Conference Session

Solid and Structural Mechanics in Aerospace Engineering

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gozdem Kilaz, Purdue University - West Lafayette; Ronald Sterkenburg, Purdue University - West Lafayette

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

to creating a stimulatingenvironment but also to enable the roles of the student and the mentor to become more fluid.Traditional teaching settings as classrooms create a rigid separation between the teacher and thestudent which may in turn diminish the sense of learning responsibility a student should possess.Once implemented effectively, hybrid courses offer students interactive environments where theymay engage with each other and their mentors during evaluating and analyzing the courseprincipals. This is a great advantage over traditional settings where students may get accustomedto being spoon fed (Caulfield, 2011). The student centered, experiential learning style empowersparticipants with significant soft skills such as initiative and

Conference Session

STEM Education Tied to Aerospace Engineering

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hansel Burley, Texas Tech University; Terrance Denard Youngblood, Texas Tech University; Ibrahim H. Yeter, Texas Tech University; Casey Michael Williams, Texas Tech University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

rockets in an inquiry-, discovery-,and problem-based classroom. This rocket program aims at increasing high school student interest in STEM by havingstudents use their own efforts to make rockets fly. The basic rockets must be designed to carry aone pound payload a mile high. The top level rockets built by students are flown from WhiteSands Missile Range, and they travel over 100,000 feet, reaching transonic speeds. Students getnine months of hands-on engagement that includes learning from direct and scholarly research,theory development, design brief creation, and post mission analyses. The curriculum alsoemphasizes soft-skills, like teamwork, communication, and leadership. Teachers work as rovingfacilitators whose goal is to help

Conference Session

STEM Education Tied to Aerospace Engineering

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hansel Burley, Texas Tech University; Casey Michael Williams, Texas Tech University; Terrance Denard Youngblood, Texas Tech University; Ibrahim H. Yeter, Texas Tech University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

character. Other failures mentioned 9were related to breakdowns in how the teams worked; however, for the most part the teamsprovided the self-correcting power to overcome technical problems, like miscalculating fuelratios, or soft skills problems, like not communicating well to teammates. Finally, ifcollaboration is the engine, the teachers’ ability to manage teamwork and motivate studentsthrough failures was the lubricant. Generally, students were very positive about their teachers.One student said this about his teacher as a guide: “Encouragement from my instructor to figurethings out myself has been very beneficial to my learning experience.” Another