Just a cute kid with a great imagination...
or an aspiring engineer with dreams and drive to shape our world?

Becoming a technological thinker and leader is essential for full participation in our high-tech, global world. Exploration of K-12 engineering inspires youngsters to become aware of the human-made world around them. Developing engineering habits of mind helps all people (including youth) imagine themselves as shaping the future - developing skills to address real-world challenges and creating things for the benefit of humanity and our planet. Because engineering is a natural platform for integration of multiple subjects, and evidence suggests that design as a pedagogical strategy promotes learning across disciplines, K-12 engineering curricula introduces young students to relevant and fulfilling science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) futures.

Why teach K-12 engineering in your classroom?

• Shaping Our World - Engineering design, by its very nature, is a pedagogical strategy that promotes learning across disciplines. K-12 engineering curricula introduce young students to relevant and fulfilling science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) content in an integrated fashion through exploration of the built world around them.


• Learning through Experience - Children learn through experiences, and the earlier we create STEM-based experiences, the better. Yes, engineering builds upon knowledge of science and math - but its impact reaches far beyond for youth, capitalizing upon their visualization and creativity skills, and integrating their knowledge and skills with their values and view of the world.


• Enhance Scientific and Mathematical Literacy - Use of the TeachEngineering lessons and activities engages students in the everyday application of science, mathematics, technology and engineering in our world to improve their understanding of fundamental - and often complex - concepts in a way that makes sense to them through exploration of the built world.


• Inquiry-Based Lessons and Activities - Students who study engineering pose questions concerning "why things work" rather than "why they need to learn this." TeachEngineering provides an easy way to find consistently-designed, inquiry-based lesson plans and activities that integrate applied science and math content within an imaginative engineering context relevant to the lives of youth.


• Not an Engineer? Not a Problem! - Engineering is all around us. This collection uses engineering as a vehicle to integrate math and science fundamentals through open-ended, hands-on discovery. All lesson plans are based upon age-appropriate national and state science, technology, mathematics and engineering educational standards.


• Not a Computer Whiz? Not a Problem! - This collection is a freely-accessible, user-friendly environment for K-12 teachers and engineering educators. All you need is an internet-capable computer. The curricular units, lessons and activities contain consistent components, so once you become familiar with one lesson, you understand the structure of the other lesson plans in the TeachEngineering collection.

TeachEngineering...
because dreams need doing.

The Numbers: Engineering Concerns, Ramifications and Solutions

Children are naturally creative and innovative. Yet, a look at the education statistics of engineers in the U.S. reveals concerns about meeting our nation's future demand for engineers:

Many bright students, particularly women, minorities (those typically underrepresented in the field of engineering such as Hispanic, African American and American Indian), first-generation college-bound youth, and youngsters from low-income families are not choosing engineering careers. The U.S. trails all industrialized nations in the percentage of engineering bachelor's degrees graduated [1] , and the percentages of women and minorities pursuing engineering is much less than their representation in society at large - and tragically, declining!

Unlike the physical sciences, arts and business disciplines, engineering lacks a formal presence in K-12 education. Hence, the science and math deficiencies exhibited in K-12 student testing [2, 3] translate to a reduced pool of students who are prepared to pursue engineering- and technology-related careers.

The education and economic communities agree that technological literacy is necessary for full participation in society. The need to produce an innovative, technical workforce that reflects the mix of the citizenry is substantial. While the number of engineering graduates has increased during 2000-04, astonishingly, in 2004, the U.S. produced fewer engineering graduates than in the mid-1980s. The Department of Labor projects the creation of four million new science, engineering, mathematics and computer jobs by 2010, and the demand for engineering professionals is expected to increase by 9.4% between 2000 and 2010 [1]. (For more statistics, see the National Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics website). The shrinking talent pool has serious ramifications for meeting the economy's future demand for engineers — the creators of products and processes that make life better.

Use of the TeachEngineering curricular collection can positively introduce young students to meaningful and fulfilling science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. Use of the curricula inspires children to learn math and science as valuable tools needed to solve real-world problems.

1. Science Foundation (2002). Science and Engineering Indicators. Washington, D.C. http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind02/start.htm
2. National Research Council (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
3. TIMSS International Study Center. http://timss.bc.edu.