Presenter: Ellen Ingamells (Environmental Science)
Mentor: Kathryn Lynch
Oral Presentation
Panel A: “Enhancing Learning” Maple Room
Concurrent Session 1: 9:00-10:15am
Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus
It’s no wonder that industry (manufacturing, engineering, product design and research) has been tied to American science education since the birth of this country. Industry accounts for nearly 20% of the American economy, includes the fastest growing occupational fields, and is, by most accounts, what keeps the United States competitive. This project approaches the question “what should the role of industry be in science education?” from four different angles: precedent, policy, practice and opinion. Additionally, there is a larger theoretical question embedded in this project: what is the goal of our education system? In the last 230 years education has changed more because of answers to this question, than from any other factor. Today our education system is trying to create all of the workers that our current industry needs. History shows us that these policies and practices are short sighted. Teaching students to be a part of today’s industry leaves them incapable of adapting to future industry. It is time to break out of this pattern. Regardless of what your goals are for the American education system, they can best be met by creating well rounded, critically thinking innovators. By attempting to inspire passion and ingenuity, our school system can produce a citizenry that is engaged, thoughtful and patriotic, as well as a workforce that is adaptive and innovative in every field.