This project aims to develop student recruitment and retention techniques, instructional strategies, educational materials, and laboratory activities that provide precollege and college students with advanced technological education related to manufacturing and engineering materials technology. Goals will be achieved through a dynamic alliance among community colleges, public schools, and a university coupled with business, industry, government and technical societies. Building on the vast experience of the project team from Norfolk State University, Tidewater Community College, and Virginia Beach Public Schools, the alliance will synthesize a coherent 2+2+2 model program that moves students into and through the pipeline for careers as advanced industrial/engineering technicians. The project will draw on an established national network of educators, and from a wide variety of educational groups including other NSF projects teams, technical societies, businesses, corporations, and federal laboratories. The project team will select and develop appropriate materials for both precollege and college technician programs. At the precollege level the emphasis is on developing integrated math, science, and technology concepts through the content of materials science and technology with an emphasis on interfacing computers with materials testing equipment. Also, strategies and materials aimed at informing guidance counselors, students, and parents about the career opportunities for technicians in materials science and manufacturing will be developed. At the A.A.S. and B.S. technology levels, the project team will select from available materials and develop multimedia units related to engineering materials technology and manufacturing. The Annual National Educators's Workshops on engineering materials technology will provide technical updating for ten community college faculty members each year of the project. *
