Utah State and Brigham Young University Receive $10 Million Grant to Promote Engineering Education

TheUtah State University College of Engineering received a $10 million grant fromthe National Science Foundation to start a National Science Foundation Center for Learning and Teaching.

Thecenter will develop a community of university and K-12 educators who can engagesignificant numbers of students effectively in learning engineering andtechnology concepts. Called the National Center for Engineering and TechnologyEducation (NCETE), the center will link four research universities with fivetechnology teacher education institutions, fifteen K-12school districts and three education-related societies, said Christine Hailey,associate dean for the college of engineering and principal investigator forthe center.

“Thisgrant is further evidence of the increasing national stature of our college ofengineering, of its dean, Scott Hinton, and of its commitment to bring researchand teaching together in a way that facilitates the success of our students andfaculty,” said Utah State President Kermit L. Hall.

Thenation is losing a number of its experienced school teachers to retirement eachyear, many being replaced by a number of inadequately prepared educators. Thoseparticularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematicsare in high demand, and with many planning to retire over the next decade,there is growing national concern about how to reverse this trend, Hailey said.

Butengineering and technology education faculty at Utah State Universityand Brigham Young University are joining universitiesfrom around the country to address this concern.

Utah State is the fiscal and managementhome of the center and will partner with the University of Illinois; the University of Minnesota; the University of Georgia; Brigham Young University;California State University, Los Angeles; Illinois State University;North Carolina A&T University and the University of Wisconsin Stout. The group willalso work with the International Technology Education Association, the Councilon Technology Teacher Education and the American Society of EngineeringEducation.

“Thefact that we got the funding from NSF says a lot about Utah State and the capabilities of ourhigh-quality partners involved in the center,” Hailey said. “There are only 15such centers in the entire country, and our center is first to focus onengineering technology and education. We are excited to have the opportunity tobetter understand how students and teachers learn, prepare better teachers and,ultimately, make a difference for many students studying math, science,technology and engineering.”

Accordingto Hailey, there is a national trend of declining numbers of students pursuingengineering and scientific careers. The center hopes to correct that problem bylinking technology educators with engineering educators in a symbiotic alliancethat will infuse engineering content, design and analytical skills into K-12schools. The NCETE brings together a powerful coalition of universities andK-12 schools to address these issues and concerns.

“Thenew center is a wonderful opportunity to conduct important research in howstudents learn technology and engineering concepts and to prepare doctoralstudents to become the next generation of leaders in education,” said H. ScottHinton, dean of the College of Engineeringat Utah State.

“Theunique fusion between engineering and technology education will bring a widerange of opportunities to all levels of education,” said Thomas L. Erekson,NCETE co-director and director for the School of Technology and associate deanfor the College of Engineeringand Technology at BYU. “A key outcome will be to involve K-12 students increatively solving problems like engineers, in effect having students thinklike engineers.”

NCETEwill increase the number of doctorate-level professionals and improve thenational capability to conduct research in emerging engineering and technologyeducation areas. It will also support 20 doctoral students and 50 master’sstudents and prepare more than 150 new technology education teachers, whilealso providing teachers professional-development workshops in more than 10school districts. This service will provide more than 120 hours of inserviceeducation to more than 150 teachers.

“Throughresearch and the strengthening of partnerships with secondary schools, thecenter will implement the best practices of technology and engineeringeducation,” said Kurt H. Becker, NCETE co-principal investigator and professorin the department of engineering and technology education.

“The Davis School District started teachingengineering content at the high school level four years ago and we look forwardto strengthening our program as a K-12 partner in the NCETE,” said Neil Hancey,supervisor for engineering and technology education in the Davis School District in Salt Lake City.

“Participationin the center represents a major opportunity for underrepresented people toenter the leadership level of the technology education profession,” saidVincent Childress, NCETE team member and faculty member in graphiccommunications systems and technological studies department at North Carolina A&T University.“It will also help improve public school instruction in technology andengineering.”

Thefocus of the center enhances what the state of Utahis doing to promote the interests of students studying science and engineeringthrough the Governor’s Initiative on Science and Engineering.

MauriceThomas, department head for Utah State’snewly reorganized department of engineering and technology education, alsoserves as co-principal investigator on the project. According to Thomas, theNCETE activities of developing doctoral students engaged in engineering andtechnology education research is consistent with the mission of the newlyreorganized department.

Writer:Maren Cartwright (435) 797-1355

Contact:Chris Hailey (435) 797-3332, Scott Hinton (435) 797-2775