The Role Of Engineering In Pre College Education

As engineering educators, we often complain about the lack of preparation in math and science that our students exhibit when they first arrive on campus. Many who have been on the engineering faculty for a long time remark that the situation is worsening with time (or maybe it’s just a sign of aging!). Increasing the number as well as the diversity of students who enroll in our engineering programs as well as improving the preparation of the students we do attract are also often cited as goals among engineering faculty/chairs/deans, but as engineering faculty we usually assume an attitude of “it’s not my problem” when it comes to improving pre-college math and science instruction or addressing diversity issues. Michigan Tech has received funding for three major initiatives aimed at improving pre-college math and science instruction. In 1998 the College of Engineering received an Action Agenda grant with a portion of the funding earmarked for a workshop aimed at introducing engineering to pre-college teachers. In 1999 the Mathematics Department received a grant from the NSF under the GK-12 Teaching Fellows program to place Michigan Tech graduate students majoring in Science, Math or Engineering in local school districts. These graduate students assist teachers in the development of K-12 mathematics and science courses and programs that more closely align with what is recommended by state and national standards. Finally, in the spring of 2000 the College of Engineering received a significant grant from the NSF Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) with three major thrust areas focused on bringing engineering applications into the pre-college classroom. This paper outlines the major activities from each of these grants as well as initial assessment results.