Conference Session

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie Trenor, University of Houston; Jennifer Ruchhoeft, University of Houston; Frank Claydon, Unviersity of Houston; Stuart Long, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

ascanning electron microscope and the pore sizes were measured with Scion imaging software.Statistical analysis of the pore sizes revealed pores that are approximately normally distributedwith a small standard deviation. Pores with a 10% over-etch have a mean diameter of 0.8587microns with a standard deviation of 0.012 microns. Such a narrow distribution of poressuggests the filter will be highly successful in capturing bacteria such as yeast, which have adiameter of 1 micron on the smallest side. The probability of a particle 1 micron in diametergoing through any pores in a filter whose pores follow the N(0.8587,0.012) distribution isessentially zero. These filters are being developed for use in developing countries as economicaland portable ways

Conference Session

Elementary School Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tuba Bayraktar, Hampton University; Keith Williamson, East Carolina University; Ilhan Bayraktar, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

especially important if we want to promote thedevelopment of lifelong practices and habits for saving energy. Several concepts of energy andenergy sources as well as problems related to the nonrenewable energy resources, and newtechnologies including fuel cells were introduced to students in a fourth grade classroom of aHampton Public School. The project involved engineering students from Hampton Universityand Old Dominion University who partnered with the Hampton Public School that served as arole model to motivate elementary school students to careers in engineering.1. Introduction The 2004 Annual Energy Review1 reveals that the majority of energy used in the US isobtained from fossil fuels. The continuous increase in energy consumption and

Conference Session

Promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan DeWaters, Clarkson University; Susan Powers, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

in science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Engineering and science students from ClarksonUniversity work in partnership with area teachers to develop and teach modules that requirestudents to learn and apply standards-based mathematics and science content and process skillsas they work to solve a real-world problem that is relevant to their school or community. Acombination of quantitative and qualitative assessment results demonstrate that the programsuccessfully enhances student interest and confidence in STEM, and contributes to measuredimprovements in mathematics and science achievement scores.IntroductionWhile today’s science instructors struggle to meet the demands of increasingly complex learningstandards [1-4] and

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Barrett, University of Wyoming; Jerry Hamann, University of Wyoming; Dennis Coon, University of Wyoming; Paul Crips, Laramie Middle School; John Pierre, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

possibilities for themselves, Wyoming society; and to stimulate and reward excellence in Wyoming schools [Adapted from 1].‚ Engineering Summer Program (ESP): The College of Engineering and the Wyoming Engineering Society, in conjunction with the J. Kenneth & Pat Kennedy Endowment Endowment and the University of Wyoming College of Engineering Hewlett Foundation Engineering Schools of the West Initiative offer high school juniors an opportunity to participate in a summer program of hands-on experiences in various engineering fields. For example, students may design and build a digital circuit, study solutions to an environmental issue, test the aerodynamics of a tennis racket or model rocket, fabricate advanced composite

Conference Session

Standards Based Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Levelle Burr-Alexander, New Jersey Institute of Technology; John Carpinelli, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Ronald Rockland, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Howard Kimmel, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

has become a high priority. Mostmiddle and high school students and many of their teachers still do not have a positive attitudetowards engineering or do not really know what engineers do. How do we meet this challenge ofbringing engineering into K-12 classrooms?Two different approaches can be visualized for bringing engineering concepts and principles tothese populations:1) Introduce engineering as a “stand-alone” subject in the schools.2) Integrate engineering concepts and applications into the different content areas in the curriculum.Curriculum materials and instructional strategies are available for either approach. However,there are also issues to be considered for each approach that are common to both approaches. Itis important to

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Cunningham, Museum of Science, Boston; Cathy Lachapelle, Museum of Science, Boston; Anna Lindgren-Streicher, Museum of Science, Boston

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

. Teacher Position Unknown 7 Science Specialists 4 Special Needs Classroom Teacher 1 Pre-Service Teachers Teacher Classroom Aide 32 Unknown 1 Classroom Aide Pre-Service Teacher Science Specialist 61 Classroom Special Needs / Life Skills Teachers

