AC 2007-2708: TRANSFORMING CURRICULA TO REFLECT NEW ITLITERACIES FOR 21ST CENTURY STEM CAREERSPatricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Dr. Patricia A. Carlson received the BS from the College of William and Mary in 1968 and the MS and Ph.D. degrees from Duke University in 1969 and 1973 respectfully. Currently Dr. Carlson is Professor of American Literature and Director of PRISM, Department of Humanities and Social Science, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.Dale Bremmer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Dale Bremmer is a professor of economics in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana. He has taught at
engineering content in K-12 education through professional development activities, and• Serve as a national model for other undergraduate institutions in integrating engineering content in K-12 education.This is the first university initiative to integrate engineering content in the middle schoolcurriculum and train teachers regarding engineering concepts as well as the identification ofstudents with potential to become engineers. The ECT program is being funded by a generous Page 12.620.2grant from the Martinson Foundation.Rowan’s Engineering Clinic ProgramThe ECT program activities reflect our Engineering Clinic activities that are offered
Three- Exploring Prisms Exploring Exploring Translations, Transformations Exploring Rotations Dimensional Pyramids Cylinders, Cones, Reflections, and on the Number Transformations Shapes Students develop a and Spheres Rotations Line
students learn with understanding by thinking qualitatively and by organizing their knowledge around key concepts. iii) Assessment-centeredness: Frequent opportunities are provided for students to make their thinking visible in order to help them refine their understanding. iv) Community-centeredness: Classroom norms are fostered that encourage students to learn from one another and that recognize the teacher as a co-learner.Each lesson in the Math Out of the Box program is designed based on a four phase learning cycleEngage-Investigate-Reflect-Apply (Diagram A) that is similar to the five phase STAR Legacylearning cycle, Challenge-Initial Thoughts-Perspectives/Resources-Assessment-Publish, which isthe basis of the Felder
and the angle of inclination was measured using a protractor. 3) Measure the direct and diffuse solar radiation as discussed earlier in the afternoon. Again, the open-circuit voltage of the solar panel was measured with the multimeter and utilized to examine the amount of direct and diffuse solar radiation. 4) Measure the amount of solar radiation reflected from the ground. Again, the open-circuit voltage was utilized to study how much solar radiation is reflected from the ground. 5) Hook up the electric motor on the car and operate the car on solar power.After the afternoon tasks were completed, the teachers reconvened and discussed their resultsand how the content could be integrated into their middle school
from 20.7% to 34%. Schoolenrollment figures reveal that the minority (non-white) enrollment now exceeds the oncemajority (Caucasian) population. This demographic characteristic has tremendous meaning to thedistrict’s efforts to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations.In addition to the growing Hispanic population, the district is experiencing significant changes insocio-economic status as reflected by the free/reduced lunch statistics. In 2003, four of the eightelementary schools had a free/reduced lunch rate of between 50% and 58%. In 2006 the rateincreased for all four schools to over 60% and continues to rise. It should also be noted that 85%of those receiving lunch assistance are minority students. In 2003, 54% of the third
University. In addition to technical research interest in applied surface chemistry, her engineering education research interests include the learning of engineering modeling, the impact of reflective practice in learning engineering, authentic assessment methods, and "girl-friendly" education.Judy Sutor, Arizona State University Judy Sutor is a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Arizona State University. She earned her BSEE degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then spent 22 years working in Research and New Product Development in the Semiconductor industry. Her principle research area is in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
activities 1 and 2. If the perceivedlunch effect reflects fatigue, one would expect lower levels of engagement in the later activities.Table 4 shows that the result of this hypothesis test is similar to the first test. There are nosignificant differences in the observer engagement ratings for earlier versus later activities. Infact, the later activities have a higher mean score and lower variance for the engagement ratings.With the random assignment of girls to participant groups, this result may reflect greater levels ofcomfort with new acquaintances as the day progressed. Page 12.270.7 Table 4. Activities 1 and 2 Versus
