Partnerships to Enhance Engineering Education in K-16

University South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NO.: 0230624 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ebert, Christine INSTITUTION NAME: University South Carolina Research Foundation TITLE: Partnerships to Enhance Engineering Education in K-16 ABSTRACT This Bridges for Engineering Education planning grant will develop a comprehensive program to: improve the pedagogical skills of engineering faculty, including their ability to assess student achievement of learning objectives; increase the engineering content in K-12 education; and increase the engineering content in pre-service teacher education. The activities proposed during the planning process are built upon a foundation that increases the number of mutually beneficial partnerships between faculty members in the College of Education and the College of Engineering and Information Technology. The PIs will also personally demonstrate and document the effectiveness of pedagogy-development strategies that are known to education faculty but not to engineering faculty. As a vehicle for developing a comprehensive and integrated program to enhance engineering education in grades K-16, the state-approved Center for Engineering Education Excellence will be activated. The core strategy is to identify and support partnerships between faculty in the College of Engineering and Information Technology and the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. By partnering together to apply their unique expertise to address the common interest of K-12 education improvement, they have learned from each other and are able to directly apply their new knowledge in their separate disciplines. This program is based on cooperative learning techniques. By supporting good people to work together on good projects, each member of the partnership will have a greater awareness of what the other has to offer. This is the cornerstone of a mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationship.