Congressman Jo Bonner announces a $3.6 million National Science Foundation grant to the Mobile Area Education Foundation
Engaging Youth in Engineering (EYE) Module Study Project
Mobile, Alabama - October 5, 2009
The Mobile Area Education Foundation has been awarded a $3.6 million National Science Foundation grant to conduct an Engaging Youth in Engineering (EYE) Module Study. The EYE Module Study enables the EYE team to complete a coordinated sequence of nine engineering modules designed for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade mathematics and science classes and analyze their impact on students' STEM coursework selections, and also on teachers' instructional practices, knowledge, and beliefs for five years. Teachers are provided opportunities for summer externships in area business and industry and professional development that includes the integration of math, science and technology through the use of engineering design challenges.
Specifically the Study funds the development of two new engineering modules for middle school science 
and mathematics classes: Bioengineering the Future with a focus on seventh grade life science; and Engineering Clean Energy targeting eighth grade physical science. Seven other middle grades EYE modules, currently underway through local funding, will be finalized and the impact of all 9 modules on students and teachers in Burns Middle School will be researched. Each module addresses an engineering design challenge of relevance to industries in Alabama and the gulf coast region and fosters the development of engineering habit in mind. Instructional design of the materials emphasizes contextual learning, collaboration, content integration, and embedded assessments.
The five-year EYE module Study explores the workability of incorporating engineering design experiences into standards-based courses to move toward an integrated STEM middle school curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This approach has potential to strengthen middle school STEM programs through the integration of engineering experiences and to broaden access to STEM content and careers for more-and more diverse-students.
Joining the Mobile Area Education Foundation as collaborating partners in the EYE Module Study are the Mobile County Public School System and the University of South Alabama's Colleges of Engineering and Education.
EYE is a program of the Mobile Area Education Foundation in collaboration with the J.L. Bedsole Foundation, the Mobile County Public School System, the University of South Alabama and area business and industry.