K12 Outreach at NC State University

1
K-12 Outreach at NC State University
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY
Engineering Outreach Teams

• Sarah A. Rajala and Laura J. Bottomley
• College of Engineering

2
Team Goals
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Expanding knowledge of engineering
• Increasing interest and enthusiasm for
  engineering
• Modeling practicing engineers as female and
  people of color

• Affecting attitudes of students, teachers and
  administrators about who might make a good
  engineer

3
Education Program - Content
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Develop a new curriculum for civil engineering
  undergraduate and graduate students
• Develop a graduate multi-disciplinary curriculum
  in risk perception and risk communication
• Develop an undergraduate multi-disciplinary
  seminar course

4
Education Program - Objectives (Contd)
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Offer lower division courses on nuclear power to
  off-campus students
• Develop K-12 outreach programs
• Incorporate effective teaching/learning
  methodologies into proposed curricula
• Develop cooperative education and internship
  programs

5
Curriculum Development BS/MS in Civil
Engineering
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Five year BS/MS program
• Nuclear Engineering courses
• Thermodynamics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Heat Transfer
• Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
• New course
• Risk, Radiation and Waste Management

6
Curriculum Development Risk Perception and
Communication
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Graduate track, emphasis, or minor
• Departments
• Communication
• Psychology
• English - Technical Communication Program
• Multi-disciplinary Studies - Science, Technology,
  and Society Program

7
Curriculum Development Risk Perception and
Communication
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• New course development
• Risk Perception (Psychology)
• Risk Communication (Communication and Technical
  Communication)
• Risk and Society (Multidisciplinary Studies)
• Risk and Public Policy (Public Administration)
• Environmental Rhetoric (Technical Communication)

8
Curriculum Development Risk and Environmental
Communication
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Undergraduate option or track
• Departments
• Communication
• English
• New course development
• Risk assessment process
• Factors in risk perception
• Public policy

9
Curriculum Development Inter-disciplinary
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Freshmen seminar
• MDS 105 - A Systems Approach to the Universe
• New course emphasis - Nuclear energy in our
  society

10
Curriculum Development Inter-disciplinary
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• One credit hour civil/nuclear seminar course
• Graduate/undergraduate engineering students
• Industry and university experts
• For undergraduates, will supplement the senior
  design course

11
Curriculum Development Web-based courses on
nuclear power
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Lower division course(s)
• Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
• 22 program partnerships
• UNC Asheville
• UNC Wilmington
• Lenoir Community College

12
K-12 Outreach Programs
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Engineering Outreach Teams
• Hands-on demonstrations
• nuclear power
• risk perception
• risk communication
• public participation in decision making
• Half-day workshop for high school students
• Workshop for K-12 teachers
• Research opportunities for K-12 teachers and high
  school students

13
Effective Teaching and Learning
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• New instructional methods
• Cooperative learning principles
• Teamwork
• Communication skills
• Self-assessment
• Seminars on effective teaching techniques
• Instructional methodology module

14
Cooperative Education/Internships
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Cooperative Education Program
• Graduate students
• Undergraduate students
• 22 students
• Internships
• Undergraduate students
• 22 students
• High school students

15
Program Evaluation
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Student feedback
• Industry feedback
• Evaluation method/questionnaires
• Walker/SUCCEED

16
Dissemination
NC STATE
UNIVERSITY

• Curricula/courses to be shared with other
  universities
• Professional meetings/conferences
• Archival journals