Science and Math in EducationA Perspective and Cause for Action

Example Programs (STEM)

National Instruments Confidential

Where are the Tech Professionals of 2020?

– In 3rd Grade

– 9 year olds!

Leveraging Technology in Education

Time

Boomers

Millennials

Gen Xers

Tech Savvy Generation

5 Years Old

8 Years Old

12 Years Old18 Years Old

> 22 Years Old

Decline in Engineering Education

Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators

• 50% decline in student interest

• 14% decline in degrees

awarded to US students

The Big State of Texas . . .

• 4.4 million Students in Public Education

• 1700 High Schools

– 1.2 million Students, 215,000 Graduates

Out of every 100 9th grade students (15 years old)

– 11 with graduate with a degree in 3 to 6 years

LESS THAN 2 WITH ENGINEERING/SCIENCE DEGREE!

What Makes Engineers/Scientists Tick?

10%

8%

15%

22%

32%

41%

71%

80%

11%

6%

12%

16%

28%

32%

72%

77%

11%

7%

14%

19%

30%

36%

71%

78%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Other

For the scholarships that were available

Friends are engineers

To have a positive influence on the environment

A family member is an engineer

For the prestige/job/salary opportunities

Wanted to solve real world problems

Wanted to invent, build or design things

Students (n=403) Engineers (n=426) Total (n=827)

–IEEE Profession Image Study

Boys- “let’s make some noise”Gilrs- “how is what I am doing relevant too…”

From Play to Real-World Applications

RoMeLa DARwIn Nexans SpiderSanarus Medical

What are we to do?

How can we make Engineers and Scientist like sports heroes?

How many pro athletes live in the U.S.?

12,700

$72,920

U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor StatisticsNumber of Pro Athletes in the U.S.Average pay of Pro Athletes in the U.S.

How much money do Engineers make?

1,512,000

$82,090U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The number of engineersThe average pay of electrical engineers

Robotics vs Mechatronics

• Robotics- application area and discipline

•Mechatronics- multi-disciplinary approach to solve engineering problems, like Robotics

STEM in Education(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)

• Integrate theory with hands-on examples

• Project-based learning

• Foster creativity…design, design, design

Critical Elements of STEM Programs

•Major Public and Private Support

• Integrated with Commercial Technology

•Capable of Changing our Culture

• Economically Viable

• A Vision and Plan for National Adoption

• Comprehensive Curriculum

Example US STEM Programs

• LEGO Education– legoeducation.com

• The Infinity Project– infinity-project.org

• Project Lead The Way– pltw.org

• Vernier Sensors– vernier.com

• FIRST– usfirst.org

• T-STEM Initiative– cftexas.org/thsp_initiatives_science.htm

Using Toys to Teach

• 1997 – Joint development with LEGO, NI and Tufts

• 2008– >500,000 students world-wide

Learning the Engineering Process

Design and Build

Create a Program on

the Computer

Download and Run

Look for ways to

make better

Lego Local Outreach ProgramAustin, Texas

�12 School Districts

�>60 Schools

�> 7,000 Students

�>250 Trained Educators

�Program Replication

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

Trained Educators & NI Mentors K-12 Students RoboLab Mentor Hours

–K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Grade Level

FIRST Technical Challenge

(High-School Ages)

FIRST LEGO League

(Ages 9-14 years old)

FIRST Robotics Competition

(High-School Ages)

Junior

FIRST LEGO League

(Ages 6-9 years old)

• 100,000+ Students in 44+ countries

• 50,000+ volunteers with today’s Engineers as Mentors on teams

Learn- Mechatronics- Gracious Professionalism

Progressive Software Programming Paradigm- meet the needs of students of all ages and abilities.

Tools with Strong Industry Usage – students learn skills they can use in college and careers.

Make Engineering and Science Fun!

Types of Robotic Applications

Mil/Aero Research

Agriculture/

Industrial

Personal/

Service/Home

AutonomousAutonomous

Supervisory

Tele-operated

1.8M* 7.2M*

06-7 NSF Robotic Funding

$97,154,989

*estimated in service robots 2010

TH

RE

AD

TH

RE

AD

TH

RE

AD

Robotics Application

Data

Collection

User

Interface

Network

Comm.Control

Operating System

CPU Core CPU Core

Emergence of Parallel Technologies and the Commercial Impact upon Robotics

CPU Core CPU Core

What to tell Corporate ManagementOur future depends upon making Science and Engineering more fun!

1. Invest in leveraged programs that scale

2. Invest in technology programs and its curriculum

3. Work with Colleges and Universities that work with K - 12

4. Don’t just show up for your school’s Engineer’s Day

5. Ask your CEO to frequently contact state government about STEM programs

Do we have another option?