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In the news: |
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The sky is definitely the limit now that the appropriately titled
“Infinity,” which is Pasadena ISD’s pre-engineering program, has been
awarded a $1,500 grant from the Aerospace Academy for Engineering and
Teacher Education. The funding was derived from the United Space
Alliance to the Aerospace Academy through the San Jacinto College
Foundation. This is the district’s first year to participate in the Infinity project. The grant will fund training for program instructors at Southern Methodist University in Dallas from July 16 – 20. The training is similar to the hands-on environment the students will be engaged in throughout the school year. Liz Jones, former science instructional specialist who is now a consultant for the district, wrote the grant. “We are very excited,” said Jones. “We knew what it would cost to send the teachers to summer training. It’s a really nice gift to give directly to the teachers.” Jones said the goal the goal of the program is to provide innovative and real-world opportunities for students that prepare them for college as well as for a possible engineering career. “The growing shortage of engineers in this country is of concern to education and industry,” said Marie Dalton, executive vice president of the Aerospace Academy. “Therefore, one of the Academy goals is to engage in and support activities that inspire students to an interest in engineering. Connecting the dots between the San Jacinto College/Aerospace Academy mission, Pasadena ISD’s pre-engineering program, and United Space Alliance’s generous support made sense.” The name of the course is “Engineering Design” and it lasts for the entire year. It’s geared for students enrolled in grades 10 – 12. Dobie, Sam Rayburn and South Houston High School are the campuses that are participating in the pre-engineering program this year. Participants in the program will receive honors credit that gives them premium points to their grade point average. Students will use the textbook “Engineering Our Digital Future” for their classroom curriculum. Grace Blasingame, instructor at Sam Rayburn High School, said that the students at Sam Rayburn High School use computer software to study in depth the aspects of electrical engineering. She currently has six students enrolled in the program and she hopes to increase the number of students enrolled in the class. The students study how electrical signals have the ability to link between computers and devices such as motion detectors and MP3 players. Her class will also undertake a project of building model rockets using the engineering software provided by the Infinity program curriculum. The computer software that is used closely resembles what engineers in the industry do to solve real-world problems. The Institute for Engineering Education and Texas Instruments developed the Infinity Program as a project in 1999 to full implementation at the present. This has been with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation and others. Since then, there are now 34 states that are certified to teach the Infinity Program curriculum. The reasoning behind the start of the Infinity Program was because there is a need for high-quality engineering graduates in the near future. The Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education officially started in 2000 with the goal of addressing the problem of decreasing the shortage of individuals who work in the science, technology, engineering, math fields and the educators who teach these subjects. Pasadena ISD is a primary partner with the academy. Dalton feels that the goal of addressing the problem will not be one solution. She said it is one question that individuals at the local, state and federal levels (public and private) are pondering. “I don’t think the answer is a one-action solution,” Dalton said. “Rather, multiple actions are needed [to communicate to students] at earlier ages to inform students and their teachers.” Dalton said assistance is needed for teachers and students to inspire students to lay the foundation for further study and reinforce the interest to study courses in these particular fields. Pasadena ISD’s ties to the Aerospace Academy are extensive. In 2003, the Texas Workforce Commission sponsored a grant that allowed PISD teachers to receive free training involving the study of science, technology and math. Dalton said that the district has been active involved since the beginning of the Academy’s inception. She said that the district is currently eligible to participate in a new grant from the TWC that will offer teacher training, student science workshops at NASA, and digital learning network classes at Space Center Houston. This new grant will enable PISD students to attend summer workshops. These workshops are for students who are obtaining dual credit from their respective high school and San Jacinto College. This could also provide scholarships for students who take science, technology, engineering and math related courses for dual credit at San Jacinto College. Blasingame is pleased that the grant is available to assist instructors in their training for this curriculum. “This reaffirms that the district continues to support such a great program,” she said. “We have highly-motivated students enrolled who are eager to learn.” |