This article discusses "Family Secrets," a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum module that focuses on the bioethical implications of genetic testing. In high school biology classrooms throughout New York State, students are using "Family Secrets" to learn about DNA testing; Huntington's disease (HD); and the ethical, legal,…

The phenomenal growth achieved by the Indian IT industry in the last decade has become a global success story. Fuelled by the thousands of engineering graduate and postgraduate students emerging from the higher technical education system, it is on the verge of significant change. This paper examines the issues facing the Indian IT industry and…

This paper presents an innovative approach to introducing pre-service early childhood teachers to math, science and technology education. The approach involves the creation of partnerships between pre-service early childhood and engineering students to conceive, develop, implement and evaluate curriculum in the area of math, science and technology…

This article addresses how NASA uses inquiry in the classroom so that students can see learning in a whole new light. The goal is to increase scientific literacy among Americans and to entice a greater number of students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Although NASA offers a diverse array of programs that…

This paper reviews the historical and current response of the United States to threats to its world leadership in scientific endeavors, with particular attention to the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The current status of the United States in mathematics, science, and engineering education is reviewed with respect to K-12 student…

Women and underrepresented minorities are receiving the doctorate in record numbers these days. For example, women got 45 percent and minorities 19 percent of the 39,955 doctoral degrees awarded in 2000, and both figures were all-time highs. So it comes as something of a surprise to learn that senior academic women in science and engineering are…

The countries that signed the Bologna Declaration need also to modify their engineering programmes accordingly. In Hungary some modifications are necessary independently of the Bologna Declaration. The number of students has increased by a factor of three during the past decade without an increase in the number of staff. The consequence is…

This article describes the possibilities offered by the online assessment system Etude to achieve the benefits of formative assessment. In order to find out the way this works in practice, we carried out an experiment with the use of Etude for formative assessment in the course on collaborative report writing. Results show that online formative…

A bioprocess engineer should have at least a set of basic design skills. Bioprocess design is a complex cognitive skill, which should be trained in every year of an academic Bioprocess-Engineering curriculum. However, there is little existing learning material to support the initial training of design skills early in the curriculum. For this…

This study examined whether divergent thinking test scores obtained from engineering students during college predicted creative work activities fifteen years later. Results showed that a subscore of the "Owens Creativity Test", which assesses divergent thinking about mechanical objects, correlated significantly with self-ratings of…

In this article, the author discusses the relation of technology, science, self-concept, interest, and gender. For nearly 20 years the topic of "women and technology" has played an important role in discussions about gender equality in Germany. The very first project for promoting females started in 1978 under the title "Women in…

Plans are described for creating a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test for the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. Previous work showed that a quantitative measure for the STEM disciplines exacerbated group differences beyond those reflected in the current GRE General Test. A test development approach is…

Though the rapid evolution of technology makes it difficult to pinpoint "the next big thing," the outlook for information technology (IT) employment appears to be promising. In fact, several categories of IT jobs currently face shortages of qualified workers, a troubling trend that is projected to get worse over the next five to seven years. These…

Technology has made a significant impact on assessment, including its use to automate assignment submission. On-line assignment submission, marking, and return were introduced into a fourth-year engineering management unit for the first time, and a formal evaluation was undertaken to assess student perceptions of this new development. Nearly all…

In France today most initial vocational training is delivered within the school system, in the lycees professionnels (vocational lycees) and the technological streams of general lycees. Historically this characteristic feature of the French system came about at the end of the 19th century as a result of the educational policy of the Third Republic…