Massachusetts k12 Engineering
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Opportunities

Excellent State Frameworks

Massachusetts has had State frameworks in Technology/Engineering since 1996;
  • The new Massachusetts science and technology/engineering frameworks( 2013) integrate NGSS standards,  with engineering embedded throughout, while retaining technology skills component.
  • New technical-vocational education frameworks(2014) emphasize up-to-date skills in biotechnology, electronics, and robotics.
  • New computer science education frameworks are being developed.

High Academic Achievement

Massachusetts is a high achieving state in Reading and Mathematics; see TIMMS http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/timss.html 

Many Engineering and Technology Education Resources in Massachusetts
  • Many universities have extensive K-12 Outreach programs and collaborate with local K-12 schools.
  • Several universities( MIT, Northeastern) help retired engineers mentor K-12 students.
  • There are many maker spaces.
  • There are extensive after-school/summer/informal learning opportunities in science and engineering.
  • A number of local technology/engineering companies- Google, Microsoft, Broad Institute- do K12 outreach and encourage their employees to engage in mentoring.
  • Undergrads in a number of engineering undergraduate programs- Tufts, MIT, Olin, etc- work in K12 classrooms.
  • There are several design competitions in the area for K-12- FIRST, Lemelson-MIT, FAT Thanksgiving@ MIT Museum, others.
  • Within school systems, we need to enable older students to mentor younger students- Kids teaching kids.
  • More schools are hiring engineering teachers- critical mass 

Engineering teaches students:
  • How to frame problems
  • How to identity and work with constraints- materials, budgets, skills, time, societal issues
  • A process for figuring out what they want to solve
  • How to build a path to a solution
  • How to overcome failure through iteration, and to build a self-confident mindset

  • To understand the human-made environment
  • How to learn on their own
  • That real-world problems often do not have one right answer-there is a multiplicity of solutions
  • Engineering projects solve meaningful, real world problems for real clients; not just 'another school project'
  • To work on problems are by their nature interdisciplinary, involving mathematics, science, and social policy
  • Creativity  is developed within a structure of knowledge and constraints
  • Open-ended, project-based learning that is assessed through more than multiple-choice tests
  • To listen, share ideas, and work as part of a creative team
  • The pleasure of hands-on, kinesthetic learning; humans are by nature makers of things
  • To be able to argue and defend their position, not just repeat facts    
  • That engineering design is fun!

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