scholarly journals Engineering Perspectives of Grade 7 Students

Author(s):  
Mary Spencer ◽  
David Strong

Many high school students are unable to consider engineering as an undergraduate program of study because they do not have the prerequisite courses required for university entrance. In order to provide the opportunity for capable students to pursue an engineering degree and subsequently enter the engineering profession, they must understand what engineering is prior to entering high school to enable them to select appropriate courses. The focus of this study is to understand how students in 7th grade perceive the profession of engineering in two regions across Canada. The literature suggests that action is underway in some areas of the United States in order to create awareness and encourage students to pursue an engineering program. These initiatives range from integrating engineering concepts into the K-12 curriculum to providing outreach and design challenge opportunities outside of school. Such initiatives are present in very isolated cases within Canada, however, their reach and impact is limited.In order to better understand the perspective of pre-high school students in Canada, they will be provided with a survey incorporating a variety of questions pertaining to what they understand about engineering as a profession. All questions have been structured as open ended in order to promote individualized answers from the students. Survey questions will be analyzed with NVIVO software to determine if there are common themes in the understanding and perception of engineering from the students’ perspective. Observations and emerging trends of this work in progress will be presented in the final paper.

Author(s):  
Bryce L. Walker ◽  
Nicholas D. Hartlep

The purpose of this book chapter is to illustrate the effective use of online learning design in project management for a fully accredited online high school. This online high school was developed through a partnership of a national-accredited online K-12 educational institution and a prominent university located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Within the high school, a course was created to measure the value of this online high school experience through the focal lens of its main stakeholders, the online high school students. The authors discuss the implementation and management that was used for the design of that online course. Drawing on a description of an online preparatory course and survey data from 3 participants, the objectives of this chapter are to highlight mission and goals of the online high school and the advantages/disadvantages of attending a synchronous online high school (Quillen, 2010). Findings illustrate the labor intensive commencement of an online high school through its first year.


2013 ◽  
pp. 512-527
Author(s):  
Bryce L. Walker ◽  
Nicholas D. Hartlep

The purpose of this book chapter is to illustrate the effective use of online learning design in project management for a fully accredited online high school. This online high school was developed through a partnership of a national-accredited online K-12 educational institution and a prominent university located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Within the high school, a course was created to measure the value of this online high school experience through the focal lens of its main stakeholders, the online high school students. The authors discuss the implementation and management that was used for the design of that online course. Drawing on a description of an online preparatory course and survey data from 3 participants, the objectives of this chapter are to highlight mission and goals of the online high school and the advantages/disadvantages of attending a synchronous online high school (Quillen, 2010). Findings illustrate the labor intensive commencement of an online high school through its first year.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phitsamay Uy

In the world of K–12 education, the growing numbers of dropouts are a major concern. This article examines the dropout rates of Chinese and Vietnamese high school students. Using logistic regression analysis, this article examines the influence of ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) on dropout rates. The distinct contribution of this analysis lies within the intraethnic comparisons within the Asian American student population and its use of longitudinal data. The results of the study support existing research that gender and SES are related to dropout rates. Moreover, an interesting interaction between ethnicity and SES exists.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-142
Author(s):  
Stephanie Couch ◽  
Audra Skukauskaite ◽  
Leigh B. Estabrooks

