Engineering Recruitment: The Crisis of the 21st Century

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Engineering Recruitment The Crisis of the 21st
Century
NSF S.P.I.R.I.T. Workshop 2007

• How to Identify and Propel
• High Potential Engineering Students Across
  Gender, Cultural, Racial
• Barriers

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The Crisis NSF Indicators

• Engineering enrollment in US down by 20 since
  the 1980s
• Since 1998, U.S. high-technology industries'
  imports exceed exports (aerospace,
  pharmaceuticals, office and computing equipment,
  communications equipment, and scientific
  instruments)
• China India, populations over 1 billion,
  emerging high technology intellectual property
  competitors
• India is 1 outsourcing destination for US
  companies
• Many retirements from the U.S. SE labor force
  are impending.
• U.S. 15-year-olds scored below the international
  average on the 2003 Programme for International
  Student Assessment (PISA), which measures
  students' ability to apply scientific and
  mathematical concepts and skills
• Collectively, African Americans, Hispanics, and
  American Indians/Alaskan Natives represent 10 of
  all college-educated persons employed in Science
  Engineering Fields.
• Women represent approx. 50 of the population,
  but only 26 of those in Science Engineering
  fields
• 11 of all engineers are women.

Source NSF Science Engineering Indicators 2006
http//www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind0
6/c0/c0s1.htm
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The Need

• If the United States is to maintain its economic
  leadership and be able to sustain its share of
  high-technology jobs, it must prepare.
• "The years between the present and 2020 offer
  engineering the opportunity to strengthen its
  leadership role in society and to define an
  engineering career as one of the most influential
  and valuable in society and one that is
  attractive for the best and the brightest,"
• Source The Engineer of 2020 Visions of
  Engineering in the New Century (2004) National
  Academy of Engineering (NAE)

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The Engineer of 2020 Visions of Engineering in
the New Century (2004)National Academy of
Engineering (NAE)

• The book finds that the next several decades
  will offer more opportunities for engineers, with
  exciting possibilities expected from
  nanotechnology, information technology, and
  bioengineering. Other engineering applications,
  such as transgenic food, technologies that affect
  personal privacy, and nuclear technologies, raise
  complex social and ethical challenges. Future
  engineers must be prepared to help the public
  consider and resolve these dilemmas along with
  challenges that will arise from new global
  competition, requiring thoughtful and concerted
  action if engineering in the United States is to
  retain its vibrancy and strength.

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A Call to Action What Do We Do Now?

• Expose ALL students to Engineering Early.
• Motivation for NSF ITEST
• Identify students that possess High Potential for
  Engineering.
• Identify ascend above any gender, cultural,
  racial barriers.
• Propel High Potential Engineering students toward
  an Engineering Career Path.

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Expose All Students to Engineering

• What is engineering?
• Engineering is FUN, Interesting, Creative!
• TekBots!
• Achieve a technically-literate population.

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Identify students with High Potential for
Engineering

• Why?
• Junior High students of 2007 will be the
  Engineers of 2020!
• How?
• Know the Core Qualities of a Student With High
  Engineering Potential
• Who fits the bill, really?
• Boys that have it, Girls that have it
• Cultural and Racial Factors

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Questions to Answer

• To what extent does media influence a students
  perception of their own potential as an engineer?
• How does culture, racial background, family
  upbringing influence a students perception of
  their own potential as an engineer?
• Are all high potential engineers hands-on
  tinker-ers?
• Are all fearless and experimental in math and
  science class?
• How are girls different from boys in social,
  emotional, mental development at this age?
• How might these differences express themselves
  differently in a male/female high potential
  engineering student?

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Core Qualities of a Student With High
Engineering Potential

• High demonstrated ability for math and science
• Inquisitive wants to understand why and how
  things work
• Kinesthetic Hands-on learner, explorer take it
  apart
• Visual Uses vivid images to capture hold
  ideas
• Verbal/Aural Captures ideas by Hearing
  Talking
• Reading/Writing Intakes information in written
  form
• Creative Imaginative
• Analytical Thinking Problem Solving Ability

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What are Some Potential Barriers?

