Making Value for America: Embracing the Future of Manufacturing, Technology, and Work by Nicholas M. Donofrio

Author:Nicholas M. Donofrio
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: The National Academies Press
Published: 2015-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

Education and Training

Critical Skills and Experience

Innovation requires scientists, engineers, technicians, operators, managers, analysts, and many others with the skills to conceive of an innovation and then develop it from idea to reality. Perhaps the most fundamental skills for innovation along the value chain are those in the STEM disciplines, from software engineering to tooling operations and from molecular biology to social psychology.

US competitiveness depends on improving STEM education and increasing the number of students who pursue it (NRC 2011). By many accounts, the US system of higher education remains the best in the world. However, a number of concerns persist about US STEM education, particularly K–12 science and math education and the quantity of science and engineering college graduates, and these concerns negatively affect the perception of the country as an attractive place to locate activities along the value chain. (The Appendix discusses these concerns in detail.)

Critical thinking and creativity are as important as technical skills. It is not enough to learn facts and procedures by rote; students need to learn to evaluate a situation by asking questions, observing, collecting further information, and subjecting the collected data to a thoughtful analysis to identify mistakes and weaknesses and come up with alternative possibilities. Creative critical thinkers constantly probe and evolve their own interpretations and ideas.

It is therefore important that schools and other educational programs nurture the urge to innovate. Experience in various STEM programs around the country has demonstrated that opportunities for students to innovate solutions to real-world problems can be an effective way of teaching principles of engineering, science, and mathematics (NRC 2011), the fundamentals of innovation in a hands-on way, and the role of innovation in improving the world around them.

Students are gaining experiences developing real-world solutions through a variety of formal learning and extracurricular programs, but these opportunities are not yet widespread. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) identify engineering design content and practices that all K–12 students should learn (NRC 2013a). The supporting framework for these standards had been adopted by eleven states as of August 2014. In addition, “Maker Spaces,” community spaces with the parts and equipment necessary to build mechanical and electronic devices, and programs such as FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which offers design and build competitions for K–12 students, offer students opportunities to create and make real-world products. But many schools and communities do not yet have similar opportunities in place. More students need access to hands-on experiences designing and making things (NRC 2013a).

Some colleges and universities are providing their students with opportunities for such experiences. UC Davis started the Engineering Student Startup Center (ESSC) and the Engineering Fabrication Laboratory (EFL) to provide all undergraduates and graduates with the resources to develop and prototype new ideas and experience what it is like to be an entrepreneur. The extensive ESSC and EFL facilities include a machine shop and a rapid prototyping machine that allows students to 3-D print their designs.5 Stanford University also has a number of programs to encourage design and real-world experience.

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