K 12 Engineering Outreach Impact On University Teaching Fellows

Graduate and undergraduate Engineering Teaching Fellows develop important skills through participation in K-12 engineering outreach programs. The K-12 teaching experience augments the traditional university educational experience of the Fellows in several ways including improvement of communication skills through oral exp lanations of complex subjects to K-12 students and improvement of their ability to function on multidisciplinary teams through teamteaching content with Fellows from other engineering disciplines. These value-added impacts are affected significantly by the amount and type of training provided for the Fellows and their partnership teachers. Training in teaching methodologies including inquiry-based instruction and classroom management are necessary for effective classroom intervention. This paper examines self-reported evidence that demonstrates significant positive impact of participation in engineering outreach on Fellows’ ability to communicate effectively and function on multidisciplinary teams.