Infinity-project.org The Institute for Engineering Education Engineering Education for todays...

infinity-project.orgThe Institute for Engineering Education

Engineering Education for today’s classroom.

The Infinity ProjectSM

Bringing Engineering Education to Schools across the Country

infinity-project.org

Engineering Education for Today’s Classroom

The Institute for Engineering Education



Interest in Engineering in the U.S. has declined for 20 Years

Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2002

• 50% decline in student interest in engineering• 14% decline in engineering degrees awarded to US students

And, over the last ten years there has been:



Without new engineers we will continue to face a perpetual shortage

2000 2010

3M jobs

4M jobs To meet current job forecasts, we need to add 100,000 engineers every year for a decade.

The U.S. currently graduates 60,000 engineers per year.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001

Engineering andTech jobs



The Rest of the World Recognizes the Value of Engineering

• Europe graduates 3 times as many engineers as the US, Asia graduates 5 times

• 46% of the degrees awarded in China are engineering degrees

• Only 5% of US college degrees are in engineering



The Bottom Line - Future U.S. Engineers are Scarce

• Likelihood that a High School graduate obtains an engineering degree– All students: 2.1% – Women: 0.9%– Minorities: 0.8%

• In a Typical High School Graduating Class of 400 students– There will be 8 engineers – 5 will be white males, 2 women, 1 a minority



Some of the Causes

Why aren’t students interested in pursuing engineering?

• Lack of preparation– “engineering is all numbers, and I’m not good at math”

• Lack of exposure– “what is engineering?”

• Lack of interest– “engineering is boring and geeky”



High School Preparation is Lagging

• Less than 10% of high school students take math through calculus and science through physics– Standard for successful engineering applicants

• Only 6% of minority high school students meet this level of preparedness

• And most importantly, today almost no high school student has any meaningful engineering classroom experience to motivate them for further study



Lack of Exposure

Fact: How do we expect students to be interested in engineering if they have never even seen it?

Society expects students to be exposed to and know:– Biology - Algebra I, II– Geometry - Pre-Calculus– Economics - Physics

Isn’t technology-based engineering just as important to the future of our students?



The Infinity ProjectSM

Exciting and Relevant: Engineering Education for Today’s Students



What is The Infinity ProjectSM?

Award winning high school and early college engineering education program– Based in The Institute for Engineering

Education – Created by nationally recognized

engineering and educational leaders from across the country

– Supplies schools with everything they need to be successful

– Working with classrooms in 34 states today



The Infinity Project’s Grand Educational Challenge

Expose young students to the excitement and relevance of modern high-tech engineering (early)

– Make math and science relevant and fun with hands on, and exciting educational experiences.

– Increase the number of students pursuing engineering degrees at colleges and universities.

– Create educational and economic opportunities for underrepresented groups.

– Connect kids to the 21st century and increase their technical literacy.



Parents want Engineering Exposure for their Children

In recent national survey, parents choose engineering as first choice for children

– 75% say engineering is more important than business.– 72% say engineering is more important than medicine.– 58% say engineering is more important than law.

(Source: 2001 Los Angeles Times National Survey)



Target Audience

The Infinity Project curriculum was created as a conventional everyday course with extensive and exciting hands on engineering design activities and great applications of math and science.

Infinity is appropriate for:

– High School Students: Sophomores - Seniors– Early college students (Freshman engineering

majors)

Prerequisites: Algebra II and one lab science course



Classroom Technology:The Infinity Technology Kit

• The Complete Classroom Technology Solution– Turns a standard PC into an engineering design platform.

• Integrated extensively throughout the curriculum.

• Supports hundreds of exciting engineering design projects.

• Low-cost kit manufactured by National Instruments includes:

– Cutting Edge Texas Instruments DSP technology

– Visual Software (VAB for Infinity)

– All the peripherals you need



Sample Design Examples

• Build digital music instruments– Electric piano and guitar

• Create new special effects for movies• Secretly encode messages between students• Turn a PC into a Cell Phone



Professional Development and Support

• The Infinity Project has a high degree of focus on supporting the teacher and the classroom– The Infinity Project conducts intensive and fun weeklong summer

institutes on the curriculum and technology.– Teachers really begin to think and act like engineers

– On-line discussion groups with 24 hour response time.• On-line materials to support classroom experience.

– Daily lesson plan guide– Sample test questions with solutions– Complete homework solutions– Engineering Design Projects with solutions– Chapter lecture already prepared in PowerPoint for instructors



Infinity Professional Development Institutes

- 35 hours of professional development training for new teachers offered during the summer

- Conducted by master teachers

- Enriching, relevant and fun

- Hands-on and valuable



Teacher Comments

“Every student in America should be exposed to this material.”

“Best training I have ever seen.”

“I want to run home and show this to my own children.”

“My state needs this right now.”



Types of Schools that we areCurrently Working With

The Infinity Project has been proven successful in a wide variety of schools– District-wide adoptions– Large urban public schools– Suburban public schools– Magnet schools– All-female schools (private)– All-male schools (private)– General private schools– School for alternative learners



Student Impact

– 80% of students completing program report a “very strong interest” in pursuing engineering.

– 95% learned new math concepts– Nearly 100% would “recommend

course to friend.”– Long-term, longitudinal impact

studies underway

Infinity is in place at schools in 34 states today.



Participating States Today

• Alaska

• Alabama

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• District of Columbia

• Florida

• Georgia

• Hawaii

• Iowa

• Illinois

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Maine

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• New York

• North Carolina

• Ohio

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Virginia

• West Virginia

• Wisconsin



Joining the Infinity Project

How Does My School Join The Infinity Project?

It is easy….

• Winter/Spring: Apply by filling out an application available on the Infinity website. (Deadlines are available on the website.) – Follow-up interviews are conducted with teachers and administrators.– New Infinity schools are announced at the end of spring– Schools then acquire classroom technology and textbooks. Educators begin participating in

discussion groups.• Summer: Teachers attend summer professional development institutes.• Fall: Teachers begin teaching course.• Academic Year: Infinity Project team supports classroom



Criteria for Selection

1. Committed school administrators.

2. Motivated and qualified instructor(s): math, science, or technology certified instructors with moderate comfort level using computer programs.

3. Energetic students with the appropriate prerequisites:

sophomore, juniors or seniors who have completed Algebra II and one lab science course.

4. Sufficient lab equipment and space.

5. Community that will benefit from program.



Typical Total Program Costs

Professional Development for Teachers– $750/teacher plus travel expenses

Classroom Technology Acquisition– Available through National Instruments– $400/kit – typically 10 kits per school

Course Textbook & Student Lab Manual– Available through Prentice Hall– $50/textbook “Engineering Our Digital Future”– $15/student lab manual



www.infinity-project.org

Visit the website to download this PowerPoint, a video describing the program, teacher comments, sample materials, and all the application forms.

How do I learn more about the Infinity Project?



Current List of Partners

• Universities– Created by Institute for Engineering Education at SMU– Other participating universities include Georgia Institute of Technology,

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Rice University, Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at El Paso, Prairie View A&M, University of Michigan, Santa Clara, University of Houston, and many others.

• Corporate – Government– Texas Instruments– Department of Education – National Instruments– National Science Foundation– Tyco, Compaq, Microsoft– And others

Infinity-project.org The Institute for Engineering Education Engineering Education for todays...

Documents

Transcript of Infinity-project.org The Institute for Engineering Education Engineering Education for todays...