Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Tufts' Pre-College Engineering for Teachers

Tufts University, Medford MA

Investigators

Abstract

The "Tufts' Pre-college Engineering for Teachers (PCET)" project will provide professional development experiences for K-12 teachers in the state of Massachusetts to help them address the Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework adopted by the state in 2001. This framework clearly states that schools should provide a comprehensive science and technology/engineering program enrolling all students preK-12. The project will build upon work that has already been done to infuse engineering literacy into K-12 schools. PCET is a collaboration between Tufts University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Each of these engineering schools will act as a local resource for the teachers participating from that section of the state, with Tufts University serving as the lead institution. The project model involves developing a cadre of 96 mentor teachers through a series of annual Summer Institutes, and assisting these teachers in the development of curriculum materials and adoption strategies for their local contexts. These mentor teachers will also, with the help of project staff, design and deliver similar training sessions to an additional 384 "satellite teachers" in their home institutions. Science and technology teachers have been identified as the target audience for these professional development experiences. Project work will begin with teachers in grades 9-12, and work backward through middle and elementary grade bands (6-8, 3-5, K-2) over the life of the project.