Engineering Focus Workshop

Changes the community wants to see…

• • Fun experiments

  • Integrated STEM projects --> not just Science, Tech, English, or Math

  • Understand underlying technology at age appropriate level. Not just be a user

  • Fun Science

  • Relative topics

  • Engineering earlier

  • Girls in Science

  • Some simple "programming" activities - I saw the list of software on the D39C website, I like the idea

  • "Common Core Engineering" --> backwards design

  • STEM in all areas - less sharp boundaries in courses/curricula

  • Application based

  • Structured problem solving with word problems, knowns, unknowns

  • Use technology apps to teach

  • Projects that span a time appropriate for the age

  • Kids build over the whole semester - plan, build, redo

  • Mountain Top experiences with industry folks

  • Engineering, design process feeds into all subjects

  • Engineering is design - use design process to teach STEM

  • Complete End to End design process

What excites you?

• • Engineering projects apply to math and science

  • Computer science to teach number theory (non traditional math)

  • Kids know their options of engineering/science different disciplines

  • Hands on experiences followed by learning 'why'

  • Engaged children

  • Get your hands dirty

  • Exciting homework

  • Build entrepreneurs and think outside the box

What don’t you want to see…

• • Not all computer based - use real physics

  • Work sheets

  • Recipes for doing a project

  • Lessons taught from a book

  • Mindless repetition

  • An all engineering school

  • Narrow engineering tracks

  • Not giving critical feedback - failure is good, experimentation is good but needs to know when it doesn't work

New Opportunities you would like to see…

• • Exploration

  • Explore Biochemistry

  • Lower grades explore upper grades

  • Risk taking

  • Play with Legos

  • Experiment, experiment, experiment

  • Learning from mistakes

  • Lego Club

  • Relevant field trips

  • Exposed to the newest teachers who bring in out of the box concepts

  • Multi-grade spanning projects --> valued contribution from all grades

  • There are more than one way to solve a problem

  • Computer programming courses

  • Application based