Page 117 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

102 STANDARDS FOR K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

Resources of Technology
* Identify particular characteristics of material resources, i.e., synthetic, composite, and biological.
Explain how various energy sources and forms of information are also resources with specific
characteristics.
* Discuss issues of resource management including safety, costs, environmental and political concerns.
Discuss a current example such as waste management and nuclear power systems.

Technological Areas of Communication, Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation, Power,
and Bio-related Technologies
* Give examples of how combinations of graphic and electronic communication processes are used in
developing high technology communication systems.
* Describe uses of material conversion processes, i.e., separating, forming, conditioning and
combining, in production processes.
* Identify ways that manufacturing processes have changed with improved tools and techniques.
* Compare how existing transportation technologies convey people and products globally.
* Give examples of ways in which technological processes could adversely affect the environment.
Choose a current example from your local news to investigate.

Figure 2 Sample 1996 standards for two technology topics.

2001 Framework Technology/Engineering Topics and Sample Standards
With the advocacy of engineers interested in education, a number of changes were made to the
technology topics and standards in the framework. Specifically, technological design was
modified to become the engineering design process, additional topics for energy and power
systems were added, and the social implications of technology were removed. The
technology/engineering topics found in the 2001 framework reflect the combined technology
education and engineering perspectives:

2001 Technology/Engineering Topics (high school)
• Engineering design
• Materials, tools, and machines
• Communication technologies
• Manufacturing technologies
• Construction technologies
• Transportation technologies
• Energy and power systems—fluid systems
• Energy and power systems—thermal systems
• Energy and power systems—electrical systems
• Bioengineering technologies

Figure 3 High school technology/engineering topics in the 2001 MA Science and
Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework.

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