, of the teachers who participatedin the program. It was felt that to ensure their success, the professional development modelshould be split into spring and summer sessions to allow the teachers enough time to study,reflect, and develop an implementation plan. The spring sessions were delivered over sixconsecutive all-day Saturday seminars and were designed to provide requisite math and physicsknowledge, learn about engineering and the engineering design process, and build camaraderie.The summer sessions were delivered over an intensive one week schedule and were used to trainthe teachers on the use and implementation of the engineering design challenge. A summary ofthe main activities and objectives for the spring and summer sessions are
prior to any participation.In order to assess the effectiveness of the YESS program, surveys were distributed tocapture self-reported data from the students regarding demographic information,parent/guardian occupations, interest levels in relevant fields, level of understanding inkey content area, measures of confidence in math and science, and expectations for theprogram.Following the alteration of the program in 2004, student attendance began to grow. Theaverage number of students in attendance for each seminar more than doubled from 2003to 2004 and the number of interested teacher and parents in attendance was also on therise. Comments attained from a number of the attendees reflected that the introduction ofthe hands-on activities to
encounter problems or ask questions leadinginto the explanation phase, in which students describe what they think is happening and areready to learn from their peers and teacher. In the elaboration phase students apply what theyhave learned to meet the larger design challenge. Finally, in evaluation students reflect on whatthey learned.Contextual Learning and Problem Solving. Students often fail to connect what they learn inschool with the world around them. The engineering problems in EiE demonstrate how math,science, engineering, and creativity are needed to solve a problem. Situating learning in a largercontext piques students’ interest and helps them to understand how what they are learninginteracts with the real world or solves a problem 24
in a grade level appropriatemanner. In this way, the courses represent a formal way to increase teacher knowledge base, amechanism to develop teaching opportunities in our elementary school classrooms, and a state-of-the-art evolving instructional tool that could be used with teachers in training.Our three 3 credit courses proceed through the following topic areas; gravitational andelectrostatic force and force fields with engineering applications, material science fundamentalsincluding band gap theory and properties of materials, energy balance and phase changefundamentals, transport processes, and life science topics as reflected in biomedical engineeringexamples. In many case, the information presented in a class is new to us. In all
the Purdue campus and learn aboutastronautical engineering and space exploration with the university student volunteers. PurdueFall Space Day has gained recognition across the State of Indiana as an exceptional space-relatededucational outreach event. This high profile event reflects well on Purdue University and theevent’s sponsors and receives significant media coverage. In order to allow other universitiesacross the globe to learn about PFSD and successfully implement their own student-led serviceeducation event based on the PFSD model it is important to share the PFSD model, includingideas for funding through grant proposals and business sponsorship, and the lessons learned insustaining PFSD.Fall Space Day OverviewThe basic premises
is assumed thatcomprehension of a phenomenon develops from thinking and reflecting on the phenomenon andthat any particular phenomenon that society will encounter will be experienced and understoodin only a limited number of qualitatively different ways.12,14 From the limited number of ways aphenomenon can be experienced, categories of description are formed, which can in turn behierarchically ordered if desired by the study, which is called the outcome space.Phenomenography seeks to comprehend the phenomenon from the subject’s viewpoint asopposed to the researcher reflecting upon the phenomenon. Therefore, this study will require thedevelopment of a limited number of categories of description to describe factors that studentsbelieve affect
, students explain theresults of their exploration and the teacher helps facilitate this explanation with the vocabularyrelated to the topic. The elaborate phase requires the students to apply this new knowledge tonew problems. The final design and construction of the LEGO assistive device will be theelaborate phases of the curriculum. Students testing their designs and reflecting on theirfunction is the evaluate phase. During this phase, the teacher is also assessing students’ learningof the topics. Page 12.828.3Teacher Professional DevelopmentThis new engineering curricular unit will only be successful if the teachers implementing it do
