| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 15, 2005 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 15, 2005 |
| Award Number: | 0501885 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Russell L. Pimmel
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 15, 2005 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2008 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $229,875.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $229,875.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
815 N ORLANDO SMITH ST OGLESBY IL US 61348-9692 (815)224-2720 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
815 N ORLANDO SMITH ST OGLESBY IL US 61348-9692 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Advanced Tech Education Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The program is revising curricula for an engineering design and electronics program to build it around an entrepreneurial component that immerses the students in reengineering throughout the two-year program. The objectives of the project are to provide technical students with continuous quality improvement (CQI) experience, to recruit more students into engineering design, manufacturing, and electronics, and to improve student performance. The revised curricula bring freshmen into the CQI loop in their first semester technical courses where they analyze and recommend improvements on products previously designed by student teams. In succeeding semesters, the students build prototypes, analyze them, and continue to redesign them. They undergo training in workplace skills, including project management, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication. In the last semester, the curricula combine technical and business students to form student teams or companies, which manufacture, market, and sell a product. To meet the recruiting objective, the project uses student teams as a magnet to draw high school technical instructors and their students to the campus and uses video streaming technology to delivers project activities to the high schools. To improve student performance, the initiatives include: (1) creating a leadership track for promising high school students, enrolling them in a class designed to improve their success in college, and utilizing them as mentors; (2) addressing the language needs of non-native speakers of English by assessing their skills and providing assistance, especially in speaking and listening skills; and (3) involving industry representatives in an advisory committee and utilizing them as mentors. The evaluation effort is comprehensive using a variety of approaches from several perspectives at various points in the students' development. The dissemination efforts includes outreach to high schools and plans to publish materials and results on a web site, at conferences, in journals, and through a workshop.
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