Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Engineering Education for Today’s Classroom
The Infinity ProjectSM
Bringing Engineering
Education to Schools
across the Country
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Interest in Engineering in the U.S.
has declined for 20 Years
And, over the last ten
years there has been:
• 50% decline in
student interest in
engineering
• 14% decline in
engineering degrees
awarded to US
students
Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2002
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Without new engineers we will continue to
face a perpetual shortage
Engineering and
Tech jobs
4M jobs
3M jobs
To meet current job
forecasts, we need to
add 100,000 engineers
every year for a decade.
The U.S. currently
graduates 60,000
engineers per year.
2000
2010
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Rest of the World Recognizes the Value
of Engineering
• Europe graduates 3 times as many engineers as the
US, Asia graduates 5 times
• 46% of the degrees awarded in China are
engineering degrees
• Only 5% of US college degrees are in engineering
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Bottom Line
- Future U.S. Engineers are Scarce
• Likelihood that a High School graduate obtains an
engineering degree
– All students: 2.1%
– Women: 0.9%
– Minorities: 0.8%
• In a Typical High School Graduating Class of 400
students
– There will be 8 engineers
– 5 will be white males, 2 women, 1 a minority
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Some of the Causes
Why aren’t students interested in pursuing engineering?
• Lack of preparation
– “engineering is all numbers, and I’m not good at
math”
• Lack of exposure
– “what is engineering?”
• Lack of interest
– “engineering is boring and geeky”
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
High School Preparation is Lagging
• Less than 10% of high school students take math through
calculus and science through physics
– Standard for successful engineering applicants
• Only 6% of minority high school students meet this level of
preparedness
• And most importantly, today almost no high school student
has any meaningful engineering classroom experience to
motivate them for further study
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Lack of Exposure
Fact: How do we expect students to be interested in
engineering if they have never even seen it?
Society expects students to be exposed to and know:
– Biology
- Algebra I, II
– Geometry
- Pre-Calculus
– Economics
- Physics
Isn’t technology-based engineering just as important to
the future of our students?
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Infinity Project
SM
Exciting and Relevant:
Engineering Education for Today’s Students
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
What is The Infinity ProjectSM?
Award winning high school and early
college engineering education program
– Based in The Institute for Engineering
Education
– Created by nationally recognized
engineering and educational leaders
from across the country
– Supplies schools with everything they
need to be successful
– Working with classrooms in 34 states
today
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Infinity Project’s Grand Educational
Challenge
Expose young students to the excitement and relevance of
modern high-tech engineering (early)
– Make math and science relevant and fun with hands on, and
exciting educational experiences.
– Increase the number of students pursuing engineering degrees
at colleges and universities.
– Create educational and economic opportunities for
underrepresented groups.
– Connect kids to the 21st century and increase their technical
literacy.
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Parents want Engineering Exposure for
their Children
In recent national survey, parents choose engineering as first
choice for children
– 75% say engineering is more important than business.
– 72% say engineering is more important than medicine.
– 58% say engineering is more important than law.
(Source: 2001 Los Angeles Times National Survey)
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Target Audience
The Infinity Project curriculum was created as a
conventional everyday course with extensive and
exciting hands on engineering design activities and
great applications of math and science.
Infinity is appropriate for:
– High School Students: Sophomores - Seniors
– Early college students (Freshman engineering
majors)
Prerequisites: Algebra II and one lab science course
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Classroom Technology:
The Infinity Technology Kit
• The Complete Classroom Technology Solution
– Turns a standard PC into an engineering design platform.
• Integrated extensively throughout the curriculum.
• Supports hundreds of exciting engineering design projects.
• Low-cost kit manufactured by National Instruments includes:
– Cutting Edge Texas Instruments DSP technology
– Visual Software (VAB for Infinity)
– All the peripherals you need
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Sample Design Examples
• Build digital music instruments
– Electric piano and guitar
• Create new special effects for movies
• Secretly encode messages between students
• Turn a PC into a Cell Phone
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Professional Development and Support
• The Infinity Project has a high degree of focus on
supporting the teacher and the classroom
– The Infinity Project conducts intensive and fun weeklong summer
institutes on the curriculum and technology.
– Teachers really begin to think and act like engineers
– On-line discussion groups with 24 hour response time.
• On-line materials to support classroom experience.
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Daily lesson plan guide
Sample test questions with solutions
Complete homework solutions
Engineering Design Projects with solutions
Chapter lecture already prepared in PowerPoint for instructors
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Infinity Professional Development
Institutes
- 35 hours of professional
development training for new
teachers offered during the
summer
- Conducted by master teachers
- Enriching, relevant and fun
- Hands-on and valuable
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Teacher Comments
“Every student in America
should be exposed to this
material.”
“Best training I have ever seen.”
“I want to run home and show
this to my own children.”
“My state needs this right now.”
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Types of Schools that we are
Currently Working With
The Infinity Project has been proven successful in a
wide variety of schools
– District-wide adoptions
– Large urban public schools
– Suburban public schools
– Magnet schools
– All-female schools (private)
– All-male schools (private)
– General private schools
– School for alternative learners
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Student Impact
Infinity is in place at schools in 34 states today.
– 80% of students completing
program report a “very strong
interest” in pursuing engineering.
– 95% learned new math concepts
– Nearly 100% would “recommend
course to friend.”
– Long-term, longitudinal impact
studies underway
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Participating States Today
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Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Iowa
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The Institute for Engineering Education
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
New Mexico
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New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Joining the Infinity Project
How Does My School Join The Infinity Project?
It is easy….
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Winter/Spring: Apply by filling out an application available on the Infinity
website. (Deadlines are available on the website.)
– Follow-up interviews are conducted with teachers and administrators.
– New Infinity schools are announced at the end of spring
– Schools then acquire classroom technology and textbooks. Educators
begin participating in discussion groups.
Summer: Teachers attend summer professional development institutes.
Fall: Teachers begin teaching course.
Academic Year: Infinity Project team supports classroom
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Criteria for Selection
1. Committed school administrators.
2. Motivated and qualified instructor(s): math, science, or
technology certified instructors with moderate comfort
level using computer programs.
3. Energetic students with the appropriate prerequisites:
sophomore, juniors or seniors who have completed
Algebra II and one lab science course.
4. Sufficient lab equipment and space.
5. Community that will benefit from program.
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Typical Total Program Costs
Professional Development for Teachers
– $750/teacher plus travel expenses
Classroom Technology Acquisition
– Available through National Instruments
– $400/kit – typically 10 kits per school
Course Textbook & Student Lab Manual
– Available through Prentice Hall
– $50/textbook “Engineering Our Digital Future”
– $15/student lab manual
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
How do I learn more about the
Infinity Project?
www.infinity-project.org
Visit the website to download this PowerPoint, a video
describing the program, teacher comments, sample
materials, and all the application forms.
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Current List of Partners
• Universities
– Created by Institute for Engineering Education at SMU
– Other participating universities include Georgia Institute of
Technology, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Rice
University, Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin,
University of Texas at El Paso, Prairie View A&M, University of
Michigan, Santa Clara, University of Houston, and many others.
• Corporate – Government
– Texas Instruments
– Department of Education
– National Instruments
– National Science Foundation
– Tyco, Compaq, Microsoft
– And others
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org