Federal Event: Dean Pines Testifies on the Hill

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

Engineering in K-12 Education
Thursday, October 22, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
2325 Rayburn House Office Building

1. Purpose
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the potential benefits of, challenges to, and current models for incorporating engineering education at the K-12 level.

2. Witnesses
Dr. Linda Katehi, Chair, National Academy of Engineering Committee on K-12 Engineering Education, and Chancellor, University of California, Davis

Dr. Thomas Peterson, Assistant Director for Engineering, the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director, Museum of Science, Boston and Founder, National Center for Technological Literacy

Dr. Darryll Pines, Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park

Mr. Rick Sandlin, Principal, Martha and Josh Morriss Mathematics and Engineering Elementary School, Texarkana, Texas

3. Overarching Questions
· Is it appropriate to incorporate engineering concepts at the K-12 level? What are the potential benefits of pre-college engineering education? Can engineering be added to the classroom without sacrificing core competencies in math and science? What are reasonable learning outcomes for engineering education at the elementary school level? What about middle and high school?

· What are the current models and initiatives for teaching engineering at the K-12 level? What kind of curricula have been used and how were such curricula developed? What has been done in terms of curricula that combine K-12 engineering with science and math in an integrated approach? To what extent have these efforts increased student learning and/or interest in STEM, and what metrics were used to carry out those assessments of learning and interest? What are the biggest challenges and barriers to incorporating engineering education in the elementary or secondary school classroom?

· What is the current state of research on engineering education at K-12? What are the biggest unanswered research questions? What assessment tools exist for evaluating the effectiveness of engineering education in primary and secondary school, and what are the barriers to improving assessment?