Thoughts on K-12 Teachers’ Role on the Pathways to Preparing Students for

Engineering Education and Practice

Karl A. SmithCivil Engineering, University of Minnesota

ksmith@umn.eduwww.ce.umn.edu/~smith

Technology Education ConferenceOctober 14, 2005

University of Wisconsin - Stout

Bachelor's Degrees Awarded in Engineering & Engineering Technology

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Engineering (left scale)

Eng Tech (right scale)

U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES data, reported in NSB, Science and Engineering Indicators 2004

Beginning in 1976, students persisting to bachelor’s degrees have exhibited the same relative preference for engineering and engineering technology.

Full-Time Enrollment of Undergraduates in Engineering & Engineering Technology

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

1983 1988 1993 1998 2003

Source: Am Assoc of Eng Societies, Eng Workforce Comm.

Engineering

Eng Technology

First University Degrees in Engineering Awarded by High Output Nations

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

China

Japan

USA

So. Korea

Germany

UK

Notice that India data are missing. India has not provided vetted national data since 1990, when they were at the South Korea level.

Engineering• Individually list 3 words that come to mind

when you think of engineering

• Compare your list with a neighbor, note similarities and differences

Definitions

• Engineering – OED– The action of the verb ENGINEER; the work done by,

or the profession of, an engineer.

• Technology – OED – systematic treatment of art, craft

• Smith – OED– One who works in iron or other metal– Original sense – craftsman, skilled worker in metal,

wood or other material

Engineering in Popular Media

• "Houston, we've got a problem.“

• MacGyver?

EngineeringA scientist discovers that which exists. An engineer creates that which never was -- Theodore von Kármán (1881-1963)

The engineering method is the use of heuristics to cause the best change in a poorly understood situation within the available resources – Billy Koen

The engineering method is design under constraints – Wm. Wulf, President, National Academy of Engineering

Engineering = DesignDesign in a major sense is the essence of engineering; it begins with the identification of a need and ends with a product or system in the hands of a user. It is primarily concerned with synthesis rather than the analysis which is central to engineering science. Design, above all else, distinguishes engineering from science (Hancock, 1986, National Science Foundation Workshop).

Design defines engineering. It's an engineer's job to create new things to improve society. It's the University's obligation to give students fundamental education in design (William Durfee, ME, U of Minnesota, Minnesota Technolog, Nov/Dec 1994).

Engineering Design

Engineering design is a systematic, intelligent process in which designers generate, evaluate, and specify concepts for devices, systems, or processes whose form and function achieve clients’ objectives or users’ needs while satisfying a specified set of constraints.

Engineering Design Thinking, Teaching, and Learning -- http://www.asee.org/about/publications/jee/upload/2005jee_sample.htm

Skills often associated with good designers – the ability to:

• tolerate ambiguity that shows up in viewing design as inquiry or as an iterative loop of divergent-convergent thinking;

• maintain sight of the big picture by including systems thinking and systems design;

• handle uncertainty;• make decisions;• think as part of a team in a social process; and• think and communicate in the several languages of

design.

Engineering Design Thinking, Teaching, and Learning -- http://www.asee.org/about/publications/jee/upload/2005jee_sample.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_20/b3883001_mz001.htm

Time, April 2005

Ideo's five-point model for strategizing by design: Hit the StreetsRecruit T-Shaped PeopleBuild to ThinkThe Prototype Tells a StoryDesign Is Never Done

Design Thinking

Discipline

Thin

king

Tom FriedmanHorizontalizeOurselves

http://www.stanford.edu/group/dschool/big_picture/our_vision.html

Engineering = ProfessionCodes of Ethics of Engineers• Fundamental Principles• Fundamental Canons

• Thinking Like An Engineer: Studies in the Ethics of a Profession by Michael Davis, Oxford University Press, 1998 http://www.iit.edu/departments/csep/publication/md_te.html

The Code of Hammurabi (ca 1700 BCE)

• If a builder builds a house for man and does not make its construction firm and the house collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house - that builder shall be put to death. If it destroys property, he shall restore whatever is destroyed, and because he did not make the house firm he shall rebuild the house which collapsed at his own expense. If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction meet the requirement and a wall falls - that builder shall strengthen the wall at his own expense.

American Society of Civil EngineersCode of Ethics

Fundamental Principles

Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by:

 1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of

human welfare and the environment;2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the

public, their employers and clients;3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the

engineering profession; and 4. supporting the professional and technical societies of their

disciplines.

www.asce.org

Fundamental Canons

1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.

2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.

3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.

Fundamental Canons4.   Engineers shall act in professional matters for each

employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.

5.   Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.

6.   Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession.

7.   Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.

Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW)

Lila M. Smith

Lila M. Smith

Cooperative Learning Task Groups

Perkins, David. 2003. King Arthur's RoundTable: How collaborative conversations createsmart organizations. NY: Wiley.

http://clte.asu.edu/active

Four Questions to Help Focus Attention on Engineering*

1. Can you name one thing is this room that was not produced, developed or delivered by an engineer?

2. Can you name a profession that is affecting your life more than engineering?

3. What is the method that engineers use?4. Can you name a nationally known, recognized

scholar of engineering whom you can turn to for an answer to the engineering method question?

*Koen, ca. 1985

Successful Attributes for the Engineer of 2020

• Possess strong analytical skills• Exhibit practical ingenuity; posses creativity• Good communication skills with multiple stakeholders• Business and management skills; Leadership abilities• High ethical standards and a strong sense of

professionalism• Dynamic/agile/resilient/flexible• Lifelong learners

It’s Up to You*

• Widen your horizons. Be a Renaissance engineer— that is, an engineer for the twenty-first century.

• Get involved in public policy. Don’t be afraid to run for office. Stand for practical, cooperative solutions. Bring your expertise to the table, and make others want to listen to you.

• Most important, go out and change the world. Make it a better place. Improve the quality of life for all the people of the Earth. Isn’t that what engineering is really all about?

*George Fisher, Address to the National Academy of Engineering, October 7, 2001.

A CEO, snidely mocking the salaries of teachers, asked a teacher, “What do you make?” The teacher responded, “I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could, I make kids wonder, I make them question, I make them criticize, I make them write, and I make them read and read and read. You know what I make? I make a difference. What about you?”

Thomas Friedman Story about Teachers

Friedman, Thomas. 2005. Journalism as Life. Commencement Address, Williams College. http://www.williams.edu/home/commencement/friedman.php (accessed 8-22-05)