Increasing Awareness of Science and Technology through UniversitySchool Collaboration Ulf Nilsson, L

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Increasing Awareness of Science and Technology
through University/School CollaborationUlf
Nilsson, LiU
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First choice applicants to long engineering
programs at Linköping University
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Institute of Technology at Linköping
UniversityOne of Four Faculties
Institute ofTechnology
Faculty of Health Sciences
EducationalSciences
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
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LiTH (and LiU) characteristics

• Education organized in programs
• Emphasis on advanced professional programs
• Long Engineering Programs (5year)
• Short Engineering Programs (3years)
• Cross disciplinary research and education
• National recruitment (less than 30 from local
  region)

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Why engage in school collaboration?

• The simple answers
• Implicitly assumed in Swedish higher education
  act
• Increase the attractiveness of LiU/LiTH at
  schools
• But there are also deeper rationales
• Better motivated school teachers with an
  understanding for the requirements at the
  university level
• Increased awareness among university teachers of
  the reality of schools give more adequate
  instruction at university
• Better prepared students

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Committee for school collaboration (NSS)

• Objectives
• Coordinate existing school-related projects
  within LiTH
• Initiate and organize projects to stimulate the
  interest for science and technology in schools
• Collaborate with senior and junior high, and
  elementary school
• Communicate school related information within
  LiTH
• Communicate information to the schools
• Participate in formulating consultations from
  LiTH for school issues

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Committee for school collaboration (NSS)

• Organization
• One researcher/teacher from each faculty
  department
• Chair is member in LiTH management group for
  education
• Students
• Representatives from local schools
  (teachers/management)
• Proposes budget and plan for activities for each
  year
• Not responsible for student-recruitment work, but
  work close to those who are

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Strategic considerations

• Collaborate with regional schools when planning
  new projects
• The school leaders have to be positive to the
  collaboration
• The most important group to support in the
  schools are the teachers
• Let students participate when meeting pupils
• Gather all information on one easy accessible
  home-page
• Canalize and support ideas from university
  teachers
• Important to inform within academia what is going
  on at schools
• Realize many pupils have misconceptions
  aboutengineers/scientists and little relation to
  technology

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Contacts with school-teachers etc.

• Twice a year we invite high-school teachers to
  come and listen to active researchers, speaking
  exclusively to them
• Once a year, we invite study councillors to show
  higher technical education (which they often are
  ignorant about)
• We arrange subject-specific meetings between,
  e.g., math teachers at school and university
• We arrange inspiration days for (mainly)
  elementary school teachers
• In September, LiU organizes one educational day
  for all senior high-school teachers in the region
  (around 1500 people)
• University-courses specially prepared for teachers

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Adjunct (visiting) lecturers

• Hired 54 high-school teachers at 20 each for
  one year
• They developed their competence and increased the
  contacts between schools and academia
• Excellent ambassadors for us

• High-school teachers in
• Technology
• Physics
• Math
• Biology

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Some examples on projects for children, aiming
at increasing their interest for science
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Elementary school, age 11

• We ask the pupils to come up with an inventions
  they would like to see, and the role of
  technology in their lives
• The children make drawings of the invention.
  Their teachers start to see the technology around
  them
• Hundreds of contributions

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A Meatball Roller
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Milk Package Clipper
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Math Problem Corrector
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Junior high-school, age 13.

• Together with a local senior high-school in the
  region, we arrange one week at the end of the
  summer holiday where the children can play with
  science.

• Organized with a local senior high school.
• The children see the next step (gymnasium)
• The school-teachers get contacts at the
  university
• We get an insight into the world of the children

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aHead students coaching in senior high-schools

• Initiative by students themselves, inspired by
  Chalmers
• Students approach senior high-schools and offerer
  coaching to the youths, especially in math
• The pupils who signed up come to campus once a
  week to study in a small group under student
  supervision
• The students serve as a model for the pupils
• The students own this project, and we only
  support them

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Preparatory course in mathematics

• Already at senior high school, the pupils can
  choose an advanced math course given at the
  university
• Part of their high-school degree
• The course is given at campus, but the
  municipality pays the salary for the university
  teacher
• Gives them as freshmen a very good start at the
  university

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Girls and science education

• Problematic as soon as we launch projects of
  this kind, we signal there is a conflict between
  women and science
• We have, nevertheless, one project specifically
  targeted on high-school girls - Quintek
• Stay at a female student for two nights
• visits to lectures, laboratories and industry
• Try to always let visiting pupils meet booth male
  and female students and professor.
• Similarly when visiting schools

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Discussion

• Young people have an unclear picture of what an
  engineer does and misconception of the
  engineering role we must convey all
  possibilities that open up with an engineering
  degree
• Teachers, study councillors and school leaders
  also often have insufficient knowledge of
  engineering. And those who understand need our
  support
• We have to better understand the conditions of
  schools and school teachers to better meet the
  students

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Discussion

• Its long term work and there is no silver bullet
• We cant do everything ourselves
• All have to contribute schools, universities,
  industry, politicians,
• Each level has to contribute their expertise