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IMPLEMENTING A PROJECT-BASED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL WOMEN

Tech Prep Consortium at Bristol Community College is at the forefront of collaborative education initiatives with its development and implementation of a Women In Technology (WIT) Project-Based Learning Program in High Tech Manufacturing. A Special Populations Grant in 1996 encouraged interested educational institutions to develop a program that would address the need to get high school students involved in careers in which one gender was underrepresented. Bristol Community College's Tech Prep Program responded and was awarded the funding necessary to implement a series of activities to address the need for young women to get involved in the various fields of engineering and technology. Crucial to the WIT Program's success was the establishment of strong partnerships with industry, government, and education. The Bristol Tech Prep Consortium, with the support of educators from area high schools and the leadership and resources of local businesses, recruited female high school students to participate in project-based learning at local plants. In 1997, the Bristol Community College Tech Prep Program implemented its first Women In Technology Project-Based Experience at Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) in Attleboro, Massachusetts for 12 students. At TI students have acted as junior engineers as they developed designs and devices that addressed realworld engineering problems. Every year since, the program has grown significantly and has had a positive effect on the lives of over 200 students. In 2000, Leach & Garner Company in North Attleboro, Massachusetts joined the WIT Program. Additional partnerships have included students, businesses and educators from Swansea, South Carolina and Skaget-Island Prep Works Consortium in Washington State. As many as 110 students have participated in this Women in Technology initiative per year. The results have been impressive. One study noted that 65% of the graduates from the 1997-98 WIT Program had gone to college to pursue an engineering or computer technology major. Also noteworthy are the devices and designs completed by the students on each site. Many of these have been adopted and showcased both locally and nationally. Businesses too have benefited from this partnership because they are the direct recipients of student projects that reduce time, labor, and related costs to industry. As a result of the WIT Program success, the College received an $848,000 National Science Foundation Grant to develop a Computer Integrated Manufacturing Program for women and nontraditional students in Southeastern Massachusetts. The Bristol Tech Prep Consortium's Women In Technology Program was also the recipient of the first place Bellwether Award in the category of workforce development. The WIT Program clearly demonstrates that integration of academic disciplines within a combined content and contextual framework can foster widespread success for students, schools, industry, and communities.