Women’s Initiative Training Manual

Women’s Initiative Training Manual Last Updated 12/8/08 AS INTERPRETED BY THE UWWI Table of Contents Training Session 1: Introduction to the Program & Logistics Outline .6 Directors Presenters Sponsors .9 What are we About? 10 Website .10 Inception and Purpose 10 Calendar 11 October .11 November 11 December 12 January/February .12 Travel Logistics & Reimbursements .13 Sample Presentations & Activities 18 How to make the talk 18 How to give an effective talk 19 Statistics 20 Sections to include in your talk .21 a Sponsor logos! 21 b What engineers do? .21 c Stereotypes .21 d Types of Engineers 21 e Should I become an engineer? 21 f The benefits of engineering 22 g The Engineering Design Process .24 h How I prepare to be an engineer? .24 Websites .24 Designing Activities .26 Homework Day 27 Training Session 2: Travel Logistics & Activity 28 Outline .29 School Contacts and Schedules .30 Sample Schedule 31 Practice Activities 32 Homework Day .33 Training Session 3: Presentations 34 Outline .35 Presentations 36 Surveys & Photos 36 How to use giveaways .36 Homework Day and Last Minute Reminders .37 Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Training Session 1: Introduction to the Program and Travel Logistics Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Outline a Introductions of directors and presenters b What are we about? c Timeline and logistical introduction d Resources available e Meeting partner and learn about schools f Homework Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Directors (*Also presenting this year!) Name* email address cell phone number Class year, Major Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Presenters  During a specified time period, enthusiastic women selected from the School of Engineering make local/national presentations with the goal of encouraging women to consider studies and careers in engineering The presentations include activities to engage students in thinking about engineering concepts, demonstrations from projects the presenters work on at school and in summer internships, information about the breadth of fields in engineering, and the life of an engineering student The presenters also incorporate personal stories about how they chose their fields of study as well as anecdotal stories about women in engineering The Women's Initiative is intended not to recruit for any particular school but to provide information and encourage high school women to consider the field of engineering  2008-2009 Presenters (excluding directors) Name Last modified 8-1-08 Year Course Women’s Initiative Training Manual What are we about?  Website: www.uwwi.org  Who are we? Women’s Initiative is a student group dedicated to encouraging young women to pursue degrees and careers in engineering Enthusiastic women from the School of Engineering are selected to speak with middle and high school girls locally about the excitement of careers in engineering The presentations include activities to engage students in thinking about engineering concepts, demonstrations of projects on which the presenters have worked, and information about the different engineering fields and the life of an engineering woman Travel Logistics Budget Car Rental Information Insurance Coverage Receipts Preparing Your Receipts etc Materials Check Out How to check out materials and activity kits (if you are using them) Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Sample Presentations, Activities, Handouts Sample Presentations: Go to our website for two sample presentations by our directors in IAP 2007 Sample Activities: In the appendix hosted at our website Sample Handouts: At the end of each presentation, give the girls handouts, including the following information:  Presenter information (name, major, grad/undergrad, email)  List of national AND local (varies between states) programs for engineering, with websites listed      MIT Women’s Technology Program: http://wtp.mit.edu/index.html CalTech Young Engineering and Science Scholar Program: http://www.y.caltech.edu/yess.html Research Science Institute: http://www.cee.org MIT Minority Introduction to Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Science: http://web.mit.edu/mites/www/ FIRST Robotics: www.usfirst.org  List of local colleges with engineering programs  Any other important take home messages (types of engineering disciplines, classes to take, etc) Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual How to make the presentation How to give an effective talk to pre-college women   Make it fun! Speak clearly     Use fonts Use a fun font! Use lots of pictures! Use examples and pictures of things that are relevant to their lives! (ie Cell phones, iPods, etc) Don’t try to cram too much into the talk Use props Use color Make the presentation hands-on and interactive Get students to speak up during the presentation and ask questions Give interesting anecdotes and try to bring props or pictures from your projects Reward students who participate with sponsor giveaways and/or small candies      large  Remember…We are not recruiting for our school When students ask, “what if my GPA isn’t perfect?” or “what SAT score I need to get into college?” - Answer with the mindset that there are lots of universities  In