The award will develop engineering teaching materials which emphasize design for teachers in middle schools. This builds upon the first stage of a long-term multidisciplinary project: the Virginia Middle Schools Engineering Education Initiative (VMSEEI). This will infuse selected engineering concepts and procedures into the context of preexisting science and mathematics classes.
Engineering schools need to develop ways to attract and retain students. Middle school is when we start to lose potential students. In these grades, they make choices that either open or close the doors to advanced science and mathematics. If we start in middle schools, we can make students aware of engineering, and motivate them to pursue the science and mathematics they need to succeed in engineering programs.
The interdisciplinary faculty team is in place, as are engineering students, education graduate students and exceptional local science teachers. Additional middle school teachers are being recruited from local (CharlottesvilleAlbemarle) and regional (Central Virginia) schools, and teachers-in-training at the Curry School of Education at UVa will participate in this project.
