The University of Colorado Boulder is launching a new General Engineering Plus undergraduate degree with the CU Teach Engineering concentration this fall for current first-year and sophomore students interested in earning secondary school (grades 7-12) science or math teaching licensure.
The GE+ degree program offers an interdisciplinary, hands-on, design-based engineering core curriculum, coupled with an engineering disciplinary emphasis (aerospace, mechanical, environmental, architectural, or civil) and a 鈥淒esign Your Own鈥� concentration in an area within or external to engineering.
The CU Teach Engineering concentration was created by the College of Engineering and Applied Science as a new pathway for students interested in a design-focused, interdisciplinary engineering degree that is streamlined for students to simultaneously complete the requirements for a secondary math or science teacher licensure.
Recognizing the need for qualified science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) teachers to enhance the context and content introduced in K-12 classrooms, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, in conjunction with the School of Education, created the degree for those students interested in engineering who also have a strong desire to teach.
鈥淭his could be a game changer in getting engineering colleges nationwide to engage in STEM teacher production and, at scale, really put the 鈥淓鈥� in STEM for our nation鈥檚 youth,鈥� said Jacquelyn Sullivan, who co-directs the GE+ program along with Derek Reamon.
Sullivan and Reamon also co-direct the award-winning Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and Program, which introduced an interdisciplinary, hands-on designed-based curriculum to the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Sullivan, with support from the National Science Foundation, also leads TeachEngineering.org, a free digital library of hands-on engineering activities designed for use by K-12 teachers, and the TEAMS program, in which Ph.D. engineering students from CU-Boulder teach engineering curricula in grades 4-12 STEM classes in partner schools in three school districts.
鈥淭he college has discovered how engaging in K-12 education can make a world of difference to our nation鈥檚 future and how to effectively implement the design-based pedagogical strategies in a K-12 classroom,鈥� Sullivan said.
CU Teach Engineering is the first GE+ concentration to launch this fall, but additional concentration options, such as pre-medicine, law or business, will be launched by fall 2014.
The GE+ degree is broad in scope and gives students the opportunity to discover hands-on design in multiple branches of engineering with the flexibility to explore another passion applicable to the technical problem-solving needs of today鈥檚 complex world.
CU-Boulder students interested in learning more about the degree program are invited to attend an information session on either Aug. 27 at 4:30 p.m. or Aug. 28 at 4 p.m., in the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, room 160.
For more information visit听.
Contact:
Jacquelyn听Sullivan, 303-492-8303
Carol Rowe, 303-492-7426
