Promoting Engineering Education in Elementary Schools and Clubs — The PEEESC Program
The SySTEmic Elementary Engineering Project: A Partnership Among Harford County Public Schools, Engineering is Elementary and Towson University
Since the spring of 2008, Dr. Lottero-Perdue has been a partner with Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) to develop a systemic elementary engineering education program for all students in the district. The multi-year project is one that involves STE-integrated (i.e., Science-Technology-Engineering-integrated) unit design at each of grades one through five, professional development for teachers, a gradual implementation approach, and a system of feedback in which teachers help shape new versions of each unit.
Each STE-integrated unit includes an engineering unit from the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum (link: www.mos.org/eie), blended with revised and highly interconnected science units of instruction initially written by HCPS teachers. EiE units were chosen at each grade level based upon their ability to enhance science instruction in those respective grades. The first two units, piloted between the spring of 2009 and the 2009-2010 academic year are: Motion, Energy & Mechanical Engineering (3rd grade) and Rocks, Minerals & Materials Engineering (4th grade).
Classroom and enrichment teachers who are involved in the project receive days – not hours – of professional development. Enrichment teachers at each school site in which the project is piloted are involved to support and enhance classroom instruction.
At each grade level, STE-integrated units will take approximately three years to extend out to all children in that grade in the county. This gradual implementation process has already begun for 3rd and 4th grades, both of which are in the first year of implementation in the following schools: Jarrettsville, Havre de Grace, Halls Crossroads, North Bend, Prospect Mill, Darlington, and Homestead/Wakefield. Over 35 classrooms of students will learn an STE-integrated unit during this first year of implementation. Implementation for grades 1, 2, and 5 will follow in subsequent years.
In-depth interviews and teacher surveys help project leaders assess the health of the project throughout implementation, and serve as a basis for educational research so that the lessons learned from this project can be shared with others nationally.
Funding
Funding sources for the project, thus far:
A $100,000.00 Workforce ONE Maryland Program grant from the Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, which supported project activities during the first half of 2009. (Principal Investigator: Dr. Lottero-Perdue.)
Monetary support from the National Dissemination through Regional Partners program, funded by the Bechtel Corporation through Engineering is Elementary, to support project activities for 2009 and 2010. (Awardee/Hub Site Partner: Dr. Lottero-Perdue.)
Funds awarded to Dr. Lottero-Perdue from the 2008-2009 College of Graduate Studies and Research Faculty Fellowship Program were helpful in supporting the early stages of this work.
HCPS was also awarded $100,000.00 from the Maryland State Department of Education for their “Greengineering” Project (Principal Investigator: Mr. Mark Herzog), which is related to, enhances, and extends the work of The SySTEmic Elementary Engineering Project. Dr. Lottero-Perdue is involved in the Greengineering Project as an engineering education consultant. She is especially excited about the installation of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine at Harford Glen, which will connect to the 3rd Grade STE-integrated unit.
Funding for subsequent years of The SySTEmic Elementary Engineering Project is currently being sought.
Project Team
Lead Team:
Mr. Eric Cromwell, Coordinator of Accelerated Learning Programs, HCPS
Mr. Mark Herzog, Assistant Supervisor of Science and Director, Harford Glen, HCPS
The Jess and Mildred Fisher
College of Science and Mathematics
Smith Hall, Room 312 (campus map)
Phone: 410-704-2121
Fax: 410-704-2604
E-mail: fcsm@towson.edu
