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Tufts Engineering Next Steps (TENS)

GK-12 Project



The Idea Behind the TENS GK-12 Project:

Science and mathematics education in the K-12 environment is lacking in engineering content and principals. As society becomes increasingly reliant on technologgy and products of engineering, a certain level of engineering literacy is a necessity for all citizens. One way to infuse engineering into the classroom is by placing 'experts' as content resources into these environments on a weekly basis. With TENS GK-12 nine engineering/computer science graduate students spend a total of 15 hours per week in Malden Public School classrooms presenting or developing activities and curriculum. Supported by undergraduate fellows and the CEEO, these graduate fellows work to educate and provide teachers with resources to integrate engineering and computer science into science and mathematics classrooms.


The Primary Goals of TENS GK-12:

  • To raise teachers' knowledge of, comfort with, and capability to teach engineering and algorithm design.

  • To increase all students' engineering knowledge and skills.

  • To increase fellows' appreciation for and knowledge of K-12 formal education, teaching, and outreach.

  • To develop a grade 1-12 community in four schools that is supportive of innovations that integrate engineering and algorithm design.


 

The Implementation of TENS GK-12:

Each of three years, graduate students have full tuition waivers and stipends to be a part of this program. The tuition waiver and relatively large stipend allow us to recruit top candidates, resulting in incredible projects and activities taking place in the classroom. Teachers are left with engineering knowledge imparted by the graduate student and a set of activies to help integrade engineering into their classrooms. Working with Malden, an urban rim district, we are exposing students to careers and fields with which they may have little experience. Graduate fellows in the classroom act as mentors and role-models so that the importance of enginering in society becomes evident to the student we teach.

 

TENS fellows work with 1-3 teachers developing activities and units that teach exisiting science and mathematics curriculum through engineering and computer science. The fellows bring content expertise and innovative hands-on, inquiry-based activities to the classroom while utilizating the classroom expertise of the teacher. Fellows attend a weekly education seminar to learn about assessment, pedagogy, learning styles, and general strategies to improve their success in the classroom. In return, teaching in K-12 schools provides the fellows with an understanding of the culture of public schools, the importance of improved STEM education, and well-honed communication skills. K-12 teachers and students are exposed to exciting ways of teaching math and science and gain an understanding of engineering and computer science as career choices.