The lack of diversity among patent holders in the United States (1-3) is a topic that is being discussed by federal policymakers. Available data suggests that prolific patent holders and leading technology innovators are 88.3% male and nearly 94.3% Asian, Pacific Islander, or White, and half of the diversity that does exist is among those who are foreign born (3). The data shows that there is a need for greater diversity among patent holders. Few studies, however, are available to guide the work of educators creating learning opportunities to help young people from diverse backgrounds learn to invent. Educators must navigate issues that have complex sociocultural and historical dimensions (4), which shape the ideas of those surrounding them regarding who can invent, with whom, under what conditions, and for what purposes. In this paper, we report the results of an ongoing multimethod study of an invention education pro- gram that has worked with teachers and students in Grades 6 through 12 for the past 16 years. Findings stem from an analysis of end-of-year experience surveys and interview transcripts of six students (three young men and three young women) who participated in high school InvenTeams®. The data were used to investigate three topics: 1) ways high school students who have participated on an InvenTeam conceptualize the term "failure" and what it means to "learn from failure," 2) what supported and constrained the work of the three young women during their InvenTeams experience and the implications for policy makers concerned about the gender gap in patenting, and 3) ways the young men and young women took up (or didn't take up) the identity of "inventor" after working on a team that developed a working prototype of an invention during the previous school year.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089590482110199
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Freeman ◽  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Jay Stratte Plasman

Recent educational policies in the United States have fostered the growth of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career-focused courses to support high school students’ persistence into these fields in college and beyond. As one key example, federal legislation has embedded new types of “applied STEM” (AS) courses into the career and technical education curriculum (CTE), which can help students persist in STEM through high school and college. Yet, little is known about the link between AS-CTE coursetaking and college STEM persistence for students with learning disabilities (LDs). Using a nationally representative data set, we found no evidence that earning more units of AS-CTE in high school influenced college enrollment patterns or major selection in non-AS STEM fields for students with LDs. That said, students with LDs who earned more units of AS-CTE in high school were more likely to seriously consider and ultimately declare AS-related STEM majors in college.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097135572110256
Author(s):  
Eric Joseph van Holm

Makerspaces have grown over the last two decades and provide a potentially important resource to entrepreneurs. One area where the expansion of makerspaces has been the largest is in educational settings, at both K-12 schools and colleges. However, scant research to date has analysed whether students visiting a makerspace have any relationship with their professional goals or intentions. This study uses a survey conducted in New Orleans to analyse the predictors of what students use a makerspace, and the potential relationship visiting may have with entrepreneurial intent. The analysis finds that students with a higher socio-economic status appear to use makerspaces more often, and that students who visited makerspaces are more likely to express interest in starting their own businesses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-168
Author(s):  
Desmond Ang

Abstract Nearly 1,000 officer-involved killings occur each year in the United States. This article documents the large, racially disparate effects of these events on the educational and psychological well-being of Los Angeles public high school students. Exploiting hyperlocal variation in how close students live to a killing, I find that exposure to police violence leads to persistent decreases in GPA, increased incidence of emotional disturbance, and lower rates of high school completion and college enrollment. These effects are driven entirely by black and Hispanic students in response to police killings of other minorities and are largest for incidents involving unarmed individuals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 862-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Williams ◽  
Chad T. Miller ◽  
Ward Upham

In recent years, many horticulture departments around the United States have been concerned with recruiting and retaining an adequate number of students. One potential recruitment opportunity is the horticulture Future Farmers of America (FFA) Career Development Events (CDEs). For the time period of 1999 to 2012 (14 years), 1462 students participated in the annual state-level horticulture contests, comprising floriculture and nursery/landscape CDEs, held at Kansas State University (KSU). Using the rosters from these two CDEs, we referenced the university’s student information database to determine whether the high school students who participated as FFA horticulture CDE contestants ultimately matriculated to KSU. Fifty-two percent of former FFA horticulture CDE participants were accepted to KSU and 32% matriculated. Of these, 58% enrolled in the College of Agriculture and 19% majored in horticulture. Therefore, 3.5% of total horticulture CDE participants majored in horticulture at KSU. Students who participated in more than one horticulture CDE over time were more likely to major in horticulture at KSU compared with students who competed only once. Thirty-nine percent of students who participated in both horticulture CDEs pursued a baccalaureate program in horticulture. These two student characteristics could be used as indicator data points to target recruitment of future horticulture students. Data about the high school programs that generated contest participants were also summarized. Exceling in the CDE contests was not an indicator CDE participants would pursue a baccalaureate degree in horticulture. These analyses suggest FFA CDEs have some potential to optimize student recruitment efforts.


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