Technology Tool Skills and Careers for Underrepresented Populations Presented By The Society of Wome

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Technology Tool Skills and Careers for
Underrepresented Populations Presented By The
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)Birmingham
ChapterNational Science Teachers Association
(NSTA) Birmingham
Area Conference
December 6-8, 2007
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STRAND

• Science Technology Achievement

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OBJECTIVES

• Prepare students to meet challenging academic
  standards in science
• Develop innovative science courses and curricula
  that include integrated technology
• Address the needs of underrepresented
  populations, including nontraditional careers for
  males and females through the incorporation of
  technology in the science community
• Use technology to collect, manage, and analyze
  scientific data

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PROPOSAL SUMMARY

• This session will address science teaching
  standards by SWE chapter involvement, university
  programs, and community partnerships. The
  co-existence of these elements will foster
  greater achievement among underrepresented groups.

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WHAT IS SWE?

• SWE Society of Women Engineers
• A non-profit educational and service organization
  consisting of
• -Graduate engineers
• -Others with equivalent engineering
  experience
• -Engineers students
• -Others who share the SWE mission or
  objectives

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WHAT IS SWE?

• Founded in 1950
• Incorporated in 1952
• Over 6,000 members in 90 sections
• Over 8,000 student members at over 300
  engineering schools

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WHAT IS SWE?

• Largest group of technical women in the U.S.
  (20,000)nearly 100 professional and 300
  collegiate sections, in addition to 700
  members-at-large
• Members mostly comprised of women who are
  attending college or graduated college as an
  engineer

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MISSION OF SWE

• Stimulate women to achieve full potential in
  careers as engineers and leaders
• Expand the image of the engineering profession as
  a significant contribution to the improvement of
  the quality of life
• Demonstrate the value of diversity

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OBJECTIVES

• Inform young women, their parents, counselors,
  and the general public of the qualifications and
  achievements of women engineers, as well as
  available opportunities
• Serve as a center of information on female
  engineers
• Encourage female engineers to attain high levels
  of educational and personal achievement

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EDUCATORS PERSPECTIVE

• Reasons why girls are not as interested in
  engineering as boys
• -Female interests are inclusive to
  socialization and family
• -Knowledge and encouragement is scarce for
  young girls
• -Limited early exposure during primary
  educational levels (K-8)

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SWE ADVOCACY

• SWE is an advocate for women in engineering
  through SWEs initiatives with government
  officials and participation in task forces such
  as the Commission on the Advancement of Women and
  Minorities in Science, Engineering, and
  Technology Development (CAWMSET)

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CAREER INCENTIVES

• Employment opportunities will progressively
  impact society
• Financial benefits are rewarding and provide a
  sense of comfort and freedom
• Challenges exist to create new methods to solve
  problems
• Diversity of problem-solving requires creative
  and critical thinking skills

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CLASSROOM FEATURES

• Diversity needs to be obvious in the image of the
  engineering industry
• Teamwork and collaboration should be emphasized
  to simulate typical work environments
• Develop group confidence through individual
  competence
• Utilize hands-on activities and implement
  role-models as facilitators/instructors

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CLASSROOM RESOURCES

• K-12 resources available for educator, parent,
  and student learning activities
• Collaborative community events/activities
  supported by SWE outreach and corporate sponsors
• Visit SWE in the Exhibit Hall to learn more

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COMMUNITY SERVICE

• Opportunities to encourage girls to pursue a
  career in engineering through participation in
  SWEs career guidance programs and SWE alliances
  with Girls, Inc., Girls and Boys Scouts of
  America, Habitat for Humanity, and Building
  Engineering and Science Talent (BEST)

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SCHOLARSHIPS

• Annually, SWE awards individual scholarships to
  pre-collegiate, undergraduate, and graduate
  levels, including re-entry students
• SWE National Scholarships Scholarships and
  fellowships range from 1,000 to 10,000 each
• Additionally, SWE Professional Sections from 27
  states and the District of Columbia provide
  regional/state scholarships

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Alabama - SWE

• Birmingham Professional Section
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of Alabama
• Auburn University
• Tuskegee University

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Birmingham - SWE

• www.swebham.org
• Erica Hardy, President
• Professional Section
• and
• Associate Technical Specialist Purchasing
• Department,
• Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC

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Birmingham - SWE

• Outreach Events
• SWE, Me, and the McWane Center
• Engineering Week (E-Week) Event
• Financial Aid
• Community Service Projects

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Alabama SWE Collegiate Chapters

• University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
• University of Alabama
• Auburn University
• Tuskegee University
• Partial listing shown

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University of Alabama at Birmingham
(UAB)uab.edu

• School of Engineering founded in 1971 and ABET
  accredited
• Leader in engineering education and research
• Offers undergraduate and graduate programs

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University of Alabama at Birmingham
(UAB)

• SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
• Programs of Study
• Civil, Construction, Environmental
• Electrical Computer
• Materials Science Engineering
• Biomedical
• Mechanical

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University of Alabama at Birmingham
(UAB)

• Admission Requirements
• -Minimum ACT Score20
• -Minimum SAT Combined Score950 (Critical
  reading and mathematics)
• -Minimum 2.0 Academic GPA (2.25 Beginning Fall
  2008)
• -AP and IB Coursework are accepted

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Priorities for UAB SWE

• Historical Relationships with groups (Girls Inc.,
  Girl Scouts)
• Underserved/underrepresented groups
• Honors programs

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Girl Scouts

• Each Spring the UAB SWE student section
  participates in the Girl Scout Engineering badge
  program in both instructor and support roles with
  the Birmingham Professional SWE section.

