TY  - CONF
T1  - The TeachEngineering Digital Library:  Improving Access to the P-12 Engineering Conversation
T2  - Proceedings 2nd P-12 Engineering and Design Education Research Summit
Y1  - 2012
A1  - Reitsma,Reindert
A1  - Zarske,M.
A1  - Sullivan,J.
A1  - Klenk,P.
A1  - Forbes,M.
A1  - Carlson,D.
KW  - BIS
AB  - The TeachEngineering digital library is a collection of searchable, standards-based, classroom-tested P-12 engineering curricula for use in science and math classrooms (Sullivan et al., 2005). Its inquiry-based lessons and hands-on activities use real-life engineering as a vehicle for the integration of science and math in P-12 classrooms. Mapped to educational content standards, the activities are age-appropriate, inexpensive to conduct, and relevant to students’ daily lives, helping science and math come alive. The collection is a powerful resource for those in P-12 or higher education, industry and professional communities wanting to improve STEM literacy, to engage young students in the joys and creativity of engineering and the design process, and to increase the number of students pursuing STEM careers.<br>This paper investigates TeachEngineering usage trends and curricular submission statistics. Specifically, we analyze the submission process for curriculum contributed from external authors, suggest practices for submitting new curriculum, and discuss possible support avenues for future submissions.
JA  - Proceedings 2nd P-12 Engineering and Design Education Research Summit
U2  - b
U4  - 50961645568
ID  - 50961645568
ER  - 

TY  - CONF
T1  - Are French Fries and Grades Bad for You?  Conflicting Evidence on how K-12 Teachers Search in a K-12 Engineering Digital Library
T2  - Am. Soc. of Engr. Education (ASEE) Annual Conf. 2010
Y1  - 2010
A1  - Reitsma,Reindert
A1  - Klenk,P.
A1  - Zarske,M.
A1  - Sullivan,J.
KW  - BIS
AB  - The TeachEngineering digital library provides teacher-tested, standards-based engineering content for K-12 teachers to use in science and math classrooms. Since its release in 2005, it has demonstrated significant growth in users and in contributors; data on this growth is presented. The TeachEngineering team continues to research its search functions and user interface in order to ensure that it is meeting the needs of its intended users, K-12 teachers. Empirical evidence of an experimental study on the dimensions of alignment between digital K-12 lesson materials and education standards, however, contradicts that of the observed search behavior of patrons of TeachEngineering. Whereas the experiment convincingly shows that grade band information does not add to the teaching materials’ relevance for an educational standard, observed patrons’ searching patterns show ample evidence of grade band-based searches. In this paper we offer that although grade band-based searches should perhaps be avoided because they improperly bias search results, they are such a prominent feature in the actual use of the digital library that as designers we must support them while mitigating the risk of unfortunate search bias. As a possible solution we suggest supporting grade-based searches yet offering query expansion by widening the grade band. These results also imply that curriculum developers pay close attention to the assignment of grade bands to their lessons and activities.
JA  - Am. Soc. of Engr. Education (ASEE) Annual Conf. 2010
CY  - Louisville, KY
U2  - b
U4  - 21031903233
ID  - 21031903233
ER  - 

TY  - HEAR
T1  - Teachengineering Resources for K-12
Y1  - 2004
A1  - Reitsma,Reindert
A1  - Cyr,M.
A1  - Mooney,M.
A1  - Sullivan,J.
A1  - Ybarra,G.
KW  - BIS
JA  - 4th Annual NSF-NSDL meeting
U2  - c
U4  - 649347072
ID  - 649347072
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Exploiting Engineering as a Unique Distance Learning Tool  19, 379-388
JF  - International Journal of Engineering Education
Y1  - 2003
A1  - Carlson,L.
A1  - Reitsma,Reindert
A1  - Brandemuehl,M.
A1  - Hertzberg,J.
A1  - Sullivan,J.
A1  - Gabbard,S.
KW  - BIS
VL  - 19
U2  - a
U4  - 649318400
ID  - 649318400
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Living Laboratory
JF  - Proceedings of the IEEE
Y1  - 2000
A1  - Lightner,M.
A1  - Carlson,D.
A1  - Sullivan,J.
A1  - Brandemuehl,M.
A1  - Reitsma,Reindert
KW  - BIS
VL  - 88
U2  - a
U4  - 51551956992
ID  - 51551956992
ER  -