Strategies: Engineering Academy: Educating Engineers of the Future

该项目将推动学生和教师创新技术体验(ITEST)计划的努力，以更好地了解和促进实践，通过为中学生准备高级科学和数学课程以及工程职业来提高学生在科学、技术、工程或数学(STEM)领域追求职业的动机和能力。普遍缺乏工程知识，K-12教师对工程职业的认识有限，缺乏适当的榜样。研究表明，及早接触工程学可以显著提高学生对这门学科的认识，将其视为一条有益的职业道路。石溪大学(Stony Brook University)工程学院(EA)致力于解决阻碍学生参与工程的因素，让成绩较差的中学的学生和教师参与到工程的热情、挑战和机遇中来。该项目将影响广泛的参与者，重点是低收入学生。学生将接触到贯穿各领域的工程知识和技能。教师将学习创新的工程教学实践，这将在未来多年影响学生。专业工程师将通过分享他们的职业经验来激励参与者；教职员工将整合他们在科学教育和工程方面的专业知识；石溪大学将拓宽其在6-8年级教育中的视野、使命和作用。这一成果将成为可持续和可扩展伙伴关系的典范，表明有意义地实施下一代科学标准，解决学生教育和教师专业学习问题。这一独特的计划解决了工程教育中几个有据可查的弱点。它的灵感来自于已经开展的成功活动，将为中学工程教学提供一个范本。EA将向6-8年级的学生和他们的老师提供几个工程学科和计算机科学的活动。学生工程学院(SEA)将在本学年举办课后课程和为期一周的夏令营，总共约40小时的工程知识。此外，每年10名在职教师将陪同学生出海，并参加教师工程学院(TEA)，该学院将让他们总共花40个小时将工程学融入数学和科学教学。该项目的研究部分将调查促进或削弱学业和职业投入的潜在心理社会机制，特别是这些机制与不同类型的中学生有关。利用重复测量、纵向定量和定性调查方法，该研究项目将解决与NSF ITEST计划一致的一些指导性问题，包括：(A)暴露在SEA中如何影响学生参与者随着时间的推移对学业和职业投入结果(例如，效能、身份和投资)的发展和变化；(B)随着时间的推移，暴露在SEA中是否会影响学生的学术、社会和职业投入结果的发展；以及(C)接触TEA是否会影响教师对学生STEM职业选择的了解、针对学生实施工程内容的有效性以及对学生参与的信念。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by preparing middle school students for advanced science and math courses, and for engineering careers. There is a general lack of engineering knowledge, limited awareness by K-12 teachers about engineering careers, and absence of appropriate role models. Research has shown that early exposure to engineering can significantly increase students' awareness of this discipline as a rewarding career path. The Engineering Academy (EA) at Stony Brook University addresses factors that inhibit involvement in engineering, by engaging students and teachers from low achieving middle schools in the passion, challenges and opportunities of engineering. The project will impact a broad spectrum of participants, with focus on low income students. Students will be exposed to cross-cutting engineering knowledge and skills. Teachers will learn innovative engineering instructional practices that will impact students for many years in the future. Professional engineers will inspire participants by sharing their career experiences; faculty will integrate their expertise in science education and engineering; and Stony Brook University will broaden its vision, mission and role in 6th-8th grade education. The results will be a model for a sustainable and scalable partnership that demonstrates meaningful implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, addressing student education and teacher professional learning. This unique program addresses several documented weaknesses in engineering education. It is inspired by successful activities already in place and will provide a model for middle school engineering instruction. The EA will offer activities in several engineering disciplines and computer sciences to students and their teachers in grades 6th-8th. The Student Engineering Academy (SEA) will run after-school sessions during the academic year and a one-week summer camp for a total of about 40 hours of engineering exposure. In addition, 10 in-service teachers per year will chaperone students to the SEA and attend a Teacher Engineering Academy (TEA) that will engage them for a total of forty hours to integrate engineering into mathematics and science instruction. The research component of this project will investigate the underlying psychosocial mechanisms that promote or undermine academic and career engagement, especially, as these mechanisms relate to a diversity of middle school students. Utilizing repeated measures, longitudinal quantitative and qualitative survey methods, the research project will address some of the guiding questions aligned to the NSF ITEST program, including: (a) How does exposure to SEA impact the development and change of academic and career engagement outcomes (e.g., efficacy, identity and investment) among student participants over time; (b) Does exposure to SEA impact the development of academic, social and career engagement outcomes among students over time; and (c) Does exposure to TEA impact teachers' knowledge of students' STEM career options, efficacy in implementing engineering content aimed at their students, and beliefs about student engagement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.