New GK-12: Engineering for Society - An Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research Pathway to Cultivate Engineering Leaders and Enrich Education for Disadvantaged Youth

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New GK-12: Engineering for Society ? An Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research Pathway to Cultivate Engineering Leaders and Enrich Education for Disadvantaged Youth2010 NSF Proposal Abstract, University of Colorado at BoulderThis project cultivates diverse engineering PhD students to become future engineering leaders while serving K-12 students traditionally underrepresented in engineering. Through extensive K-12 student contact, ten fellows annually translate their engineering research into hands-on K-12 STEM curricula, engaging K-12 students and teachers through connecting engineering design to the study of science and math. These K-12 experiences impact fellows through the pairing of real-world opportunities with their research, and fellows gain communication and pedagogy skills as they communicate their research through the creation and delivery of K-12 STEM curriculum. Our experience has shown that teacher STEM confidence is strengthened by the exchange of pedagogy and subject matter, and student STEM learning is enhanced, preparing youngsters for high school pre-engineering programs. Questions of intellectual merit addressed: How is PhD students? understanding of their research impacted by sharing it with non-technical audiences? How do K-12 experiences promote engineering fellows? becoming STEM leaders? Do teachers who contribute to fellows? education subsequently realize deeper passion and independence in teaching science and engineering? Do school districts that provide hands-on engineering experiences realize higher graduation rates and STEM college matriculation? How can colleges institutionalize K-12 teaching in PhD engineering graduate programs?Innovative approaches: Diversity-focused national recruitment of professoriate-bound future engineering educators, resulting in diverse PhD graduates entering the workforce with a research interest applied in a broader context; enrichment of teacher STEM content through engineering-focused professional development workshops; fellows improvement of STEM literacy in high-needs schools; and nationally disseminated classroom-tested curriculum via the NSF-funded TeachEngineering digital library.