addition to an overview of the engineering field, it is sometimes helpful to focus on one specific issue as an example For example, students will remember the conversation better if you explore how a fire hydrant works rather than generally describe engineers as problem-solvers Usually personal experiences are most effective and interesting  Talk about projects that you think are cool and try to think of a simple way to explain the principles and motivation behind the project Give examples of skills that someone working on the project needs and where you might learn those skills Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Basic Statistics to Include     Less than 20% of undergrads in engineering are women At MIT, the engineering school is 33% female Even less, 17% continue on to graduate school Women constitute about 11% of the engineering workforce Engineering Degrees Awarded to Women Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, 2001 Gender of Engineers Earning Bachelor’s Degrees by Discipline Source: Engineering Workforce Commission, 2001 Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Sections to include in your talk a What engineers do? For example: Engineers apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to the economical solution of practical technical problems Often their work is the link between a scientific discovery and its application In addition to design and development, many engineers work in testing, production or maintenance They supervise production in factories, determine the causes of breakdowns, and test manufactured products to maintain quality They also estimate the time and cost to complete projects Some work in management or sales where an engineering background enables them to discuss technical aspects of a product and assist in planning its installation or use (http://www.teachingtools.com/Slinky/engineers.html) "Engineering is the invisible profession… It's not in the media; it's not in the K-12 curriculum.” Well over half of the U.S public, including almost three-quarters of women, don't know what engineers are, what engineers do, or how engineers make an impact in the real world, unlike doctors, lawyers, dentists, and veterinarians Engineering accomplishments are largely invisible and often taken for granted Members of the public don't know how they get clean water, what it takes to run the Internet, or the engineering wizardry behind the automobile People grumble about flight delays without appreciating the meteorological, communications, and navigation systems that protect them and enable them to travel safely b Stereotypes Include pictures of yourself and your friends and have the students guess who is an engineer and who is not c Types of engineers Engineers can be classified into 11 types, according to the kind of work they do—construction, consulting, design, development, teaching, planning (also called applications engineers), production, research, sales, service, and test engineers They work in laboratories, industrial plants, or construction sites where they inspect, supervise or solve on-site problems; others work in an office most of the time, and a few travel extensively to plants or construction sites Engineers in branches such as civil engineering may work outdoors part of the time Engineers in each branch have knowledge and training that can be applied to many fields, and because there are numerous separate problems to solve in a large engineering project, engineers in one field often work closely with specialists in scientific, other engineering, and business occupations Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Most specialized engineering we know today developed during the last 200 years Before then, engineering dealt mostly with the construction of roads, bridges, canals, or military structures and devices As mankind gained more knowledge of science and technology, engineers began to specialize in certain kinds of work Specialized engineering fields are numerous and include aerospace • agricultural • architectural • automotive • biomedical • ceramic • chemical • civil • computer science • electrical • engineering physics • environmental health and sanitary • geological • marine • mechanical • metallurgical and materials • mining • nuclear • ocean • petroleum • systems • textile • and transportation (http://www.teachingtools.com/Slinky/engineers.html) d Should I become an engineer? Do you have… Curiosity: searching for the "how" and "why" of natural and mechanical things Imagination: Picturing situations and suggesting new ideas or ways of approaching problems that arise Creativity: Bringing new facts and methods together to solve problems Responsibility: Completing assignments in a dependable way with a minimum of supervision Communication: Sharing ideas with customers and getting along with people Perseverance: Trying again and again to get something right Motivation: Taking risks and challenging accepted principles e The benefits of engineering Challenging jobs:  An engineer is a person who solves problems, which means that engineers work on all sorts of project in all sorts of jobs Engineers can work in: Sales, Production, Research, Design, Product Management, Consulting, and more  Engineers solve problems that are complex and can