% worded and was revised for future 17 18 19 20 21 22 assessments. Question #(3) Students improved their ability to answer questions about windmills and bladematerials. Students performed consistently better on post-assessments than on pre-assessmentsbut not all changes pre- to post- were significant. Page 12.649.5CIESE staff collected the reflections and observations of the teacher participants using informalsurveys and classroom visits. A summary of teacher comments indicate: • Teachers discovered that
Engineering Circuit Analysis, s-plane, 1 complex frequency Optics Snell's Law and Critical angle of reflection 1 Applications of radian measure Radian-degree conversions, Arc Length, Area 1 and degree equivalencies of a sector of a circle, Angular velocity and linear velocity, word problems. Logarithms and Natural Logs and Sound & Decibels, Time Constants, R-L and 1 Properties R-C electric circuits in the time domain. Statistics Data Interpretation, Statistical process control 1 Space Shuttle & NASA NASA Application
with caution.On the post-survey, when compared to non-PIEE teachers, PIEE teachers gave statisticallysignificantly higher ratings to their abilities to do each of the following: Design learning activities to teach students about engineering Teach students about issues related to engineering Help students do each of the following: o Identify an engineering problem that reflects a need for shelter, storage, or convenience o Understand how to identify relevant design features (e.g., size, shape, weight) for building a prototype of a solution to a given problem o Learn how to identify appropriate materials based on specific properties and characteristics, given a
using two plane-wave (for waveguide-based interconnection) or twospherical beams (for free-space optical interconnection). Since the hologram’s strength dependson exposure time, material characterization is performed to obtain the optimum exposures.Application of Polymers for Optical Data Transfer: One method to construct optical data transferpathways to connect circuit boards is to construct the pathways from polymers. The polymerscan be made into optical wave guides so digital information can be transmitted by small lasersembedded into the circuits in computer applications to replace copper connections. Optical waveguides use the principle of total internal reflection to provide a pathway for the light from thelaser. The materials used have
enriching their Academic Improvement skills and ability to excel intheir senior year of high school. CARE contributed to 86% educational growth and 35% academic performanceimprovement among those students who scored lowest on the pre-test compared to 25% improvement among thosethat scored highest in the pre-test. Project CARE resulted in a systemic change in the way students are given accessto an engineering career. The lessons learned in the course of the three program years are also discussed in details.1. INTRODUCTIONThe face of American society continues to change as we experience national demographic shifts in our ethnicpopulations. The Department of Labor statistics reflect that African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, American-Indians, and
, surveys from the firstyear did not include questions concerning RAMP-UP’s impact on the fellows’ career plans. Thefellows’ responses to open-ended questions on these surveys indicated an unanticipatedinfluence. To capture this and other unforeseen results, we adapted the survey questions. Thesechanges are reflected in variations in question content, structure, and rating scale. This paperfocuses on the development of the fellows as quantified by pre- and post-surveys; through theuse of these surveys, we quantify and support our claims as well as those of previous research.Due to the inclusion of undergraduates and to the growth of the program over the first threeyears, the RAMP-UP sample size is quite large compared to currently published work
understand the basic operation of the technological world that surrounds them. ‚ provide the opportunity for students to develop and apply problem-solving skills to problems that have no unique solution. ‚ emphasize the importance of team work. ‚ emphasize creativity. ‚ emphasize hands-on skills by allowing students to create tangible objects. ‚ challenge and instruct the students to synthesize their previous learning in order to formulate problem solutions. This obviously includes the “appropriate” math and science. ‚ challenge students to move outside their comfort zones (except – of course – in the case of the use of such items as power tools). ‚ continuously modify their programs to reflect the changes
about the design process, data collection from potential customers, and tasks toaccomplish their goals that result in the manufacture of their prototype. Recognizing thatstudents need to occasionally take a break from the intensive product design process, theinstructors have also included “design challenges” that allow students to puzzle over achallenging problem for a short period of time (the teams in this challenges are different from theDesign teams). For the residential programs, time is allocated for the students to interact witheach other in peer evening group sessions in order to reflect on the activities of the day, address Page
