Museum
director's dream to teach young students engineering spurs effort to bring
technological literacy to all, with support from NSF
The eighth-grade class buzzed when
Ioannis (Yannis) Miaoulis, a young mechanical engineering professor at Tufts
University, finished describing how he made superconducting materials in his
lab. A girl who'd taken copious notes during the talk approached Miaoulis and
asked if he would help with her science fair project. Before he could respond,
her teacher took Miaoulis aside and told him not to waste his time with the
girl. Three "science boys" in the class should receive attention.
Surprised by the teacher's actions,
Miaoulis not only helped the girl with her project--which won the science fair
that year--but committed himself to changing the climate and curriculum of
science education. "The experience opened my eyes and got me totally
engaged," says Miaoulis who went on to serve as dean of engineering at
Tufts, and is currently the president and director of the Museum of Science in
Boston.
Over the last 20 years Miaoulis has
racked up countless frequent flyer miles jetting around the country and abroad
describing the need to teach students about the human-made world as well as the
natural world. "He is always on a mission," says colleague Wayne
Bouchard, COO of the museum. Miaoulis's passion for education and engineering
has created opportunities for both K-12 students and teachers. Over the years
he has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for
his research in thermal analysis of materials processing, as well as for
education outreach programs. One of his first NSF grants--a Presidential Young
Investigator award--provided considerable support for the foundation of what is
becoming an international movement to teach engineering in K-12 settings.
"We started with a thematic
approach, reconfiguring the local curriculum and creating a Cape Cod farmhouse
that allowed K-8 students to experience different engineering processes that
were grade level appropriate," explains Miaoulis.
A hands-on approach that helps students
make connections between engineering concept and application permeates all of
the education projects Miaoulis pursues. Some of his early teacher-training
efforts showed teachers how to introduce technology to elementary and middle
school students using two common technologies--bicycles and bathrooms. Other
projects created hands-on museum exhibits and specifically targeted programs
for young women.
While at Tufts, Miaoulis wanted to
create a course that would engage students and highlight the principles of heat
transfer in materials. He didn't need to look far for inspiration. A gourmet
cook and native of Greece, Miaoulis developed "Gourmet
Engineering"--essentially a class in which students learn about
thermodynamics while creating delicious dishes. The course was an instant
success, says Bouchard. Miaoulis also developed a class on fluid mechanics that
explained the movement of fluids from a fish's perspective.
Although Miaoulis's efforts to introduce
engineering in the K-12 curriculum gained steam through the 1990s, he knew that
to make a real difference he would need to reach out not only to schools but to
the general public and policy-makers. In 2001, because of his advocacy efforts,
Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to develop a K-12 curriculum
framework and assessments in the area of technology/engineering. "That was
our first big victory," says Miaoulis. Though he was making progress, he
needed partners to extend his vision and take it to a national level. But finding
those willing to sign on was a challenge, he says, because the project was
viewed by deans at other schools as a Tufts initiative.
When the director's position became
available at the Museum of Science in 2003, Miaoulis knew he'd found the right
platform for his cause. In just 10 years, Miaoulis has transformed the museum
and in the process created a home for his engineering education efforts. The
big engine driving this change is the National Center for Technology Literacy®
(NCTL®). Established in 2004, the NCTL supports several initiatives promoting
formal and informal engineering education.
NSF funds have played an integral role
in helping these initiatives achieve one of Miaoulis's goals for the museum:
Introducing engineering and technology to schools and at least one science
center or informal education organization in every state by 2015.
- To promote elementary engineering
curriculum development, NCTL has created Engineering is Elementary® which
engages elementary school students through stories about children in different
countries who face engineering design problems in their daily lives. Hands-on
experiments help students solve the problem. The lessons foster reading skills
and social studies awareness as well as science, technology, engineering and
math concepts.
Since the program began in 2003-2004,
the museum estimates it has reached nearly 3 million students and over 40,600
teachers in all 50 states. The program also includes a professional development
component for teachers to familiarize them with the engineering concepts and
story format.
