Bringing Relevance to the Precollege Classroom through the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges of Engine

1. Bringing Relevance to the PrecollegeClassroom through the National Academy of Engineering’sGrand Challenges of Engineering Dr. Laura Bottomley Mr. Rob Matheson Ms. Elizabeth Parry Ms. Pam Townsend

2. NAE Grand Challengeswww.engineeringchallenges.org Sustainability—Energy and Environment • Make solar energy economical • Próvida energy from fusion • Develop carbon sequestration methods • Provideaccess to cleanwater • Managenitrogencycle Health—Engineering and LifeSciences • Advancehealthinformatics • Engineerbetter medicines • Reverse-engineer the brain

3. NAE Grand Challenges (cont.)www.engineeringchallenges.org Security—Physical infrastructure and Information Technology • Restore and improve urban infrastructure • Prevent nuclear terror • Secure cyberspace Joy of Living—Personal technologies and Education • Enhance virtual realete • Advance personalized learning • Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

4. NAE Grand Challenges vs. Maslow’s Hierarchy Grand Challenges 2008 Maslow’s Hierarchy 1943 Sustainability Health Security Joy of Living Physiological Needs Safety “Belongingness” and Esteem Self-actualization

5. History of the Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School (STEM ECHS) • 2003—NC Innovative Education Initiatives Act • 2005—first NC Early Colleges opened. Currently 74 in NC. • 2009—NC Legislative action to establish the Joining Our Businesses and Schools (JOBS) Commission. Can innovative schools support economic and business development in NC? • 2010—NC State University Dean of Engineering suggests to the JOBS Commission that the NAE Grand Challenges are a key to identify 21st Century jobs and will serve as a “hook or relevance” for underserved and under-represented students to study STEM in precollege education • 2010—JOBS Commission recommends that a pilot STEM Early College High School focused on the Grand Challenges open in 2011 • August 2011—STEM ECHS opened with fifty-five ninth grade students. An additional cohort added for the 2012-13 school year.

6. Targeted Students for RecruitmentRyan Haymore—Dean of Students • Underserved students—those who do not maximize their potential in traditional, relatively large, comprehensive high schools • Under-represented students—those who are not represented in the STEM disciplines by proportional representation (by gender, ethnicity, etc.) • First-time college going students in their family • Willing to accept the challenges of an integrated, accelerated, project-based high school and college education through the early college model

7. Recruitment Practices, Selection Process, and Demographics (Ryan Haymore, Dean of Students) • Recruitment practices, lead by the Dean of Students, includes middle school visits, booth at the Magnet School Fair, school tours, and open houses • Paper and online application phases—includes middles chool state test scores and course grades; student essay; and teacher and administrative references to form holistic view of student • Scored against rubric to form selection pool, then stratified random selection of students • Currently 50:50 by gender, over 60% non-white, over 50% first-time college goers, and over 40% free or reduced lunch (socioeconomic factor)

8. Academic and Vocational Goals • Completion of NC Future Ready Core curriculum that leads to a NC high school diploma • Completion of up to two years of NC State course credit • Students “college ready” and prepared for educational activities beyond the first two years of college • Students prepared to function as productive and effectivecitizens • Students ready for the “world of work”

9. 21 Century LearningOutcomes (http://p21.org) • Mastery of 21st Century interdisciplinarycorecontent and themes • Mastery of learning and innovationskillsrelated to creativity and innovation; criticalthinking and problem-solving; and communication and collaboration • Mastery of information, media, and technologyskills • Development of life and careerskills (“softskills”)such as flexibility and adaptability; initiative and self-direction; social and cross-cultural skills; productivity and accountability; and leadership and responsibility

10. “The Three-LeggedStool” • Link the Grand Challenges to the sciencetaught at a given grade level, integrated across STEM disciplines and the humanities (economic, ethical, legal, political, social, and sustainabilityissues) • Project-based Learning • “Wholechild” development—includesSocraticseminar, college readiness, careerexploration, jobshadowing, internships and graduationproject, etc.

11. Curriculum—Ninth Grade • Grand Challenges: Access to CleanWater, Make Solar Energy Economical, Carbon Sequestration, Fusion Energy, and Tools for ScientificDiscovery • HonorsEarthScience/Engineering Design I—”blended” yearlong, “A/B” flexible schedule, two course credits • Integrated Math I/II or II/III—”Block” schedule, 90-minute classes for eachsemester, two credits • HonorsEnglish I/WorldGeography—”blended” yearlong, A/B, two credits. Students learnhow to applySocraticseminartechiques to the economic, ethical, legal, political, social, and sustainabilityissuesrelated to the Grand Challenges studied in ninth grade.