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Girls Inc.

• Each Summer UAB SWE provides a half-day of
  programming with 15-30 girls from the Girls Inc.
  program
• Girls do hands-on design projects and have an
  opportunity to see the supercomputer and labs in
  action

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Governor's School

• UAB SWE and ASCE provide a half day of design
  projects for Honors students Sophomore-Seniors
  enrolled in the UAB Governors School

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Boy Scouts

• New Program!
• UAB SWE in conjunction with ASCE provide
  programming to Boy Scouts to fulfill their
  Engineering Badge
• The Boy Scouts do a variety of design and
  demonstration projects

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Century 21

• SWE and NSBE provided 4 half-days of programming
  to Century 21 targeted to minority K-6 students
• Design projects and teambuilding exercises

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Gardendale Initiative

• SWE and ASCE provided demonstration and design
  projects for the Gardendale Pre-engineering
  Program

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Typical Outreach Activities K-5

• Gumdrop design students are given toothpicks
  and gumdrops and use them to build bridges or
  structures
• Air-powered car design students are given
  straws, tape, lifesaver candies and paper to
  design a car that is powered by blowing on it

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Typical Outreach Activities 6-12

• Asphalt cookies students are given their
  asphalt (molten chocolate) and their aggregate
  (nuts, oat flakes) and mix them together to build
  an edible road top
• Design race students are broken into teams,
  given water balloons, dowels, and tape the
  objective is to build the tallest tower with the
  materials given in a limited amount of time.

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Summary Statistics

• Total Students reached through all outreach
  activities Approximately 250
• Total UAB students participating in SWE outreach
  events 20
• Total Outreach Events 9

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University of Alabamahttp//bama.ua.edu

• School of Engineering
• Programs of Study
• Aerospace Engineering Mechanics
• Chemical Biological Engineering
• Civil, Construction, Environmental Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

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University of Alabama

• Located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• College of Engineering is the oldest college in
  the state and one of the five oldest in the
  nation
• ABET accredited

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University of Alabama

• Community Outreach
• Habitat for Humanity
• MATH Counts
• Girls Scouts Engineering Day
• Science Olympiad

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Auburn Universityauburn.edu

• Located in Auburn, Alabama
• Samuel Ginn College of Engineering offers a
  variety of ABET accredited programs for
  undergraduate and graduate studies

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Auburn University

• School of Engineering
• Programs of Study
• Aerospace Computer Science Mechanical
• Biosystems Software
  Materials
• Chemical Wireless Polymer
  and Fiber
• Civil Electrical
• Environmental Industrial and Systems

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Auburn University

• Community Outreach
• E-Day
• TIGERs Camps
• BEST
• Summer Robo Camp
• Computer Literacy Academy for Children

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Tuskegee Universitytuskegee.edu

• College of Engineering, Architecture, Physical
  Sciences offers degree ABET accredited programs
  in the following
• Aerospace Science
  Mechanical
• Chemical w/Environmental Option Computer
  Science
• Electrical
  Architecture
• Construction Science Management

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Tuskegee University

• For nearly 30 years, Tuskegee University has
  administered a comprehensive pre-college program
  designed to recruit, prepare, and graduate
  minorities in engineering
• Minority Introduction to Engineering (MITE)
• Freshman Accelerated Start-Up and Training for
  Retention in Engineering Curricula (FASTREC)

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Tuskegee University

• MITE A 2 week summer program designed to
  motivate minority high students and introduce
  them to engineering
• Program EligibilityMust be a rising high school
  junior or senior, have a GPA of 3.2 or better,
  complete application process
• Opportunity for students to participate in
  lectures, laboratory experiments, and interactive
  engineering projects

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Tuskegee University

• FASTREC An 8 week summer program offered to high
  school graduates interested in engineering with
  admission eligibility
• Students are awarded full tuition, housing, and
  book scholarships for the summer program
• Scholarships, up to 5,000, are awarded at the
  end of the program and are tenable only at
  Tuskegee University

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Tuskegee University

• Program Eligibility Acceptance to Tuskegee
  University and completion of enrollment of
  process
• Submit program application, transcript, ACT or
  SAT scores, Letter of Recommendation and
  application fee

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Tuskegee University

• A newly chartered SWE chapter at the university
  is currently in its formative stages. This is an
  exciting opportunity for this chapter to partner
  with other chapters to establish their presence
  in the community and in the professional sector.

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Who to Contact?

• SWE Headquarters
• 230 East Ohio Street, Suite 400
• Chicago, Illinois 60611-3265
• Phone [phone]
• Email hq_at_swe.org
• www.swe.org
• NSTA Liaison Betty Preece, bpreece_at_fit.edu