With three months off in the summer, American students suffer a learning loss — and that’s particularly true of low-income students, who have few options for productive activities. With all U.S. students losing out to their international peers, engaging and fun summer programs may be the answer.

Read More

Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Summer’s Damaging Effect on Learning

Tags: Education Policy, Public Policy, Research on Learning

When the iPhone first came out in June 2007, some people bought one just so they could take it apart, examining the components, how the devices were assembled, and the design choices Apple made. These curious gadget freaks were engaging in reverse engineering, a practice instructors are now bringing into the classroom. By dismantling simple machines like bicycles, power tools and toys, students get hands-on experience that helps them design products of their own.

Read More

Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Feature: Some Disassembly Required

Tags: Reverse Engineering, Systems Engineering

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has named 18 states and the District of Columbia as finalists in a contest to show the best school reform plans. Winners – there could be 10 to 15 – will share up to $3.4 billion.

Read More

Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Race to the Top, Round Two

Tags: Education Policy, Public Policy

The world’s number two professional golfer Phil Mickelson says that some of his success on the links comes from a firm grasp of math and science — he can calculate the odds of sinking a putt from how many feet away the ball is from the hole, for example. Today, the Mickelson ExxonMobile Teacher Academy in Jersey City, N.J. is helping third, fourth, and fifth grade science teachers hone their math and science teaching skills.

Read More

Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Golfer Mickelson Champions Math and Science

Tags: Math, Mathematics, Outreach, Outreach for Schools, Science, Sports

President Barack Obama recently announced the names of 103 science and math teachers selected as this year’s recipients of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Each teacher will pocket a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. Obama noted that the scientists and engineers who have helped to make America great all shared one thing: “science and math teachers who brought these critical subjects to life.”

Read More

Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Honoring Science and Math Teachers

Tags: Math teachers, Science Teachers, Teacher Awards

A new Harvard study finds that students who had strong teachers when they started school reaped benefits later on. More went on to college, and they earned more than their peers whose kindergarten teachers were mediocre. The study followed a cohort of 12,000 Tennessee students from the 1980s who are now around 30.

Read More

Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Quality Kindergarten Influences Later Education

Tags: Grades Pre K-2, Research on Learning, Teachers

The USA Science & Engineering Festival will be the United States’ first national science and engineering festival. The series of events will culminate in a two-day Expo on the National Mall that will give over 500 science & engineering organizations from all over the country the opportunity to present themselves with a hands-on, fun science activity to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Read More

Filed under: For Teachers, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Web Resources | Comments Off on Event: USA Science & Engineering Festival

Tags: Contests, Convention, Events, Family events, Science and Engineering Fair

The Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) is a national non-profit education organization dedicated to promoting engineering and helping students discover their potential for the profession. JETS engages students in a variety of educational programs that increase awareness of what engineers do and show how math and science are used to make tangible differences in the world.

Read More

Filed under: For Teachers, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs, Web Resources | 1 Comment »

Tags: Engineering outreach, Organizations, Outreach, Outreach for Schools, Pre-College Engineering Society

Students in grades 6-12 disassemble one of two different single-use cameras and create a systems diagram and precise reassembly instructions for the device. They then attempt to rebuild the other camera using instructions developed by their peers. Through this reverse engineering activity, students learn about the work of systems engineers.

Read More

Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 3 Comments »

Tags: Electrical Engineering, Ethics in engineering, Mechanical engineering, Reverse Engineering, Systems Engineering