affect the lives and fortunes of many others They use all their knowledge of math, science, technology, and people to develop options and implement solutions  Characteristics of an engineering job: o Applying scientific knowledge to create new and better things and ways of doing o Developing elegant solutions with limited time, resources, and technology o Accomplishing a specific task within a given set of constraints Good pay and benefits:  There are more high paying jobs for engineering graduates than any other Bachelor's degree  Employment of engineers will grow 50% nationwide and 100% statewide by year 2005  Women now make up at least half of medical and law school classes While entry-level doctors and lawyers earn more than the average first-year engineer does, they also typically endure workdays that are far more grueling Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual  Other professionals, such as veterinarians and architects, earn less at entry level than engineers Lasting and tangible products:  Engineering can be rewarding because you are encouraged to be creative in designing a new product, building machines, optimizing the operation of a company, or testing computer software An engineering education together with your innate creative ability can create or design things that never existed Engineering is associated with other creative fields, particularly the fine arts The originators of engineering were craft people, such as flint knappers, whose understanding of different types of materials and its intrinsic properties allowed them to refine nature and create weapons and tools Help to humankind:  Engineering is a rewarding career option that will make you feel a sense of personal worth from their contribution to a healthier, safer and more enjoyable life for your fellow citizens In ten years, with an engineering education you might be designing a spacecraft to explore the Milky Way, building nuclear engines to power cities, saving lives through new laser applications or applying computer technology to solving problems in the 21st century  Engineers combine creativity with technology to "build the quality of life" Without engineers, we would still be riding horses to work and school; we would read by candlelight; we would be missing the cool “toys” we have today It is difficult to think of anything that we use that has not been influenced in some way by an engineer Practical skills for other career paths:  Besides preparing you for a job, an engineering degree gives you a good background for several types of further education Having a bachelor's degree in certain types of engineering can give you a technical background that can help you continue your education at Law School, Medical School, Business School, or Graduate school in another technical major  Engineers, because of their practical knowledge and training, have an excellent understanding of how things work and why they are the way that they are Thus, they are able to understand and contribute knowledgeably to discussions on many of the vital issues that will occupy political debate in coming years f Engineering Design Process (hands-on activity) Engineers can work on specific steps or might even have to all of these things for a project or task  Identify the problem: What people need or want?  Create criteria: Criteria are guidelines or specifications that you decide on before you design something Criteria are generally written as: "the , the better" For example, some common criteria might be "the simpler, the better", or "the cheaper, the better"  Design your product: This is the main step What will your product look like? How will it work? Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual   Optimization: Optimization is an engineering term that just means improving your design so that it better meets your criteria Engineers have to watch out for something called suboptimization This means improving one factor, but making the entire design worse Build a prototype: A prototype is a model of your design This lets the customers know exactly what they're getting Engineers also often draw blueprints of their design for the same reason g How I prepare to be an engineer? High School background: The beauty is that you go to college for four years and learn how best to approach such problems - you're not expected to know it all before you go Explain how your first year subjects gave you foundations in math, physics, chemistry, and biology so that even if you did not have a good background before, you can acquire it in college Getting good grades is important, however colleges also look at how much you challenged yourself Even if your GPA isn’t great, you can really impress colleges by taking challenging classes, doing extracurricular activities, and attending summer internship and camps Classes:  Mathematics up to Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus, and Calculus is strongly recommended  A year of biology, physics, and chemistry  A foreign language  Four years of English  Two years of history and/or social sciences Extracurricular Activities: What makes an application memorable to colleges is you – academics come first, but your activities also reveal a great deal Colleges want to know:  What your non-academic interests are  