Strategies: Engineering Academy: Educating Engineers of the Future

该项目将推进学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划的努力，以更好地理解和促进提高学生的动机和能力的做法，通过为中学生准备先进的科学和数学课程，以及工程职业，来追求科学，技术，工程或数学（STEM）领域的职业生涯。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，早期接触工程学可以显著提高学生对这门学科作为一条有价值的职业道路的认识。斯托尼布鲁克大学的工程学院（EA）通过让成绩差的中学的学生和教师参与工程学的热情、挑战和机遇，解决了抑制学生参与工程学的因素。该项目将影响广泛的参与者，重点是低收入学生。学生将接触到跨领域的工程知识和技能。教师将学习创新的工程教学实践，这将影响学生在未来多年。专业工程师将通过分享他们的职业经验激励参与者;教师将整合他们在科学教育和工程方面的专业知识;斯托尼布鲁克大学将扩大其视野，使命和在6 - 8年级教育中的作用。其结果将成为可持续和可扩展的伙伴关系的典范，展示下一代科学标准的有效实施，解决学生教育和教师专业学习问题。这个独特的计划解决了工程教育中的几个有记录的弱点。它的灵感来自于已经成功的活动，并将为中学工程教学提供一个模式。EA将为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）将在学年和为期一周的夏令营期间举办课后课程，共约40小时的工程接触。此外，每年有10名在职教师将陪同学生到SEA，并参加教师工程学院（TEA），该学院将让他们参与总共40小时的工程整合到数学和科学教学中。该项目的研究部分将调查促进或破坏学术和职业参与的潜在心理社会机制，特别是因为这些机制与中学生的多样性有关。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计划相一致的一些指导性问题，包括：（a）暴露于SEA如何影响学术和职业参与成果的发展和变化（例如，（B）随着时间的推移，暴露于SEA是否影响学生的学术、社会和职业参与结果的发展;以及（c）接触TEA是否会影响教师对学生STEM职业选择的了解，实施针对学生的工程内容的效率，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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.