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gordon Kingsley, Georgia Institute of Technology; Monica Gaughan, Georgia Institute of Technology; Donna Llewellyn, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

from the network. Page 11.1100.4A measure of the richness of the relational environment is captured by density. Density is ameasure that ranges between 0 and 1, where 0 indicates an empty graph, and 1 indicates acomplete graph. The density is the number of all actual ties divided by the total number ofpossible ties, and can be interpreted as a proportion or percentage. A density of .50 means that50% of all possible ties in the graph are present.Average Distance measures the average of the shortest lengths of paths between all pairs ofnodes of the network. Dense networks tend to have shorter distances, while sparse networks willhave longer ones

Conference Session

Promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeremy Ernst, North Carolina State University; Aaron Clark, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

-basedfindings from projects such as VisTE provide for the continued successes in engineering,mathematics, science, and society. Page 11.1181.2I. IntroductionRapid discovery, development, and advancement have increasingly strengthened relationshipsbetween science, technology, and society 1. Unfortunately, schools find it difficult to modernizecurricula given the pace of innovation. The engineering profession is largely responsible forcontinued success in scientific and technological advancement, serving as the driving factor forexpanding the need of a technologically literate population 2. A technologically literate personunderstands and effectively

Conference Session

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Thompson, University of South Carolina; Jed Lyons, University of South Carolina; Amber Caicedo, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

sections: (1) factors influencing participation, (2) long-term benefits, (3) frequency of integrating engineering-related concepts into the classroom, and (4) how participation has affected teaching overall.The second section, identifying long-term benefits, was subdivided into three subsets for Page 11.845.3simplicity and organization: content and knowledge, teaching strategies, and attitude andresourcefulness. With the exception of the fourth survey section, which was free response, all ofthe survey items utilized either a 4- or 5-category forced choice Likert Scale.The survey was sent out to the

Conference Session

Standards Based Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Merrill, Illinois State University; Vincent Childress, North Carolina A&T; Rodney Custer, Illinois State University; Craig Rhodes, North Carolina A&T

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

EducationInfusing engineering-related concepts into K-12 level curriculum is a rather new initiative forpublic school teachers in the United States, especially those who teach technology education.Maurice Thomas, in a paper presented at the Mississippi Valley Technology Teacher EducationConference, stated that “Technology education has the opportunity to become a partner withengineering and benefit from their image, support, and political power. Many argue that we[technology education] would gain a great deal and lose little because engineering content fitscomfortably with technology education objectives and content.”1 Many technology teachers,however, wonder if this new initiative is viable for the future of the technology educationprofession, or that

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eugene Brown, Virginia Tech; Robert Kavetsky, Office of Naval Research; Robert L. Stiegler, NSWCDD; Peter N. Squire, NSWCDD; Juanita Jo Matkins, College of William and Mary; Gail Hardinge, College of William and Mary; John A. McLaughlin, McLauglin Associates

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

to people’s full participation in the professional, civic, and intellectual possibilities available in American society. Corporate growth and economic development, coupled with a higher standard of living, are inextricably tied to technological advancement. To continue to grow, however, the United States needs a technically literate society and an engineering-minded workforce. Unfortunately, these are two key areas in which our education system often fails to meet the mark. The good news is that a solution can be found in our K-12 classrooms.” Douglas et al. (2004)1.Many studies have confirmed that America’s educational system is lacking. Listed under thetitle “Some Worrisome Indicators” in the

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence Genalo, Iowa State University; Jamie Gilchrist, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

LEGO egg drop creation (see Figure 1),building and testing a paper egg drop, and participating in a biotechnology engineeringpresentation. For the LEGO projects, students were allowed to use the materials supplied in theLEGO Mindstorms© kit. The home school students ranged in grade level from 4th through 10thgrades and were paired according to their age. The main goal of this experience, along with allTWT experiences, is that students will learn to problem solve. Students were also to meet goalsof the NSES (National Science Education Standards)14, NCTM (National Council for Teachersof Mathematics)15, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)16, and the NSSC(National Social Studies Council)17. These goals are outlined in Table 1

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

P. Ruby Mawasha, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Wright State University; Paul Lam, University of Akron

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Improvement Act of1998, which addresses the national workforce’s need to increase the number of graduates inSTEM fields. Figure 1: Outline of the Wright STEPP Program The major goals of Wright STEPP are: 1) to demonstrate students, the importance ofgraduating from STEM fields; 2) to enhance the students’ math skills as a preparation to college;3) to increase minority enrollment in STEM programs; 4) to increase the graduation rates; and 5)to help students who completed Wright STEPP have a smooth transition to college. Through contact with successful engineers and scientists from our university, WPAFB, andlocal industries, the Wright STEPP students receive a first-hand opportunity and head start inlearning what the

