ECE 7706 Module 5: Article Four

Elementary and Middle School Engineering Outreach: Building a STEM Pipeline 

Gary J. Rivoli, Patricia A. S. Ralston

Synopsis: 

      The J. B. Speed School of Engineering is partnering with schools to create a STEM education pipeline that encourages students' interests in fields such as engineering, Science and technology. The "Speed School specifically implements four of the six published ASEE guidelines: 1) working with hands-on projects at the elementary level, 2) engaging young science teachers by providing them with good curriculum, materials, training and mentoring, 3) targeting minorities and females, and 4) strengthening the existing partnership between higher education (Speed) , K-12 (JCPS), and to an important community partner, the Louisville Science Center (LSC) who would provide important guidance on teacher training". The "Engineering in Elementary" (EIE) is a program supported by the Speed School that focuses on getting K-5 students headed towards STEM related studies in college. Throughout the "Engineering in Elementary" program, students would learn through modules that  allow students to take part in finding the solution to hands-on, real-world problems. At the beginning of each unit before specific content is address, the students are posed a problem and expected to use their recourse and experiments to determine an appropriate solution. EIE does not expect the students to get every problem 100% correct. Actually, the purpose of the program is to encourage group collaborations, understanding failure and be willing to try again. The curriculum within the program is not any different than anything we are learning in our schools today, EIE simply extends the curriculum with an emphasis on the STEM subjects. Soon after completing a few of the modules, students soon figure out that and begin to learn more about the important connections between Science, Math and engineering. "Their research has shown it not only improves elementary students’ understanding of science concepts, but their understanding of technology and of engineers and why their job is important.". 

Rivoli, G., & Ralston, P. (2009). Elementary and middle school engineering outreach: Building a stem pipeline. Retrieved from http://icee.usm.edu/icee/conferences/ASEE-SE-2010/Conference Files/ASEE2009/papers/P2009035RAL.PDF

Reflection:

      This was an extremely interesting article that went more in-depth and gave more specifics regarding the STEM education. It really seems like such a wonderful program that excites students for a potential career in Science, Math or engineering. After reading this article and thinking back to my third graders, it is vital that we spend time teaching the STEM education or Engineering in Elemetary programs because our students do not understand the importance of careers in these specific subjects. I love the fact that the students are given some sort of real-world problem at the beginning of every unit to spark their curiosity. Understanding that the students are learning the same things that are expected in the curriculum, but they are just being pushed further leads me to believe that this is definitely something that is do-able within the classroom. I do believe that this is a great concept, but since beginning to understand STEM education, I always find myself going back to the same questions I have had all along with inquiry-based instruction and constructivism techniques- do we have time for this find of teaching in the classroom? It all comes back to time management. Is it possible for true in-depth inquiry-based STEM learning  to take place in such a short amount of time? For instance, we are "allotted" 30 minutes for Science and Social Studies, so my thinking is if we do not get down to business with learning specific aspects of the curriculum we will not be able to get everything in before it is time to move on to something else.