12. “Boomtown” Project in HonorsEarthScience/Eng. Design I • Aligned to Access to CleanWater from NAE Grand Challenges • NC EarthScienceStandards (ES). ScientificInquiry: 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05 and 1.06. LithosphericMaterials and HumanImpact: 2.05, 2.06, 2.07. Hydrosphere: 4.01, 4.04 • Engineering Standards (GS). Researchaccess to cleanwater: 2.01, 2.02. Understanddesignedsystems: 2.04. Formulatesolutions to problems: 2.05

13. HonorsEnglish I/WorldGeography Allprojectsinclude a focus on: • Components of both the HonorsEnglish I and WorldGeographycurricula • One or more of the Grand Challenges studied in the ninth grade • One or more of the 21st Century skillspreviouslymentioned (e.g.technologyintegration, collaboration, etc.) • Example: “Survival Guide” projectusing the Lord of the Flies as the novel and Access to CleanWater the theme from the Grand Challenges

14. Pedagogy—Project-BasedLearning(CarrieHorton, English teacher) • “Allchildrenwantchoice, relevance, and discovery in their learning” • Every student reads, writes, thinks, and speaks in everyclassroomeveryday(www.newschoolsproject.org) • “Entry” event to “hook” the student • “Knows” and “need to knows” identified/modifiedthroughout the project • Use of rubrics to addresscontent 21st Century skillssuch as collaboration, professionalism, innovation, and criticalthinking • Communityinvolvement by higher education and the business community as mentors and “authenticaudiences”

15. Assessments • Business and college internship • Formative • Formulatingessentialquestions for activities/projects • Graduationproject in the fifth (“supersenior”) year • High school diploma • NC State transcript • Project-BasedLearning and portfolio of artifacts • PSAT, SAT, EXPLORE (9th grade), PLAN (10th grade), ACT (11th grade), and otherstandardizedtesting • Socraticseminar • Student, teacher, community, and parentsurveys • Summative (classroom and state testing)

16. Student Achievement, 2011-12 • “Remember the demographics” • Honorslevelcoursestaught by “masterteachers” • State final exams in English and math: 100% Proficiency • Teacher-made final exams: > 89% A’s, B’s, and C’s • Final course grades > 89% A’s, B’s, and C’s in allcoursesexcept Integrated Math I and II (76%) • Met or exceededgrowth on state exams: Algebra I = 97% and English I = 75%

17. External Support • Business AdvisoryBoard • NC State University • NC New Schools Project (providecoaching, staff development; also serve as one of their “anchor” schools for Energy and Sustainability school network, NC Race to the Top federal funding) • Partner of the NC State Centennial Campuscommunity • Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC) has providedsignificantcommunity support

18. Future Challenges for the STEM ECHS and Beyond…. • “Replicability” of the model and specific challenges related to schools that are when rural vs. Urban, large vs. small student populations, lack a higher education partner, etc. • Selection of Grand Challenges that relate to the strengths of local/regional/state/national/global economic environments • Identification of college readiness—definition, curriculum, assessment, and remediation. Alsodifferencesbetweenhigheredpartners (community college, college, university) • Mentor/MenteeProgram • NC State research study—ethinicity, gender, and first-generation status on sciencemotivation and identity • NC State College of Engineering outreach to middle and elementary schools

19. Appendices

20. Facilities and Administrative Services • STEM ECHS temporarilylocated on NC State University campus in 2011-13 • Instructionalservices (curriculum, staff development, and coaching) mostlyprovided by Wake County Schools and NC New Schools Project (www.newschoolsproject.org) in 9th and 10th grade. In grades 10-13, students accessing NC State courses on campus • Added 55 ninth-grade students, six new teachers, Career Development Coordinator, and College Liaison in 2012-13 • In 2013, move to NC State’sCentennial Campus and beginsignificantutilization of NC State servicessuch as the First Year College counsellingservices, and use of computerlab and James B. Huntlibraryfacilities

21. SignificantResources on the STEM ECHS website (http://stemec.wcpss.net) • Grand Challengestaughtby grade level and sciencecourse (9th through 12 grade sciencesequence (allhonorslevel)isEarthScience, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. Eachsciencecourse has an “attached” engineeringdesignelectivecourse so students at theend of fouryearsaccumulatefoursciencecredits and fourengineeringdesignelectivecoursecredits. • Five-YearCourse of Study—stillunderdevelopment and willchangeforeach individual studentdependingontheircourse of studytheypursue as theytake NC Statecoursecredits.

22. ContactInformation RobMatheson Principal, Wake NC State University STEM Early College HS 1220 Varsity Drive Raleigh, NC 27606 919-515-2308 (office) 919-515-2157 (fax) 919-986-9390 (cell) rmatheson@wcpss.net