Whether you can manage your time and priorities  Whether you can maintain a long-term commitment  What diversity you'd bring to the student body  How you've made a meaningful contribution to something Look for opportunities to shine in school activities, after-school jobs, and community service Standardized Testing: Most schools now require at least one standardized test Take tests early in case you want to retake them If you have the opportunity, take advanced placement tests to possibly save some time and money when you get to college Check out www.collegeboard.com for information about SATs, Advanced Placement tests and www.act.org for information about the ACT Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Summer Programs: Summer programs are a great opportunity to explore interesting topics and get a little taste of college life Check out schools in your area for programs or venture to another part of the country See list below (we’ll post these on the website so that you can just direct students to the website if they want more info) h Websites Engineering Fields:  http://www.eng.fiu.edu/MWIE/engfields.html - description of various fields of engineering  http://www.ul.ie/~childsp/Elements/Issue1/doyle.html - description of various fields of engineering  http://www.nae.edu/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/webviews/Careers+By+Title? OpenDocument&count=50000 and http://www.nae.edu/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/webviews/Careers+By+Engineering+Field? OpenDocument&count=50000 – description of various fields + actually engineering job descriptions Pictures and profile of women engineers:  http://www.eng.fiu.edu/MWIE/mentors.html - pictures of engineers at Motorola (please e-mail webmaster for permission to use images)  http://www.nae.edu/nae/cwe/egdir.nsf?OpenDatabase - profiles of women engineers (including Missy Cummings professor of aero-astro at MIT)  Nerd Girls is a group of women engineers who built a solar car and did a documentary of the process to encourage other girls to go into engineering There official website is here: http://nerdgirls.eecs.tufts.edu/ , and this is a video clip of them talking about engineering: http://www.wepan.org/ec_activities.html Engineering Activities:  http://www.nae.edu/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/weblinks/CTON-4THVDV?Opendocument – An interesting activity about engineering in chocolates Yum ^^  http://www.swe.org/iac/LP/index.html - A SWE page with engineering activities The slime and balloon rocket one looks rather promising  http://collections.ic.gc.ca/science/english/eng/index.html - The motor boat project is possible http://www.wepan.org/ec_activities.html - More activities Summer Programs:  MIT Women’s Technology Program (WTP): http://wtp.mit.edu/index.html  Boston University's Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS): http://math.bu.edu/people/promys/  Caltech Young Engineering and Science Scholar Program (YESS): http://www.y.caltech.edu/yess.html Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual                   Camp Entrepeneur : http://www.necwb.setonhill.edu/ Camp $tart-Up : http://www.anincomeofherown.com/ Cornell University's Summer College for High School Students: http://www.summercollege.cornell.edu/ Davidson's College's July Experience: http://www.davidson.edu/academic/education/julyexp.html Duke University: Talent Identification Program: http://www.tip.duke.edu/ John Hopkins University: Pre-College Program: http://www.jhu.edu/summer/ Mathematics & Science for Minority Students at Phillips Academy (MS)2: http://www.andover.edu/ MIT Minority Introduction to Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Science: http://web.mit.edu/mites/www/ MIT Educational Outreach Programs: http://web.mit.edu/cpse/www/outreachprograms.html Research Science Institute at MIT (RSI): http://www.cee.org/ Morehouse College Upward Bound Math/Science Southeast Regional Institute: http://www.morehouse.edu/trio/math_science/index.html NASA Sharp Plus: http://qemnetwork.qem.org/sharpplus.html Phillips Academy Summer Session: http://www.andover.edu/summersession/home.htm Quest Scholars Program at Stanford University: http://questscholars.stanford.edu/ Smith College Summer Science Program http://www.smith.edu/summerprograms/ssep/ Syracuse University Summer College for High School Students: http://www.syracuse.edu/summer/ Tuskegee University Computer Science Summer Program: http://cs.tusk.edu/programs/fpics.htm University of Wisconsin's Engineering Summer Program: http://www.wisc.edu/ Additional Resources:  Campdepot.com  Camp Channel: http://www.campchannel.com/  National Association of Precollege Directors: http://www.jhuapl.edu/NAPD/contents.htm  New England Board of Higher Education: Opportunities for Minority Students: http://www.nebhe.org/diversity/minority_intro.html  Peterson's Guide to Summer Opportunities: http://www.petersons.com/summerop/  Summer Adventure: Directory of Opportunities for Minority Pre-College Students: http://www.cic.edu/newspubs/pubs/oppdirec/oppdirec.shtml  www.webfanatix.com/science_camps_for_kids_at_webfan.htm Program Spotlight: The MIT Women's Technology Program is a 4-week summer school for high school girls entering their senior year Students live at MIT and