result in actually testing their ETK in a middle school class. When a middle schoolteacher feels the team is ready, they go into the classroom. The first version of each ETKis always taught by the team that developed it. They are accompanied by one or moreobservers, and the classroom teacher is present during the lessons. We ask each teacher toprovide comments and reactions on the use of the ETK in their class, and to suggest waysto improve it. We also ask whether any problems might arise in using the ETK. Finallywe want to know if the teacher feels he or she could use the ETK without our teampresent.Members of the design team also reflect on how they think the field test went. Based onall this feedback, the team prepares the next version of
assessment methods include recording anecdotal observations, using achecklist during class, looking at in-class work, and assessing final projects. With the exceptionof the final presentation, most are informal and formative assessments done with the goal ofgauging progress and determining next steps.Professional Development EvaluationWe evaluate the teachers’ professional development component of the project in three categories:Evaluation of Course, Evaluation of Training Activities, and Personal Reflection. The totalnumber of evaluation questions is 10. Here are sample questions; on a scale of 1 – 4, with 1being the lowest scale value, teachers gave he following scores: Rate your knowledge of course content prior to taking it: 1.8 Rate
307 303 5th 309 328 317As evidenced in this table that shows results from the inception of Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr.Elementary, the composite scores in math have risen as you look diagonally, reflecting studentswho have been in the Math and Engineering program from the beginning. When individualstudent scores are broken down 59% of our students are high performing, 67% are making gains,and of our lowest 25% of students 61% are also making gains.Science scores have not been disaggregated by student, as baseline data has just been established.But in the two years that the test has been given to fifth grade students the composite scores alsoshow growth. 2007 will be the first year test scores will
hedid not sustain the students’ interest with several hands-on design activities, such as building anairplane, a tower, a bridge, guest speakers, field trips, readings about the design process, andteam presentations, Mr. Q. was not able to pay enough attention to some aspects of the classwhich inhibited the success of the program. For example, the video presentations or activitieswere selected to reflect the interests of the students, as indicated by student questions ordiscussions. Gender and minority interests were not explicitly taken into consideration. Forexample, most videos focused on disasters resulting from engineering mishaps videos that mightshow the relevance of engineering to society. Furthermore, difficulties were encountered
women,and one for underrepresented minorities. In 1998, IEP was open to all students who arerising seniors in high school. In 2001, a web site was set up to accept online applications.The program’s web page 6 remains the most effective way to get information out. Itmaintains all the information about the program, contains a FAQ, and was used veryfrequently as a means to contact us with questions. It is via the web page that the studentsapply to the program.An important aspect of the program is the selection of counselors. They usually numberseven to ten, and most are engineering students. The majority are former IEP studentsthemselves. The male/female ratio of counselors is chosen to reflect that of the students,usually in the order 2 to 1
Langley.All the pre-service teachers enthusiastically participated in the workshop and wereexcited about introducing lessons based on the workshop in their future teaching careersin the K-12 system. This excitement was clearly evidenced in the creative lesson plansdeveloped and the feedback they provided. While most of the students developed lessonplans that integrated mathematics and technology standards with Lego Mindstorm basedactivities one of the institute participants ventured to develop sensor based roboticsactivity that integrated concepts from biology/biological sensor systems. Leaving asidethe “lesson plan development” assignment, the entire workshop was completed in oneafternoon (July 18), so there was little time left to reflect on the
for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Chicago, USA.31 Kimmel, H., Burr-Alexander, L.E., and Bloom, J., “Engineering Design Competitions: A Motivating & Learning Experience”, International Conference on Engineering Education, October 16-21, 2004, Gainesville, Florida.32 Somers, L. and Callan, S., “An Examination of Science and Mathematic Competitions”, National Science Foundation Grant Report, June 1999.This paper is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0554405. Anyopinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and donot necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation