News Release
Contact: Terry Costlow
Phone: + 1 847 966 0973
E-Mail: tcostlow@core.com
Students Like Building Future
Cities,
Plan to Continue Studying
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
WASHINGTON (07 September 2004)
— The National Engineers Week Future City Competition, in
which seventh- and eighth-grade students develop models and descriptions of
how people might one day live, is viewed as an enjoyable learning experience
by both students and teachers, according to a study commissioned by
IEEE-USA. And more than half of the students said they planned to study
science, technology, engineering or mathematics in high school and college.
The survey of 190 students and teachers from the 1,100 participating schools
was performed by The Response Center of Fort Washington, Pa.
Overall,
82 percent of students and all teachers gave the contest an "A" or "B" on a
five-point scale. Both groups gave high marks to steps such as designing the
city and building a physical model, as well as going to competitions.
Students also felt that participation helped them think creatively and
improved their communication skills.
"We
commissioned this study to assist the Future City Competition in its
development efforts," said Joseph V. Lillie, an IEEE member who served as
2004 National Engineers Week Chair. "The research will be very useful as we
move forward with improvements to the competition and expand into new areas
of the country."
Now in
its 13th year, the Future City Competition (www.futurecity.org)
was introduced by IEEE-USA with the EWeek committee in 1992-93. It reaches
more than 30,000 students in 37 regions of the United States, and is run
annually in conjunction with Engineers Week each February.
The
four-part, multi-disciplinary competition asks students to create a future
city by employing critical thinking, teamwork, research and problem-solving
skills. Their solution is a city designed using SimCity software, a
table-top scale city model using recycled materials, a 700-word essay on a
specific engineering topic, and a seven-minute team verbal presentation
defending their vision before a panel of judges.
The
survey further revealed that more than two-thirds of seventh graders and 20
of the 22 teachers plan to participate next year, while 80 percent of the
students would recommend the program to friends. Even though the
participants enjoy competing in the annual contest, most only participate
one of the two years they're eligible. Though teachers enjoy the contest,
most are only involved a year or two.
Although
students enjoy the project, few appreciated the paperwork. Writing the essay
describing their city got an "A" or "B" from little more than half the
students.
According
to Lillie, a member of the Future City Advisory Board, "this study gives the
competition's leadership documented evidence of the Future City
Competition's value."
IEEE-USA
is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the
public good and promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more
than 225,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The
IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more
information, go to
www.ieeeusa.org.
# # #
IEEE-USA
1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202
Washington, DC 20036-5104
Phone: 202-785-0017, Fax: 202-785-0835
Last Update:
15 May 2007
Staff Contact: Pender M. McCarter,
p.mccarter@ieee.org
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