IEEE Teacher In-Service

Training Program in
Saudi Arabia

Douglas Gorham, Managing Director,

IEEE Educational Activities
April 2011
 Outline

Our Organization: IEEE

Why is IEEE interested in promoting engineering,

computing and technology to pre-university
educators and students?

What do we plan to do in this workshop?

What are the expectations?

2
 Our Organization – IEEE

An international professional association dedicated

to the theory and practice of electrical, electronics,
communications and computer engineering
– as well as computer science, the allied branches of
engineering, and related arts and sciences
Established 127 years ago
Operating in 160+ countries
Has approximately 400,000 members
– The largest technical professional association in the world
– $350M annual budget
– Headquarters in New York City, NY, USA
Employs 1000+ professional staff

3
 IEEE Today
Advancing Technology for Humanity
MEMBERS
400,000
COUNTRIES
160
CONFERENCES
1200+ per year
SOCIETIES/COUNCILS
38/7
STANDARDS
1,300 Active Standards

4 World’s largest technical professional society

 IEEE’s Organizational Chart

IEEE Members

Chaired by the
IEEE Board of Directors IEEE Assembly President and
CEO

IEEE Major Boards

Publication Services Technical Member and Educational

and Products Activities Geographical Activities Activities

Technical IEEE USA

Standards Association Societies Local Sections

5
 IEEE Membership By Region
31 January 2011

R7 – 17,209

R10
R1 to 6 – 212,754 95,353

R1 – 36,558
R2 – 32,718
R3 – 31,412
R4 – 23,859 R8 – 75,138
R5 – 30,050 R9 – 17,429
R6 – 58,157
Reflecting the global nature of IEEE, R8 and R10 are
now the two largest IEEE Regions
Total IEEE Membership 2011
417,883

2003

1993

1983

1973
1964
 Today's IEEE is not just about
Electrical and Computer Engineering
The IEEE-designated fields include:

Engineering
Computer sciences and information technology
Biological and medical sciences
Mathematics
Physical sciences
Technical communications, education,
management, law and policy

8
 IEEE Volunteers

Key to IEEE success

– About 40,000 individuals who give at least 4 hours a
week to the organization
 Local Section Chair
 Associate editor of a Journal
 Member of the Financial Committee of the Technical
Activities Board
 Chair of a committee that develops a Standard

The organization is guided by volunteers

– From the President and CEO to the local Section
Chair major decisions are made by volunteers
– An attempt to quantify the work done by volunteers
was estimated between $2bn-$3bn
9
 IEEE’s principal activities (1)

Organizing the professional community

– Based on geographic distribution and areas
of interest

Publishing technical and scientific

literature on the State of the Art

Organizing conferences on relevant technical

and scientific matters

10
 IEEE’s principal activities (2)
Developing technical standards
– Approximately 900 standards at present

Developing educational activities for

professionals and for the public
– Including students and teachers in the pre-
university system

Improving the understanding of engineering,

technology and computing by the public

Recognizing the leaders of the profession

11 – Awards and membership grades
 What are we trying to do…
…advance global prosperity by
– Fostering technological innovation
– Enabling members' careers
– Promoting community worldwide
 for the benefit of humanity and the profession
• Key to success: early recognition of new fields
• In 1884 – power engineering
• In 1912 – communications
• In 1942 – computing
• In 1962 – digital communications
• In 1972 – networking
• In 1982 – clean energy
• In 1992 – nanotechnology
• In 2002 – engineering and the life sciences

12
 Sample Activities: Regional
Organizations
IEEE organizes professionals in its fields of interest
into local Sections
– There are 333 local Sections worldwide in 10 Regions
– In Region 8 – Eastern Saudi Arabia Section consists of 727
members:
 3 Fellows
 71 Senior Members and 3 Life Seniors
 401 Members
 159 Student and 43 Graduate
Student Members
 47 Associate/Affiliate Members
– Most popular societies
 IEEE Computer Society
 IEEE Communication Society
 IEEE Power and Energy Society
13
 Sample Activities: Standards

IEEE develop standards in several areas,

including:
Power and Energy
Transportation
Biomedical and Healthcare
Nanotechnology
Information Technology
Information Assurance

