SOLUTIONS TO ENGINEER SHORTAGE EXPLORED
AT UH
College of Technology Partners with Project Lead The Way
to Provide Pre-Engineering Teacher Training
HOUSTON, June 21, 2004 – Addressing the engineer shortage
that faces the U.S., the University of Houston’s College of
Technology is hosting teachers from across the country armed and
ready to tackle this challenge.
Hosting the fourth annual Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Summer Training
Institute through June 25, the UH College of Technology is providing
75 intensive hours of instruction to prepare teachers to meet the
“No Child Left Behind” legislation that paves the way
toward solving the engineering shortage and diversity issues facing
the nation’s universities.
Many of the Texas teachers participating in this year’s PLTW
summer training are doing so as a result of a $200,000 grant provided
by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in order to address the critical
need for more students to enter what is known as STEM – science,
technology, engineering and mathematic – career fields. During
this intensive, two-week training at UH, teachers are exposed to
cutting-edge equipment and software, conducting hands-on research
projects and participating in local industry tours.
“So many students are unprepared to make the kinds of decisions
we all must make in our current technological society,” said
John W. Hansen, department chair of Information and Logistics Technology
in UH’s College of Technology. “We must nurture the
development of critical STEM skills if we are to ensure a better
future for mankind. UH plays a vital role in seeking solutions to
address the situation.”
Hansen is responsible for initiating the University of Houston’s
involvement as a Texas affiliate in PLTW and currently is leading
a $1.3 million grant from TEA toward the statewide revision of the
technology education curriculum and instructional resources. He
also actively works with local schools, colleges and universities
to develop 21st century STEM skills in middle and high school students.
“PLTW offers students the opportunity to develop these skills
at the middle and high school levels, carrying them to the collegiate
level,” Hansen said. “Once in college, students are
better prepared to become the future engineers, mathematicians and
scientists that our society so desperately needs.”
PLTW is a national, non-profit organization that forms partnerships
among public schools, higher education institutions and the private
sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering
technologists graduating from the nation’s educational system.
This program was established to help schools give students the knowledge
they need to excel in high-tech fields. Studies of PLTW’s
curriculum prove that participating students become the kind of
prepared, competent, high-tech employees U.S. industry needs to
stay competitive in the global market.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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