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Hwang, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Ahrash Bissell, Duke University; Daniel Kaplan, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Matthew Mian, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Vineet Agrawal, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Jessica Manson, United InnoWorks Academy and Duke University; Gary Ybarra, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Program by Volunteer College Students for Middle School Youth from Underprivileged BackgroundsIntroductionInnoWorks is an innovative science and engineering program designed by volunteer collegeundergraduates for middle-school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the flagshipprogram of United InnoWorks Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organizationfounded in 2003. The primary goals of InnoWorks are to (1) provide underprivileged studentswith an opportunity to explore the real-world links among science and engineering disciplines,(2) foster teamwork, enthusiasm, and career interests in science and engineering, and (3) usecurrent neuroscience and educational research to develop mentoring, teaching

Conference Session

Promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pam Newberry, Project Lead The Way; T. Richard Grimsley, Project Lead The Way; John Hansen, The University of Texas-Tyler; Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

used: (1) career/technical students fromhigh-tech fields, and a sample of (2) all career/technical students.For both comparison groups – high tech fields and all career/technical students – two stratifiedrandom samples of 274 students were drawn to match the demographics of the 274 PLTWstudents (Table 1).Table 1 Student Demographics for All PLTW Students and CTE Comparison Groups Group Male Female White African- Other Students Students American Ethnicities Whose Whose Parent Parent Did Attended Not

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharon Kurpius-Robinson, Arizona State University; Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University; Chell Roberts, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

analysismethod was used to validate the instrument. This analysis revealed four factors defined as: 1) theimportance of DET; 2) teachers’ familiarity with DET; 3) teachers’ perceptions of stereotypicalcharacteristics of engineers; and 4) teachers’ perceptions of characteristics of engineers. Theinternal consistency reliability estimate for the survey was 0.88. The analysis of 98 teachers’responses to these items indicated that: a) the importance of DET in the curriculum was strongerfor female teachers as compared to male teachers, t ( 96) = 2.42, p < 0.05; b) elementary schoolteachers were least likely to teach DET in their curriculum as compared to middle school andhigh school teachers, F (2, 28.81) = 4.35, p < 0.05; and c) DET was more likely to

Conference Session

Assessing Perceptions of Engineers and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leroy Cox, University of Missouri-Rolla; Cassandra Elrod, University of Missouri-Rolla

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

demographic section which asked the students to ratetheir overall knowledge of the engineering profession and whether or not they knew someonethat was an engineer or held an engineering degree. In the event that they did know someone, weasked the nature of the relationship, in terms of whether that person was a close or distantrelative or a friend. This was followed by a survey that asked them to rate, on a scale of 1 – 5,with ‘1’ being “not familiar” and ‘5’ being “extremely familiar,” their knowledge of variousengineering degree programs. Also, a qualitative measure was used to understand their thinkingwith regard to the previously-rated degree programs. Respondents were asked to respond withthe first word or phrase that came to mind when presented

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Ybarra, Duke University; Paul Klenk, Duke University; Glenda Kelly, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

outreachparticipation.IntroductionFlat or declining math and science competency in K-12 students in the U.S.1, flat or decliningenrollments of U.S. citizens in undergraduate engineering programs2, and the rising dependenceof society on technology have led to several initiatives in the last decade. These include thecreation of the American Society for Engineering Education EngineeringK-12 Center3, theNational Science Foundation’s GK-12 Teaching Fellows4 and Math Science Partnership5programs, Project Lead the Way6, and a substantial list of institutions that have developed K-12engineering outreach programs nationally7.Doctoral/Research university engineering programs have a unique and essential role in K-12engineering outreach. These programs have the resources to translate both

Conference Session

Elementary School Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katie Bush, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Jennifer Gray, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Megan Holmes, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Karen Kosinski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; John Orr, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Leena Razzaq, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Jill Rulfs, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

