that you be removed from the Pre-College Engineering Education Division listserv.