Communications of the ACM
Nae Launches Website to Support Prek-12 Engineering Education Efforts
Credit: Vanderbilt University
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has launched a new website, LinkEngineering, intended to help PreK-12 educators in the United States implement engineering education in classrooms and out-of-school settings.
"LinkEngineering provides the first-ever platform for K-12 teachers and informal educators to work and learn as a community toward the goal of improving the reach and quality of U.S. precollege engineering education," says NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr.
The NAE project, overseen by an expert committee, is motivated by the increasing prevalence of PreK-12 engineering education in the United States. Compared with science and mathematics, engineering has had a limited presence in PreK-12 curriculum. However, efforts to highlight the field have steadily increased over the past 15 years. Further impetus for the LinkEngineering project is the recent publication of the Next Generation Science Standards, which create new expectations for science teachers to connect science learning with engineering design.
The NAE is partnering with five other organizations in this effort: Achieve Inc.; National Science Teachers Association; American Society for Engineering Education; International Technology and Engineering Educators Association; and Council of State Science Supervisors. The project is made possible by the generous support of Chevron.
"Chevron supports science, technology, engineering, and math initiatives that teach students how to analyze problems and build solutions through the same lens that our engineers use in the field — the engineering design process. Teachers and informal educators play a vital role in preparing all students with this knowledge and the critical skills they need for the careers of tomorrow. Under the leadership of the NAE, LinkEngineering provides a much needed resource and community of practice for these educators," says Blair Blackwell, manager of education and corporate programs at Chevron.
Development of LinkEngineering is following an iterative process that builds on research and stakeholder input and mirrors the engineering design process. Front-end research conducted by the NAE in 2014, including regional stakeholder workshops and a national online survey, helped determine the site's features, functionality, and content. Ongoing feedback from a subset of site users ("test team") and a survey of all LinkEngineering members in the next year will inform further improvements.
Committee on Guiding Implementation of PreK–12 Engineering Education
- Cary Sneider, Chair, Associate Research Professor, Portland State University
- Ashok Agrawal, Managing Director for Professional Development, American Society for Engineering Education
- Steve Barbato, Executive Director/CEO, International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
- Laura Bottomley, Director, Engineering Place for K–20 Engineering, North Carolina State University
- Christine Cunningham, Vice President of Research, Boston Museum of Science
- Bonnie Dunbar, Professor and Director of Aerospace Engineering and Leader of University STEM Center, University of Houston
- Maurice Frazier, Teacher of Communication Technology and Graphic Communications, Oscar Smith High School, Chesapeake, Va.
- Gayle Gibson, Director, Engineering, DuPont
- Jacqueline Gish, Director of Advanced Technology, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (ret.)
- Kris D. Gutierrez, Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
- Eric Jolly, President and CEO, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners
- Linda Kekelis, Executive Director, Techbridge
- Peter McLaren, Director, State and District Support for Science, Achieve Inc.
- Steve O'Brien, Associate Professor and Chair, Technological Studies Department, College of New Jersey
- Darryll Pines, Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
- Stephen Pruitt, Senior Vice President for Content, Research, and Development, Achieve Inc.
- Rick Sandlin, Director of Elementary Campus Operations, Texarkana Independent School District
- Jacqueline Smalls, Manager, Science Curriculum Advancement Through Literacy Enhancement (SCALE), Center for Inspired Teaching, Maryland
- Johannes Strobel, Director, Educational Outreach Programs and Associate Professor, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution (College of Engineering) and Teaching, Learning, and Culture (College of Education), Texas A&M, College Station
- Ted Willard, Program Director, National Science Teachers Association
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