/.BackgroundEngineering in Kindergarten and First GradeThe Technology/Engineering standards set by the state of Massachusetts for kindergartenand first grade students focus on two areas: “Materials and Tools” and “EngineeringDesign”.1 Since these topics are absolutely fundamental to higher-level engineering, theMassachusetts Department of Education requires that basic concepts behind materials,tools, and engineering design be taught at an early age. These concepts include:characteristics/uses of natural and manmade materials; uses of simple tools such as rulersand scissors; uses of simple machines, such as levers and pulleys; and the ways in whichanimals use body parts as tools, as in the case of tails and beaks. PIEE graduate fellowsand undergraduate students

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Ted Foster, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Dean Sheridan, Glen Elg High School, Howard County Public Schools, Maryland; Carolyn Parker, George Washington University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

mechanism must be constructed ONLY with the provided materials. Two launches were allowed for distance (counting only the furthest distance) and four launches at the target (counting each of the four launches for accuracy). The ping pong ball had to be launched by one selected team member from the constructed mechanism, which had to be free standing and not taped to the launching table or floor starting position. Thirty minutes was allocated for the design, planning and construction phase. – The materials provided were: • 3 plastic cups • 10 tongue depressors • 8 rubber bands • 1 plastic spoon • 8 thumb tacks

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patrick Rousche, University of Illinois-Chicago; Michael Cho, University of Illinois-Chicago; Yang Dai, University of Illinois-Chicago; Hui Lu, University of Illinois-Chicago; J Hetling, University of Illinois-Chicago; jie liang, University of Illinois-Chicago; Susan McCormick, University of Illinois-Chicago; David Schneeweis, University of Illinois-Chicago; Richard Magin, University of Illinois-Chicago

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

measure in lieu of revisingan entrenched undergraduate core engineering curriculum is to provide bioengineeringexposure to 9-12 high school students before they begin undergraduate training. To do thiseffectively also requires increased bioengineering knowledge in high school science teachers.To help foster an increased knowledge and understanding of Bioengineering among thegrades 9-12 student group and their science teachers in a large metropolitan area, wedeveloped a weeklong Bioengineering summer day camp program. The typically intense, but short instructional sequences of the camp provide an idealmeans for the introduction and immersion of 9-12 students and science teachers intobioengineering. Our camp had the following objectives: 1) To

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Don Engelberg, Queensborough Community College; Cheryl Bluestone, Queensborough Community College; Amy Bieber, Queensborough Community College; James Valentino, Queensborough Community College; Patrick Wallach, Queensborough Community College; Joseph Goldenberg, Queensborough Community College; Clara Wajngurt, Queensborough Community College; Paul Marchese, Queensborough Community College

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

and manufactured their own key chains. Under the supervision of theinstructor, participants learned to design a key chain, develop a method of machining, selecttools, and write a CNC program to manufacture it. They then observed the instructor set up theCNC turning center and machine their own key chains, cut out of 1 inch round aluminum.In the segment survey, participants indicated that the projects were enjoyable and valuable.Mathematics workshops: The mathematics workshops were entitled Tools of Technology in theNew Millennium: Mathematics for the Real World. Participants in each group could participatein eleven one-hour mathematics workshops. These workshops were completely voluntary andwere given at the end of the day’s experimental

Conference Session

Assessing K - 12 Engineering Education Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Barrett, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

background information on a variety of SWEPT andRET programs around the country, including a discussion of their evaluation plans, introduceliterature and research that supports the effectiveness of SWEPT and RET programs as a teacherprofessional development model, and discuss the issues surrounding the development ofevaluation tools to assess teacher and student impacts of these programs. The GIFT program andits current evaluation plan will then be discussed as a case study. This case study evaluationincludes 1) the results of a multi-site SWEPT study in which GIFT participated, 2) a recentalumni survey sent to all current and former program participants, and 3) Pre & Post Summer,School Year Follow and Mentor Surveys administered during the

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland; Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington; Richard Ladner, University of Washington; Annemarie Poginy, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

disseminate the workshop model and key properties to other colleges and Page 11.1293.2universities so that engineering and computer science may attract a more diverse population. Weprovide evidence regarding the success of the workshop through students’ work, a case study,and analysis of program evaluation data.1. IntroductionEngineers and computer scientists build products for use by a diverse population; therefore, it issensible and necessary that engineers form a diverse population. Unfortunately, thedemographics of US students earning engineering degrees and those practicing as professionalengineers do not reflect the US population1. Among the

