Informing Authentic P-12 Engineering Outreach Efforts

The Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning was developed through a synergistic collaboration of teachers, school administrators, and researchers alongside the leaders of the Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) research collaborative and the American Society of Engineering Education. The framework provides practical guidance by identifying common P-12 engineering learning goals that all students should reach to become engineering literate. The Framework aims to add structure and coherence to the P-12 engineering community by serving as a foundation for the development of any and all engineering programs in schools, informing state and national standards-setting efforts, and providing the research community with a common "starting point" to better investigate and understand P-12 engineering learning. Key among the implementation targets for the Framework is educational outreach programs at schools and colleges of engineering through the country. These outreach programs reach thousands of students in every state and territory in the United States. Many of these programs, such as University of Colorado's TeachEngineering initiative, provide services to P-12 schools including high quality teacher professional develop and access to curricular resources. The following paper will describe how the Framework and documents such as the Standards for Preparation and Professional Development for Teachers of Engineering can advance outreach efforts currently being carried out by engineering schools and colleges.