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It's Careers Week at a local school and you have agreed to make a
presentation to a class of students about engineering. You're
happy to be in the classroom and the kids are happy
to have you there! You're there to communicate
a science or engineering concept, excite them about a future
in engineering, and hopefully everyone involved will have a little
fun too! How do you effectively connect with these kids?
As engineers, we often make presentations to communicate our work
to other company employees, clients, colleagues or superiors.
These individuals typically have a general understanding of our field or
"a need to know" the information we have.
Talking with students, especially young children, can be quite different. Elementary, middle, and high school students are generally unfamiliar with engineering. Especially at the elementary and middle school level, the students may not have the basic language (vocabulary), math or science background to understand us.
How can you adapt to this young audience based on their current skill and knowledge level? How can you make your presentation useful and fit into a school classroom framework? How will you engage and involve the students?
Additionally, as a member of the Society of Women Engineers you support their mission to introduce engineering to girls and young women. How do we show these young women that they have or can develop the skills needed to successfully enter the engineering profession?
As with any presentation it is important to understand your audience.
We each have recollections of being a student. Your presentation
to these students needs to be age appropriate: the vocabulary,
presentation method, and science, technology and math concepts used
need to be at the audience's knowledge level. You also
need to fit your presentation into their environment: classroom,
school assembly, science fair, career day and library story
hours. There are also different school types such as magnet
schools which may focus on science, math, art or even aviation and space.
Although your physical presence at these events is important, there also are new methods over the Internet including web chats and video conferences at your disposal. Web events can bring you to a classroom without you ever leaving your home or office.
Clearly, the most important part is your presentation of materials - both what you'll tell the students or demonstrate.