explore modern electrical engineering and computer science or mechanical engineering through exciting hands-on projects and teamwork Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Students can find out more information at http://wtp.mit.edu/ or by emailing wtp@mit.edu i Designing Activities What other activities could be done with these items? What other materials could have been used? Can you think of other ways to modify these activities? Key things to keep in mind when designing activities a Fun! b Low cost c Minimal supplies d Time limit e Prizes f Age appropriate g Teamwork h Easy to set up i Can be done in all kinds of rooms j Small or large number or students k Engineering principles l Is it related to your research, studies, or summer job? There are sample activity ideas in the Appendix (on our website), but please don’t feel limited by these! Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Homework Hands-on Activity Design or find an activity with your partner that you want to present to your schools There are lots online, or feel free to use or modify ones we have used before Buy the supplies needed (keep all the receipts!) and be prepared to present it at the next meeting Make the slides in PowerPoint that you will use to present the activity with Make sure to include slides explaining the engineering of it! Bring ITEMIZED receipts for supplies to get reimbursed Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Training Session 2: Presentation Logistics & Hands-On Activity Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Outline a Directors Present Sample Presentation b School Contact and Schedules c Practice and Critique Activities d Giveaways e Homework Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Practice Activities Each group presents their activity Discussion: How can each group improve upon their activity? Homework Make your presentation with your partner and be prepared to present it at the next session! If you have any questions about any of the above, please don’t hesitate to contact the directors Training Session 3: This is it! Your presentations Outline IAP 2008 Each group presents their talk and other groups make suggestions Surveys Homework 23 MIT Women’s Initiative Presentations Each group presents their talk to at least one other group We don’t the activities Each group makes suggestions for the other talks Surveys & Photos If you have a digital camera, please bring it to the schools and take pictures during your presentation (you could possibly ask a teacher to take pictures for you) In particular, try to get pictures of your hands-on activity At the end of a few of your presentations, you will have surveys to distribute to the teachers, students, and yourselves These surveys are important as they are one of the only ways for us to get feedback on the program, so please take them seriously We will send you the survey documents; make enough copies for the presentations How to use giveaways IAP 2008 To encourage girls to answer questions and participate When students successfully complete the hands-on activity When students ask questions! 24 MIT Women’s Initiative Homework Perfect your talk and procure supplies for the activity You may want to buy some supplies after arriving at your location, due to weight limitations for luggage, etc Last minute reminders: -At least weeks before your presentation, contact EACH teacher from each school, confirming with them about your presentation date and time, and meeting place If you don’t get any response, email the regional/district contact person and cc the directors -If you have not yet received a finalized schedule from your district level contact person, let us know right away! -When you contact each school, ask whether they have the capability to project a PowerPoint presentation Make backup overhead slides of your presentation, in case they don’t have the equipment or your laptop breaks -Bring the directors’ cell phone numbers and your partner’s number, in case anything happens -Don’t forget to make enough copies of the surveys and your handouts (with your contact information on it) -For the presentations, try to arrive ahead of time to set up-be prepared to present in a variety of different spaces (libraries, classrooms, auditoriums, etc) -The night before each presentation, map out all the schools you need to reach, so you don’t get lost! Give out surveys at the end of a few presentations and bring them back Also keep and bring back all receipts for food, travel, supplies, etc We will have a meeting during the beginning of the spring semester to debrief Enjoy your presentation and good luck!!!! IAP 2008 25 MIT Women’s Initiative ... Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Training Session 1: Introduction to the Program and Travel Logistics Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Outline a Introductions... reimbursed Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Training Session 2: Presentation Logistics & Hands-On Activity Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Outline a Directors... 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual Directors (*Also presenting this year!) Name* email address cell phone number Class year, Major Last modified 8-1-08 Women’s Initiative Training Manual