14
 More Specific Standardization
Areas
Intelligent highway systems and vehicular
technology
Distributed generation renewable energy
Voting Equipment Electronic Data Interchange
Rechargeable Batteries for PCs
Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder
Public Key Infrastructure Certificate Issuing
and Management
Components Architecture for Encrypted Shared
Media Organic Field Effect Technology

15
 WHY IS IEEE INTERESTED
IN PRE-UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION?

16
Why is IEEE interested in pre-
university engineering education (1)
Because it is in our stated and un-stated
mission
Because in many IEEE Sections there is a
marked decline in the interest of young
people in Engineering, Computing and
Technology
– This is a concern for the future of these
communities and would have a negative impact
on their standard of living
Because we do not believe the problem is
going to be tackled effectively without us
17
Why is IEEE interested in pre-
university engineering education (2)

The demands of the 21st century will

require technological innovation to deliver
advanced technologies in developed countries
infrastructure solutions in developing countries

Flat or declining engineering enrollments in

most developed nations

18
 Enrollment Percentages by
Field of Study
Science
(includes life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics
and statistics, and computing)

Note: +1 Data refer to 2008; -1 Data refer to 2006; -2 Data refer to 2005.
19 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Statistical Tables 8 and 11.
 Enrollment Percentages by
Field of Study
Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction

20 Note: +1 Data refer to 2008; -1 Data refer to 2006; -2 Data refer to 2005.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Statistical Tables 8 and 11.
 21
Percentage of Science Degrees Awarded

Source:
Science degrees include life sciences, Organization of
computer sciences, engineering, Economic
Cooperation &
manufacturing and building Development
 WHAT IS IEEE DOING?

22
 Pre-University Education

Overall objective:
– To increase the propensity of young people
to select engineering, computing and
technology as a program of study and
career path
– Increase the level of technological literacy

23
 The Challenge and Approach

Challenge:
– Public perception of engineers/engineering/
technology is often misinformed resulting in
early decisions that block the path of
children to engineering
Approach:
– Reach major groups of influencers who
impact students and their decision
 Teachers, counselors, parents, media,..
– Online Presence – TryEngineering.org
– Engineering in the Classroom – Teacher In-
Service Program
24
25
Discover the Creative Engineer In You!
 Available in
•English
•Chinese
•French
•Spanish
•German
•Russian
•Japanese
•Portuguese

26
 www.TryEngineering.org

IEEE’s pre-university education portal

– For teachers, school counselors, parents and students ages
8 -22
Visitors learn
– about careers in engineering,
– understand how engineers impact our daily lives,
– discover the variety of engineering, technology and
computing programs,
– find free classroom activities that demonstrate engineering
principles
– and more.
A joint project of IEEE, IBM, and the New York Hall of Science
– Non-IEEE investment of approximately $2.5M
US/Canada version was launched on June 2006

27
 Unique Features of
TryEngineering.org
Robust search engine for accredited programs
– side by side comparisons, interactive maps,
links to university web site
Lesson Plans focused on engineering and
engineering design
– Reviewed by IEEE volunteers and teachers
Discipline descriptions
– 40 engineering, computing and technology
disciplines
Engineering Games
– 2nd site listed in Google search results for
“engineering games”
28
 Most Requested Lesson Plans

Build your own robot arm

Series and Parallel Circuits

Pulleys and Force

Cracking the Code (bar codes)

Electric Messages

Adaptive Devices
29
TryEngineering Progress
– 6.2 million page hits in 2010, an 18% increase
over 2009

– Currently averages 65,000 unique visitors per

month

– About 3.7 million lesson plan downloads since

launch in all languages

– Visitors average about 24 minutes on the site

– Visitors come from the US, China, India, Canada,

Japan and scores of other countries
30
The Teacher In Service Program
(TISP)
A program that trains IEEE
volunteers to work with pre-
university teachers

Based on approved Lesson Plans

 Prepared/reviewed by IEEE
volunteers
 Tested in classrooms
 Designed to highlight engineering
design principles

31
 The Teacher In Service Program
IEEE Volunteers
Train volunteers
– IEEE Section Members Teachers
– IEEE Student Members
Students
– Teachers and Instructors
…using approved lesson plans on engineering
and engineering design
IEEE members will develop and conduct TISP
training sessions with Teachers
Teachers will conduct training sessions with
Students

32
 Our Overall TISP Goals

Empower IEEE “champions” to develop

collaborations with local pre-university
education community to promote applied
learning
Enhance the level of technological literacy of
pre-university educators
Increase the general level of technological
literacy of pre-university students
Increase the level of understanding of the
needs of educators among the engineering
community
Identify ways that engineers can assist schools
and school systems
33
 Why TISP in Saudi Arabia?

