Development And Implementation Of An Introduction To Stem Course For Dual Enrollment Programs
- Conference
- Location
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Louisville, Kentucky
- Publication Date
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June 20, 2010
- Start Date
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June 20, 2010
- End Date
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June 23, 2010
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Multidisciplinary Engineering
- Page Count
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20
- Page Numbers
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15.396.1 - 15.396.20
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--15938
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/15938
- Download Count
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580
Paper Authors
Horacio Vasquez University of Texas, Pan American
Dr. Horacio Vasquez is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), in Edinburg, Texas. His current research interests are in the areas of control systems, mechatronics, measurements and instrumentation, and engineering education.
Arturo Fuentes University of Texas, Pan American
Dr. Arturo Fuentes is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UTPA. His current research interests are in the areas of engineering education, finite element analysis, and dynamic response.
Javier Macossay The University of Texas-Pan American
Dr. Javier Macossay is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at UTPA. His current research interests are in the areas of polymer chemistry, electrospinning, polymer nanofibers to mimic natural tissue and chemistry education.
Martin Knecht South Texas College
Martin Knecht is a Physics and Engineering instructor in the Department of Physical Science, Chemistry, and Engineering at South Texas College. Receiving his M.S. in Physics at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign in 2000, he is currently pursuing a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at UTPA with research interests in the study of nonlinear effect in nano and micromechanical systems and engineering education.
Robert Freeman University of Texas, Pan American
Dr. Robert Freeman is a Full Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UTPA. His current research interests are in the areas of kinematic and dynamic modeling, analysis, and design of rigid-body robotic linkage systems, biomechanics, and engineering education.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Development and Implementation of an Introduction to STEM Course for Dual-Enrollment Programs
Abstract A new Introduction to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) course was developed and taught for the first time during the summer in 2009 to dual- enrollment college students at South Texas College (STC). The new Introduction to STEM course was developed in collaboration between STEM Faculty members at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and STC, with the objective of creating, supporting and strengthening STEM pathways for students in the Dual-Enrollment Engineering Academy (DEEA) and other dual-enrollment or similar programs. The course was offered to two groups of students, at two different campuses in the DEEA program at STC. DEEA students take college courses to accomplish an associate degree in Engineering by the end of their senior year of high school. Challenge-based instruction (CBI) was implemented in this new course; challenges, lecture and handout materials, hands-on activities, and assessment tools were developed and implemented in the areas of basic electronics, mechatronics, renewable energy, statics, dynamics, chemistry, reverse engineering, and forward engineering. This paper describes the new course development and implementation, as well as its impact on students and Faculty, including the student assessment results and the interaction of Faculty members from both institutions. The instruction materials and tools developed for the new course could be modified and adapted for implementation in other engineering and science courses at UTPA, STC, and other institutions to increase and improve educational challenges and hands-on activities in the curricula and in recruiting programs and/or activities.
1. Background
This paper presents the developments and results of collaborative work performed between two Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in order to strengthen and support STEM pathways. The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) serves approximately 18,300 students of which about 88% are Hispanics; 57% are females; and 21% of all students are in the college of Science and Engineering. South Texas College (STC) is a community college serving Hidalgo and Starr counties, in the southernmost region of Texas, and about 95% of over 20,000 students at STC are Hispanics, approximately 60% of them are female, and about 75% are first generation students [1]. Qualified high school students are allowed to become college students and enter dual-enrollment programs at STC to take college courses in place of, or in addition to, their normal high school course load [2]. As an exceptional initiative for selected junior and senior high school students, STC has created the Dual-Enrollment Engineering Academy (DEEA) that started in 2006. Students that complete the DEEA program obtain associate degrees in Engineering by the end of their senior year of high school. Students that do not join DEEA in the summer, before their high school junior year, cannot join the program at any other time.
Vasquez, H., & Fuentes, A., & Macossay, J., & Knecht, M., & Freeman, R. (2010, June), Development And Implementation Of An Introduction To Stem Course For Dual Enrollment Programs Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--15938
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