K-12 - University - Industry STEM Educational Partnerships

Abstract - Marquette University is creating a Culture-of-Innovation Bridge between the K-12 world and the world of industrial, multidisciplinary problem-solving, with Graduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Fellows comprising a Community of Innovative and Integrative Engineers, Scientists, and Mathematicians serving as mentors and guides. This will give K-12 teachers and students a direct, sustainable connection to real-world problem solving. Up to now, their main connection to the industrial world has been through the university, and mostly second hand. This bridge will have traffic in both directions with the travelers being K-12 teachers and students, industrial engineers, and applied scientists and mathematicians, with the Graduate STEM Fellows acting as facilitators and catalysts for change. This bridge will foster the development of: (1) a human-centered, real-world-problem focus in the teaching and research of STEM topics; (2) professional attributes - team building, leadership, critical thinking, communication, teaching, and social awareness; (3) partnerships among K-12, university, and industry environments; (4) STEM knowledge, basic and applied, and integration into teaching; and (5) STEM interest for K-12 students. The research themes will come from the fields of engineering (mechanical, electrical, biomedical, and civil) and applied mathematics, computer science, and physics.