Page 128 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

APPENDIX B 113

I believe the engineering community can increase the presence of engineering education in the
schools more effectively by setting standards for, and providing for the development of, a new
generation of instructional materials by developing national engineering education standards at
this time. These materials can be engineering modules that help teachers teach their subjects
more interestingly, engineering case studies that bring together information and concepts from
several disciplines, and engineering units that organize content around cross-cutting themes, such
as scale or systems analysis. A concerted, ongoing effort involving hundreds of engineers and
teachers over many years can eventually lead to consensus on learning standards.

Computers are powerful design tools, and it is time they were used to assist in reshaping the K–
12 curriculum for modern times. Engineers are experts in using computers to design complex
systems, such as the Boeing 777 and international communication networks, so why not use
them for the K–12 curriculum? In our world today, the challenge of education increases
relentlessly, but at the same time computers and the Internet are changing where, when, how, and
what kind of learning can take place. The curriculum must be reshaped accordingly.

The engineering community can take the lead in making that a reality.

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