Conference Session

Programs for High School Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Christie, Loyola Marymount University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

clear these obstacles by providing supplemental education withexperienced teachers, state-of-the-art classroom facilities and supportive college students whoact as counselors and mentors. Additional attention in advanced math and science courses suchas calculus and physics before students enter college is an effective means of ensuringpreparedness for science and engineering degrees. While low income minority high schoolstudents from Title 1 Institutions statistically take less advanced mathematics and sciencecourses such as physics, SECOP encourages all of our participants to take a fourth year of mathand physics in high school to be prepared for Freshman engineering courses. This extra

Conference Session

Ensuring Access to K - 12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amit Nimunkar, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sandra Courter, University of Wisconsin-Madison; GWEN EBERT, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Learning Center, she coordinates professional development experiences for graduate students, staff, and faculty. She has been involved with several NSF proposals to date. First, as a member of the management team for the NSF Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), Courter is responsible with a multi-disciplinary team for developing and teaching a course for graduate students on teaching science and engineering. Second, as a member of the management team for the Foundation Coalition at UW-Madison, she has completed an on-line professional development program for twenty faculty from ten institutions. Third, NSF Award: $1,099,560 for the period September 1, 1999

Conference Session

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anant Kukreti, University of Cincinnati; Patricia McNerney, University of Cincinnati; Suzanne Soled, University of Cincinnati; Kelly Obarski, University of Cincinnati; Mingming Lu, University of Cincinnati; Richard Miller, University of Cincinnati; Daniel Oerther, University of Cincinnati; Heng Wei, University of Cincinnati; Thaddeus Fowler, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

a.m. to noon each day with aCEE faculty member and a dedicated graduate student on a research project for six weeks duringthe summer in their laboratories. In the afternoon from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. the teachers tookprofessional development seminars taught by education and engineering faculty members andpracticing engineers, and went on four field trips. They also worked with a team of engineeringand education graduate Fellows working for a NSF Graduate K-12 Fellows Grant to developlesson plans that would be implemented in their classrooms before they finished the summer Page 11.183.3RET summer experience. They presented their research findings

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Klein-Gardner; Cynthia Paschal, Vanderbilt University; Christopher Garay, Vanderbilt University; Aubrey McKelvey, Vanderbilt University; Patrick Gonzales, Vanderbilt University; Alex Nguyen, University of Rochester

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

2005, the x-ray/CT mosaic was used in whole or in part by three physicsteachers. The first classroom had six students at an urban private school located inNashville. The second and third classrooms, with 41 and 24 students respectively, werelocated in nearby Rutherford County in two different suburban high schools. The thirdclassroom ran out of time to complete the materials and only completed the firstchallenge. All teachers had extensive experience teaching high school level physics. Thestudents were a mix of juniors and seniors.Four quizzes were written to reflect the material in each of the four challenges of thecurriculum. Challenge 1 was designed to help students answer the question, “How dodifferent materials interact with x-rays and

Conference Session

Approaches to K -12 Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Pelletier, Northern Essex Community College; Wayne Kibbe, Northern Essex Community College; Paul Chanley, Northern Essex Community College

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

should “GO TO THE BEACH.” Input variables used were: A) if you have a ride, Page 11.529.4B) if you have money; and, C) if it is raining. The output for the circuit should be logic“1” (GO TO THE BEACH), if it is not raining and if you have money or a ride. Theteachers seemed to have fun with this project and viewed it as a positive experience.Once the design project was completed, data representation in digital systems was taught.This entailed binary and hexadecimal number systems and the conversion between thetwo number systems. Both individual and group problem solving was performed duringthis module.The Digital Logic and Number Systems modules were a

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Venkat Chandrasekhar, Northwestern University; Marcel Grdinic, Glenbrook North High School; Nathan Unterman, Glenbrook North High School; R.P.H. Chang, Northwestern University; Emma Tevaarwerk, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

prototype design project showthat the design project was successful in engaging student interest, and that themacroscopic models and activities were helpful in facilitating student understanding ofhow a scanning probe microscope works. All of the students were able to successfullybuild a working atomic force microscope and acquire an image.IntroductionThe introduction of the “iPod Nano” this past year is proof enough that the word “nano”has entered into the mainstream of public awareness. The buzz about nanoscience andnanotechnology is that it may generate up to $1 trillion/year in new business ineverything from pharmaceuticals to computers. To support this new business, it isestimated that we will need 3 million workers trained in nanotechnology