Enhancing STEM Awareness for Pre-Service Teachers: A Recruitment Initiative

The shortage of engineers in the United States has been the focus of numerous recent reports. Results from a recent Intel funded study showed a lack of familiarity with the engineering field as one of the key barriers. Recognition of this has resulted in a growing movement to create awareness and intensify outreach efforts by engineering/STEM educational programs across the country. One potential solution is to train middle and high school teachers in STEM areas so they can influence young students. This seems promising, considering the majority of K-12 teachers have limited to no training in engineering and the implementation of specialized programs or efforts is often prohibitive due to limited resources. This paper documents the activities and results of a Pre-Service Teacher Workshop at Texas A&M International University. This workshop addressed the limited knowledge of secondary teachers about engineering degrees and careers. Participants, for example, were made aware of the difference between the Scientific Inquiry Method and the engineering design process and other concepts taught in college engineering courses. Fourteen participants successfully completed the workshop. This paper provides details about the workshop, including the topics covered. Results of preand postworkshop surveys are also presented and discussed.