Session+4+notes+Engineering+room

Facilitators thought it was important to strategize for some part of the day. How are we really going to make a difference? How do we make sure the 4 stem pillars are coming, are congruent, the ulitmate use for students. What's getting in the way? How do we create some kind of engineering curriculum? Engineering course? Models? Interdisciplinary?


 * ==What structures should an institution put into place to ensure that STEM goals are met? (What does the institutional commitment need to be?)==
 * ==How do we get the training (professional development) in place to create engineering components in courses, or a separate engineering class?==
 * ==How do we motivate our colleagues to get interested in STEM collaboration?==
 * ==How do we create a true STEM dialogue in our institutions?==

__What is a STEM course?__

__**Places to Help and Things to Do**__ > > **All comes back to the vocablulary** > > __**ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT PRESENT? HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THIS?**__ > How do we market these type of courses? Robotics?
 * problem solving using engineering principles
 * basic sciences that they don't get a chance to do in the regular science program
 * math component, simple stats, quantitative data,
 * actual building
 * lab probes
 * genetic engineering tie into biology
 * __What are doing?__**
 * Grade 8 science class, do not push the engineer part of the building, problem is that some of us know little about engineering, teaching power tools and blue prints
 * There is stuff that we are all doing in our class that is engineering in science and even art, but we don't have that common vocab
 * If we want to have a senior engineering class we need to have that terminology that the girls will understand and want them to take the course
 * What exactly do we mean by "engineering"?
 * get the science, math, tech dept together of our schools and decide to learn
 * Project on careers for 8th grade: Girls didn't know what Engineers were or what they do, girls needed to educate the class about different careers, and they learned a lot that chemical engineering was actually more creative than they thought, presented either iMovie, iPod
 * Roland Park Contry School: 6 & 7 grade have different engineering projects coming up, participated in a Engineering thing in Maryland, so parents, girls and teachers all had a buy-in and now they have this project that has become part of their program. scale drawings, journals, write a paper that talks about the scientific process, woman engineers come in and talk about the projects, Grade 7 - mouse trap cars, 6th - plant in space, energy efficient house, month and half, presentation and competition
 * BSS - design tech lab, built into the science curriuculum, takes 8 weeks of the year, also done in grade 8 and grade 11 physics, use AUTOCAD and build bridges
 * Holten Arms has a design tech lab, started in grade 3 and then the older girls wanted to have one in their department
 * National Engineers Foundations - can lead you to curriculum, National Engineers Week
 * Woman in Engineering website
 * Heads will be getting a mailing about Engineer and what the coaltion is doing
 * TechBridge conference in Oakland, may be several branches, good ideas, link on Engineers Week
 * Universities are keen to link up with girls schools
 * Internal Mechanisms to make sure progress is made: Time is needed, need to label this a priority in order to develop this
 * Interdisciplinary is good, but need to have a set of your time, this written into the curriculum
 * ONE WAY - have an advocate and really try to push it forward
 * We all really have aspects of engineering in our areas, do we need a specific engineering track or can we just ensure that the girls are aware that this is engineering
 * Don't realize the levels and depth of the engineering world, getting that language out there! The girls don't know that they are actually doing engineering, admin doesn't realize that we are doing engineering
 * There are a lot of funds available at the national level...look for donors
 * Where do you take it into the high school level? genetic engineering is done, lego program, not addressed as engineering,
 * Computer programming courses all taught on the boys campuses and the girls can go and take the courses there.
 * Still not many girls are interested in taking these courses across the board.
 * **How do we market these type of courses? Robotics?**
 * Also a problem at the college level.
 * HTML can be introduced to get them introduced
 * Photoshop has areas where you can sneak in some coding to try to get them interested
 * isupportlearning.com - video gaming simulation, background is programming, simulation where they work in the company, have to do business proposals and end result is to build a game, offering at high school level. Must take Computers in the Modern World course before they take this and then see if another programming course comes from it
 * Trying to introduce programming in the MS, invested ALICE and STORYTELLING ALICE, background is girls like to tell stories and so they do so by programming - allows for a lot of creativity
 * SCRATCH for middle school - has math component and science component - offering workshop at MIT, works great with tablets, website for learnscratch.org, fabulour lesson ideas
 * HTML was too dry
 * In Uper School Advanced Computer Science - website with book reviews, in-service to school, but only have 1 girl to sign up, so asked teacher to rewrite course description to demphasize programming, emphasize animation and creating games, then try to introduce the language as to the depth - this is an elective grade 9+, could of course integrate this but that takes TIME, 6th grade math teacher is a tech teacher
 * wanted to do a Broadcasting course - called it Fine Arts Broadcasting, the label made it palatable to the girls
 * need to make it a credit course, girls don't sign up b/c it doens't "count" possibly do it under the guise of Fine Arts
 * computer language count as one of the Language requirement
 * no tech course is needed to graduate for many schools
 * would this not be a good thing for colleges to want?? is there a survey about what colleges want?? programming, chance to play with power tools,
 * experineced teachers think we need to teach them the technology to get into college, kids this day are more tech savy already
 * high school curruiculum is not WP, more advanced computer science
 * some computer applications is integrated, where some have extensive computer application class in the Middle School
 * break up the applications over the grades, grade 6 - PPT, grade 7 - web design, grade 8 - excel, no databases BUT then they dont' see it again and it's a long time between then and senior classes
 * spread it out over the disciplines, don't have the staff to come in and help out with the technology, MUST free up tech staff to go and partner with the discipline teacher
 * stipend for teacher mentors in the TECH area
 * __WHAT IS MONDAY MORNING GOING TO BRING? How do we create a strategy to enforce this? Sitting with your head and they say what should we do?__**
 * teachers cannot just do it on top of what they are doing, more TIME, meeting time, resources
 * what is the school willing to commit to? what is there vision
 * then pull the departments in and get them to tie-in
 * time and committment must be there
 * a new building allows a launch of a new program, modernized and updated curriuculum
 * develop a STEM department, people from each department, higher corpoarations, univiersities have depts like this
 * parochial girls school in Dallas hired a STEM coordinator
 * STEM committe - part of the 5 year plan
 * PD funding set aside and write up the interdisciplinary
 * __HOW DO WE GET COLLEGUES EXCITED?__**
 * can't be more work
 * sneak it in on them
 * bring new people on board that are savy
 * get people on board
 * then talk about, possibilites, let people get excited
 * let people know they are already doing it, just need to change their vocab
 * convince everyone it is good for the WHOLE school
 * integration
 * in-house PD not very effective, get teachers out to conferences like this and in contact with other teachers, ideas become stale
 * important to bring teachers from ALLor VARIETY of disciplines, then have them present not always the tech people
 * LAST THOUGHTS & STRATEGIES**
 * is there a form or guide like the scientific method to do in order for building/engineering
 * what is the process? step by step guideline
 * techbridge - design and build a toy, and they had a design guideline, lesson plans and PPT on site
 * theatre tech people
 * favourite books - "Strategies for Creative Problem Solving", on resource site
 * Amusesement Park problem - Asked the girls what did you get out of this? Quote: "Sturdy and safe are more important than pretty."