- To heighten awareness about
nanotechnology, NCTL developed a national nanoscale initiative--the Nanoscale
Informal Science Education NetworkTM (NISE Net). Launched in 2005 with the
Science Museum of Minnesota and San Francisco's Exploratorium, NISE Net brings
together researchers and science museum educators to create activities that
explain the world at the scale of atoms. It offers a range of activities such
as NanoDays-a nationwide festival of activities celebrating advances in
nanotechnology research, short plays like "Attack of the
Nanoscientist" and museum exhibits such as the Nano mini-exhibition that
explores the basics of nanoscience and engineering. NISE Net also conducts
original research and evaluation of the network's impact on informal science
education.
- To familiarize the public with current
and future engineering technologies, the museum produced a traveling exhibition
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, created with Lucasfilm Ltd. Robots,
virtual reality and other technologies introduced in the Star Wars movies come
to life in this exhibit that allows visitors to discover parallels between
these fantasy technologies and those used in the real world. Museums throughout
the U.S. and Australia have hosted the exhibit.
The NCTL also advocates for curriculum
change through state education bodies and policy makers. "We have to open
the eyes of decision-makers that engineering is as important in people's lives
as science," he says. Since its inception in 2004, the NCTL has helped
create or add engineering and technology standards and assessments throughout
the U.S.
The NCTL, for instance, has played a
critical role in developing the National Assessment of Education Programs
(NAEP) Technology and Engineering Literacy Framework of 2014. The framework
lays the foundation for the first technology and engineering literacy
assessment of students in the U.S. In 2013, a nationally-representative sample
of eighth-graders will participate in a pilot to prepare for the 2014
assessment. The NAEP--run by the National Center for Education
Statistics--assesses what U.S. students know in a range of subjects. "If
we are assessing students' engineering knowledge, it may motivate states to
introduce engineering into the schools. We have to use every trick to make it
happen," says Miaoulis.
These and other efforts have not gone
unnoticed in the international science community. A consortium led by the
Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem in Israel and funded by the European
Commission will use the Engineering Is Elementary® curriculum as a model to
introduce engineering into European primary schools and science museums. The
attention from international organizations is not surprising to Miaoulis who
points out that "engineering literacy is a global issue. Many people are
clueless about 98 percent of the world around them which is made by
humans."
To drive the point home about the
importance of engineering in everyday life, Miaoulis likes to ask listeners to look
around the room and consider what it would be like if all of the human-made
items were removed. He even suggests that the listener may not exist. He then
reminds his listeners that engineers have created advances in drug production
and sanitation processes to extend our life span. For these reasons Miaoulis says "it's
critical to introduce technology and engineering as a core discipline beginning
in kindergarten."
Although his engineering initiative has
made much progress Miaoulis says the biggest challenge is that "a lot of
people still don't get it." They don't realize that the current science
curriculum largely remains the same as it was in 1892 when a group of education
leaders dubbed the "Committee of Ten" and led by Harvard University
President Charles Eliot determined science education should include biology,
chemistry, physics and earth science. Until the curriculum includes a balance
of science and engineering, Miaoulis will continue to advocate for change.
The consequences of accepting the status
quo are far reaching. Miaoulis notes that industry leaders such as Google,
Intel and Lockheed Martin are clamoring for engineers. "You could
outsource these jobs, but national defense and infrastructure projects require
U.S. citizenship," he says. "American ingenuity is going to fade away
if we lose our innovative knack."
For a boy who failed physics in high
school, the determination he showed learning his subject and passing with the
highest grade in the class the next semester created a drive he continues to
put to use so others will benefit. "Kids should have the opportunity to
see how interesting a subject is," Miaoulis says. He also notes that he's
had a great life because of his choice of professions. "You only live once
so you have to have fun."
-- Susan Reiss, (703) 536-4529
smreiss@verizon.net
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