Moving Toward Stronger Communities of Inclusion: Identifying Challenges and Approaches Associated with Introductory Engineering Offerings

该项目支持一个研讨会，探索与开发入门工程课程序列相关的问题，确保在发展相关性，专业知识和学生所有权的同时满足科学和数学方面的必要技能。研讨会邀请了大约40名来自不同团体的参与者，他们在支持代表性不足的学生成功进入高等教育和工程劳动力方面发挥着不同的作用。研讨会促进了来自社会、教育（初中、高中和高等教育）、工程、商业/政府和政策制定社区的专家之间的讨论、社区建设和最佳实践的分享。该项目更广泛的影响是通过支持城市地区代表性不足的群体（包括非洲裔美国学生）通往成功的途径，专注于扩大工程领域的参与。研讨会的目标是：1)确定挑战和潜在的方法，以确定招聘和监测学生进入预工程课程序列的关键能力和效能绩效指标；2)确定挑战和潜在的方法，以确定与预工程课程序列相关的结果、绩效指标、模式和时间表；3)为这些努力的可持续性提出途径和模型建议。研讨会参与者通过研讨会前的阅读和材料，研讨会期间的互动会议，以及研讨会后的后续互动参与。在中学和高等院校的学术工作中，与工程项目学分转换模式相关的问题也被考虑在内。有重点的评估计划，包括访谈和调查，以记录项目的影响。

This project supports a workshop that explores issues related to developing an introductory engineering course sequence that ensures that the requisite skills in science and mathematics are met while developing relevancy, expertise, and ownership of the student. The workshop convenes approximately 40 participants from groups who have different roles in the support in the successful entry of underrepresented students into higher education and the engineering workforce. The workshop facilitates discussion, community building, and sharing of best practices among experts from across the social, education (middle and high schools and higher education), engineering, business/government, and policy making communities. The broader impact of this project is the focus on broadening the participation in engineering by supporting pathways to success for underrepresented groups in urban areas, including African American students.The goals of the workshop are to: 1) identify the challenges and the potential ways to identify the critical aptitude and efficacy performance indicators for recruitment and monitoring of students to enter into a pre-engineering course sequence, 2) identify the challenges and the potential ways to identify the outcomes, performance indicators, modalities and the timeline associated with a pre-engineering course sequence, and 3) develop recommendations for pathways and models for the sustainability of such efforts. Workshop participants are engaged through pre-workshop readings and materials, interactive sessions during the workshop, and follow up interactions after the workshop. Issues related to models for transferable credit to engineering programs for academic work in secondary and post-secondary settings also are considered. A focused evaluation plan that includes interviews and surveys to document the impacts of the project.