The program has the potential to become a new

resource for many teachers who have limited
exposure or experience with engineering,
computing or technology

TISP introduces teachers to hands-on inquiry-

based activities that support the teaching of
science, technology and mathematics

IEEE members represent an important repository

of knowledge and experience, otherwise
unavailable to the pre-university education system
– A bridge between the technical community and the
school system can be built

34
 How does it work?

Volunteers gather for a day and a half of

training
– With teachers and school administrators
Volunteers spread the program in their school
districts
Volunteers work with the Ministry of
Education to organize TISP professional
development/in-service presentations

35
 Volunteer Training

Key questions to be discussed in training:

– How to conduct a training sessions for teachers
using the TISP lesson plans?
– How to approach the school system to engage
teachers?
– How to align a lesson plan with local education
criteria?
Teachers and officials from the education
establishment participate in the training sessions

36
 After The Training…

IEEE volunteers work with the school system

to conduct training sessions for teachers
Teachers use the training sessions and the
lesson plans to educate their students
IEEE participates in supporting the program
– In the first year, EAB will cover the costs for
materials and supplies for TISP sessions
lead by IEEE volunteers for teachers
– In subsequent years, funding is the
responsibility of the local IEEE Section/sub-
Section

37
 Training Workshops:
2005-Present
22 Workshops - 1767 Participants

38
38
 A Decade of Success

In 2001, the first event was held by the Florida

West Coast Section in conjunction with the
University of South Florida College of
Engineering
In 2005, the program was institutionalized as
part of EAB’s budget
In 2007, a pilot Student Branch Workshop was
held in Peru (105 attendees)
In 2009, the largest TISP event was held with
215 volunteers and teachers in Uruguay
By 2009, at least one training workshop was
held in every IEEE region
39
 Teacher In-Service Program
Presentations
Over 148 TISP presentations have been
conducted by IEEE volunteers

TISP presentations have reached over

3385 pre-university educators
– This reach represents more than 368,000
students each year
40
 Teacher Feedback

91.1% of the teachers

polled responded
positively to the
statement: “This
presentation has
increased my level of
technological literacy.”

1624 Respondents
(23% Primary Teachers)
41
 Teacher Feedback

94.1% of the teachers

polled responded
positively to the
statement: “Today's
topic will increase my
student's level of
technological literacy.”

1624 Respondents
(23% Primary Teachers)
42
 Sample Outcomes

Houston Section, Texas cooperating with the Harris

County Department of Education to do the
alignment matrix for the Texas Education Agency
curriculum requirements for students ages 5-18 for
the TryEngineering.org lesson plans.
Region 7, Canada approved the formation of a
TISP committee to oversee the activities; 13
Sections currently participate
The South Africa Section partnered with the South
African National Department of Education to
develop lesson plans relating to the South African
Technology General Education and Training (GET)
curriculum.

43
 Meeting the Goals
Empower IEEE  1767 Trained Volunteers
“champions”
 91% agreed that program
Technological
literacy of pre- enhanced technological
university educators literacy
Technological  94% believe that
literacy of pre- student’s technological
university students literacy would increase
Understanding of
 Sustainedprograms in
the needs of
educators several sections
School systems  147presentations
assisted by IEEE reported
44
 What do we expect after the
meeting?
We hope that participants will get organized to
provide TISP training to pre-university
educators
– A team of 3-5 volunteers can be very
effective

IEEE-EAB will support such activities by paying

for materials and supplies for documented
TISP activities lead by IEEE volunteers for one
year after this session

45
 Expectations for IEEE Volunteers

Organize TISP sessions throughout the pre-

university education system

Communicate with EAB for guidance,

information exchange, and support

Organize a task force to make TISP a

permanent program

Arrange for budgeting through the Section,

Region, and IEEE Boards (MGAB, EAB)
46
 Expectations for Teachers

Use the TISP approach in your classroom

Work with the IEEE volunteers to organize

TISP training sessions for teachers
– Report to IEEE volunteers what lessons
have been learned from the program
– Indicate what lesson plans were or were not
successful, and what additional lesson plans
would be required

47
48
49