http://blogs.asee.org/engineeringand/innovation-through-engineering-education/ Engineering snacks to whet your appetite Tue, 7 Oct 2008 18:43:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://blogs.asee.org/engineeringand/innovation-through-engineering-education/#comment-196 Ben Yates Fri, 28 Apr 2006 20:56:58 +0000 http://engineeringand.com/?p=42#comment-196 It is phenomenal to hear what we need in this country to bolster innovation and creativity is more of the same (math & science) that is not working in the first place! This article ends with “……..internships, and, most importantly, motivation.” I can tell you as a parent and veteran teacher of 32 years, motivation does not come from doing more of the same thing over and over. Kids do not get turned on to math and science because they do not see the relevance in it. They are told to take math one because they will be taking math two and three. Why are they taking math one and two? Because the “state” says they have to take it to graduate. There are wonderful and very successful programs out there that give students the understanding, relevance, and yes, motivation to take the needed math and science courses. Technology Education courses [and I don’t mean “computer courses – Technology: the process of altering the natural world to enhance (satisfy human wants and needs) the human condition.”] provide real world experiences which give students understanding and reason to take math and science programs. The study of robotics, automation, pre-engineering problem solving, and much more allow students to apply math and science thereby providing both external and internal motivation followed by a desire to take math and science courses. Of course these types of programs/courses are not supported by the liberal arts agenda as they do not meet the “more of the same bad stuff” is still “bad stuff.” Help kids see and experience the relevance and they will gladly accept the need and challenge for “more” good math and science. It is phenomenal to hear what we need in this country to bolster innovation and creativity is more of the same (math & science) that is not working in the first place! This article ends with “……..internships, and, most importantly, motivation.” I can tell you as a parent and veteran teacher of 32 years, motivation does not come from doing more of the same thing over and over. Kids do not get turned on to math and science because they do not see the relevance in it. They are told to take math one because they will be taking math two and three. Why are they taking math one and two? Because the “state” says they have to take it to graduate. There are wonderful and very successful programs out there that give students the understanding, relevance, and yes, motivation to take the needed math and science courses. Technology Education courses [and I don’t mean “computer courses – Technology: the process of altering the natural world to enhance (satisfy human wants and needs) the human condition.”] provide real world experiences which give students understanding and reason to take math and science programs. The study of robotics, automation, pre-engineering problem solving, and much more allow students to apply math and science thereby providing both external and internal motivation followed by a desire to take math and science courses. Of course these types of programs/courses are not supported by the liberal arts agenda as they do not meet the “more of the same bad stuff” is still “bad stuff.” Help kids see and experience the relevance and they will gladly accept the need and challenge for “more” good math and science.

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