Pipeline for Progress: Multi-Level Institutional Collaboration for Engineering Education

A dynamic and innovative Biosystems Technology (BT) curriculum was developed at the secondary, technical college and university levels. The curriculum includes core concepts in life science, engineering, technology and mathematics focused on applications in biological systems that transition student learning and depth of understanding from one level to the next. The program was successful in educating students with increased STEM knowledge, with an emphasis on engineering content, to prepare them for the technical workforce in the growing biofuels and bioprocessing industries. A highly successful aspect of this program was implementation of Summer Teaching and Learning Institutes for preand inservice educators primarily those in secondary agriculture programs in the state. The Institutes focused on the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and agriculture of sustainable biofuels production and bioprocessing in the Southeast US. A major component of the Institutes was extensive hands-on instruction including fabrication, field and laboratory modules that utilized engineering and laboratory equipment that were provided to each participating inservice educator for use in his/her school. A total of 33 inservice and preservice educators participated in the Summer Institutes, with 19 educators participating for 2 or more years. These educators then incorporated the Biosystems Technology content into their courses of instruction. As a result, over the course of the project several thousand secondary students were directly impacted by enrollment in courses with Biosystems Technology content and more were impacted through career day and special event presentations. The response from participating educators concerning the Biosystems Technology material has been positive and transformative. Selected lessons have been implemented in SC agriculture courses and others (ie secondary biology and elementary) for four years. A second major accomplishment was the development and implementation of a secondary pathway in Biosystems Engineering Technology by project investigators and educational advisors. The pathway was submitted by the SC State Director of Agriculture Education for inclusion in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Career Cluster. The four-course pathway, consisting of Agriculture and Biosystems Science, Biosystems Mechanics and Engineering, Biosystems Technology I and Biosystems Technology II, was approved by the SC State Department of Education in 2011. The Biosystems Technology Pathway was implemented in the Lexington-Richland 5 school district in the fall of 2012 at a Career and Technical Center. The secondary educator hired to lead the implementation of the BT pathway was a participating teacher on this project.