Work in progress - Putting the "E" in STEM teacher preparation: A new Bachelor of Science degree with an engineering education major

The National Academies report “Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects” gives recommendations describing the importance of a necessary, systematic change in the incorporation of engineering within the K12 education system. Existing efforts to introduce engineering into K-12 typically consist of in-service activities for teachers and summer camp experiences and/or single day events in classrooms. The effectiveness of reaching out to teachers and students as individuals is debatable, but these methods are certainly not sustainable. Systematic change will require a new paradigm – teachers who have a fundamental understanding of engineering will provide the most effective, sustainable solution for the implementation of K-12 engineering education. Ohio Northern University (ONU) has developed and introduced a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Engineering Education. This degree provides the graduate with a foundation in engineering, mathematics and education, qualifying the graduate for licensure as a secondary math teacher in the state of Ohio. The degree is similar to a General Engineering degree offered by some other Universities, expanding potential career opportunities to general engineering (sales, training, etc.) and unique opportunities in venues such as Science and Technology museums. This paper describes the fundamental structure of the degree program and the vision for those graduating with this major. Index Terms – bachelor degree, engineering education, high school, K-12. BACKGROUND: ESTABLISHING THE NEED In the 2006 National Academies study entitled Rising above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future [1], the authors noted that: “Education in science, mathematics, and technology has become a focus of intense concern within the business and academic communities. The domestic and world economies depend more and more on science and engineering. But our primary and secondary schools do not seem able to produce enough students with the interest, motivation, knowledge, and skills they will need to compete and prosper in such a world.” The National Academies report also discusses changes that must occur in the K-12 education system to promote engineering and technology for the United States to compete, prosper, and be secure in the global community in the 21st century. The American Society for Quality commissioned a market research firm to study teacher knowledge and passion for math and science. The results show that, while students consider their teachers knowledgeable about math and science, they do a poor job of discussing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers and/or encouraging students toward the STEM disciplines. “Although 85 percent of students said their teachers deserve at least a „B‟ when it comes to knowledge about science topics, 63 percent of high school students said their teachers are not doing a good job of talking to them about engineering careers („C‟ or lower), and 42 percent of high school students said their teachers don‟t ably demonstrate how science can be used in a career („C‟ or lower).” [2] The National Academies has issued reports on introducing engineering standards into K-12 [3,4]. The report Standards for K-12 Engineering Education? cites reasons for which it would be difficult to effectively implement engineering standards: 1. There is relatively limited experience with K-12 engineering education in U.S. elementary and secondary schools, 2. There is not at present a critical mass of teachers qualified to deliver engineering instruction These reasons demonstrate the importance of a systematic change. The effectiveness of reaching out to individual teachers and students through isolated workshops and classroom activities is debatable, but these methods are certainly not sustainable. A new paradigm, introducing teachers trained with an engineering framework, is a necessary step for policy changes such as the introduction of engineering standards.