• Limited view of engineer
• Gender-based preconceptions
• Racial/Ethnic Group perceptions
• Economic, Cultural Factors
• Lack of exposure to what is engineering
• Belief that its not achievable for me

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Lesson Plan Item (Applying Engineering Design
Elements)

• What will you do to engage student populations
  that face barriers to envisioning a career in
  engineering?
• Girls, African American students, Latino
  students?
• Any other students?
• What will you do to encourage their participation
  in your planned TekBot activities?
• What will you do to identify those high potential
  engineering students?

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Lesson Plan Item , Cont.(Applying Engineering
Design Elements)

• Observe Record the impact of these action items
  and record any unforeseen boundaries you discover
  along the way.
• Seek Implement Solutions
• (Support at Fall Meetings).
• NSF Deliverable SPIRIT Project Challenge
• Can we DEMONSTRATE that activities developed with
  this project can show improvement in academic
  performance in girls and underrepresented
  students?

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Some Ideas

• Have class write a paper on What is an
  Engineer. Then, define engineer dispel common
  stereotypes of engineer.
• Provide information about achievements and
  examples of a diverse group of engineers.
• Create class dynamics to empower all students,
  not just a certain group, to have confidence
  experimenting with technology.
• Expose students to engineers and/or engineering
  students they can easily relate to.
• Videos
• CEEN students
• Guest Speakers or Videos of Speakers

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Propel High Potential Students toward an
Engineering Career Path

• Educate, involve, engage Parents
• Encourage participation in all math science
  classes, special teams projects
• Encourage participation in all opportunities
  available
• Mentoring
• College campus visits
• Competitions
• Tours of local industries (most involve
  applications of engineering!)

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Students Engineering
OUR FUTURE!

• Plant the seed.
• Nurture the vision.
• Grow up the next generation of engineers for our
  country!
• Capture all of our resources can afford to
  leave no one behind!

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The Spelman College SpelBots Creating New Role
Models in Robotics

• The first all-women and African American
  undergraduate team to compete in the
  International RoboCup Four-Legged Soccer
  Competition in Osaka, Japan (2005) and Bremen,
  Germany (2006).
• In 2005, they were the ONLY undergraduate team in
  the US to qualify.
• In 2007, they earned 2nd place in the RoboCup
  2007 Atlanta Technical Challenge Passing
  Challenge event.
• SpelBots are ranked 7th in the world in the
  Four-legged Technical Challenge RoboCup 2007

• Spelman College is a private historically Black
  all womens college located in Atlanta, GA

• The SpelBots with Advisor Dr. Andrew Williams

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What isRoboCup

• It is an International Competition that utilizes
  robotic soccer to advance research in robotics
  and artificial intelligence.
• The 2007 Atlanta Competition included 321 teams
  from 29 countries.
• The competition utilizes both humainoid and Sony
  AIBO robots.

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The Engineer of 2020

• "What attributes will the engineer of 2020 have?"
  
• That engineer "will aspire to have the ingenuity
  of Lillian Gilbreth, the problem-solving
  capabilities of Gordon Moore, the scientific
  insight of Albert Einstein, the creativity of
  Pablo Picasso, the determination of the Wright
  brothers, the leadership abilities of Bill Gates,
  the conscience of Eleanor Roosevelt, the vision
  of Martin Luther King and the curiosity and
  wonder of our grandchildren."
• Source http//gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/
  fall04/article1.html

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Resources

• Achieving Gender Equity in Science Classrooms
• http//www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_Co
  llege/homepginfo/equity/Equity_handbook.htmlconte
  nts
• Try Engineering Life of An Engineer(8 Profiles
  of Real Engineers) http//www.tryengineering.org/l
  ife.php
• Women In Science 16 Historical Profiles
  http//www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/index.html
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
  Pre-College Initiative http//www.nsbe.org/precol
  lege/index.html
• The Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• http//www.swe.org/stellent/idcplg?IdcServiceSS_
  GET_PAGEnodeId5
• The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
  SHPE.org

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Resources, Cont.

• Barriers and Enablers for Women in Engineering
  (an article by National Academy of Engineers Vice
  President)
• http//www.nae.edu/nae/bridgecom.nsf/weblinks/NAEW
  -4STKTF?OpenDocument

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Credits

• Created by Alisa N. Gilmore, P.E. , University
  of Nebraska-Lincoln, NSF SPIRIT, July 2006
• Updated Enhanced July 2007
• Comments/Feedback to alisagilmore_at_mail.unomaha.ed
  u