Veenstra and Associates has a new publication on STEM retention, The Diversity of STEM Majors and a Strategy for Improved STEM Retention.
I was interested in how the interest in engineering among entering college freshmen compared to interest in STEM in general. This report discusses this topic and suggests a strategy for STEM retention based on my research.
http://veenstraconsulting.com/docs/Diversity-of-STEM-Majors.pdf
Best
Cindy
We talk a lot about recruiting students into engineering! We talk even more about helping students be successful. What are the successful patterns for helping a student become excited about an engineering career and to be prepared as a freshman at a leading engineering college?
I will discuss this topic at the next ASQ Ann Arbor Section meeting on April 5th at Cleary University, on Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor (Plymouth and Green Rds) from 6pm to 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served at 5:30pm. http://www.asq1010.org/apr10events.html
Much of the discussion will be based on my research and knowledge gained from being involved with the ASQ Education Division and ASEE and recent research conducted by the National Academy of Engineering.
This interactive presentation is intended for quality professionals and educators, and parents who would like their children to consider an engineering career. Based on an ASQ survey, I will discuss the important role that parents can have in helping their children consider an engineering career. I will also discuss leading extracurricular activities related to engineering and science. (check out my K12 links page http://www.veenstraconsulting.com/links.php) Only about 10% of the high school graduates in Michigan are prepared to take Calculus in college, one of the 1st semester courses in engineering. What can parents do to turn this around in general and help their children to be academically prepared for engineering college? Suggestions will be made with time for discussion.
Hope to see you there!
Today’s ASEE First Bell reported on the joint project of WGBH and NAE to produce a website that changes the image of engineering careers to that of being an exciting and fulfilling career for women. Recent research has shown that women students in engineering are graduating with an engineering degree at about the same rate as men. The problem is that women have not been entering the freshman classes and there are few transfers into engineering. Only about 20% of the new freshmen in engineering are women. With a shortage of engineers expected in the workforce, attracting high school girls to engineering college has been an issue of high prioirty in engineering education.
A 21st century image of engineering colleges and engineering careers is needed that is inclusive of women and minorities. Many engineering companies have been inclusive for a number of years and have complained about the lack of women and minority engineering graduates. The problem as currently identified is that K12 students were not seeing engineering as an attractive career. For girls, this included a lack of role models for engineering. With the new WGBH and NAE supported website for high school girls, Engineer Your Life (http://www.engineeryourlife.org/) the image of engineering that is inclusive of successful women engineers is more evident than ever. In addition, the website for middle-school girls includes profiles of successful women engineers. (http://www.engineergirl.org)
Encourage your daughters, nieces and friends to look at these websites.
Cindy