Rice University engineering faculty, Texas Southern University education faculty, and Houston Independent School District teachers and administrators, propose Engineering Bridges, a planning project to develop a comprehensive program to systemically change science, technology, mathematics, and engineering instruction and culture in high-minority high schools in order to increase the number of underrepresented minority students excited and well-prepared to enter engineering university (STEM) majors.
For over thirty years our nation has attempted to increase participation of African American, Hispanic, and Native Americans in STEM fields. And even though there has been some growth in engineering degrees granted to those groups over the last twenty years, that growth has not kept up with those groups population growth in general. This program brings together a strong and varied collaborative to develop a systemic, coherent plan to tackle this problem in a systemic way.
To develop a plan that will
Prepare underrepresented minority high school students so they will succeed with confidence and enthusiasm in university STEM courses; Inform, excite, and motivate underrepresented minority high school students towards engineering careers, and Increase underrepresented minority students admission into university engineering majors.
To meet these goals, the planning team will research and design engineering
. Curriculum materials with appeal to students of underrepresented groups; . Career-driven professional development for teachers, principals, and counselors; . Content-driven professional development for science and mathematics teachers; and a . Multi-level (high school through university faculty/industrial worker) support community that provides academic support and personal and professional role models.
