Asee peer logo

Circuits and Our Environment (Resource Exchange)

Download Paper |

Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

Pre-college Engineering Education Division Technical Session 12

Tagged Division

Pre-College Engineering Education

Page Count

5

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34283

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/34283

Download Count

458

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Elise Rodich University of St. Thomas

visit author page

Studying mechanical engineering with a minor in materials science at the University of St. Thomas.

visit author page

biography

Deborah Besser P.E. University of St. Thomas

visit author page

Dr. Besser, PE, ENV SP, holds a PhD in education and MS and BS in civil engineering. Currently, she is civil engineering chair and Center for Engineering Education director. Previous experience includes faculty positions in diverse universities where she has taught a variety of coursework including steel, timber, concrete and masonry design, construction, engineering economy, engineering graphics and engineering education. Prior to teaching, Dr. Besser, a licensed engineer, was a design engineer with HNTB-CA, where she worked on seismic retrofits and new design of high profile transportation structures.

visit author page

biography

Annmarie Thomas University of St. Thomas

visit author page

AnnMarie Thomas is a professor in the School of Engineering and the Opus Colluege of Business at the University of St. Thomas where she is the director of the UST Center for Engineering Education. Her research group, the Playful Learning Lab, focuses on engineering and design education for learners of all ages.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Circuits and Our Environment is a STEAM lesson about how circuits function in the environment around them. The lesson is focused on teaching a basic understanding of circuitry and applying that knowledge using common household items. It also has a focus on making engineering concepts seem less abstract and more applicable. Students are taught about electricity and the requirements of a full circuit, as well as being taught how electricity functions in conductive materials and what makes them conductive. This is taught in two different ways, both through conductive dough circuits and “scrappy” circuits made with cardboard. The students are given a basic lesson on circuits and a recipe which they use to create their own conductive dough. This portion of the lesson focuses on the conductivity of basic materials. Another option for this lesson involves given cardboard, a cell battery, binder clips, and an LED. The students are then encouraged to create a circuit using the materials they were given and the properties that they already knew about those materials. That part of the lesson focuses on using what they know about conductivity to create a circuit that mimics circuits they might find in household appliances or other gadgets they would recognize from the world around them. This lesson works to make it easier for students to recognize applications of engineering in everyday surroundings, and also worked to increase student’s awareness of how electricity functions in the world and what electricity can do. By teaching basic circuitry, students are given a better understanding of electrical engineering, and experimenting and creating their own examples of circuits helps them understand and apply the basic problem-solving skills that engineering helps to build. The lesson is heavily influences by several faculty members, students, and partners using numerous source materials.

Rodich, E., & Besser, D., & Thomas, A. (2020, June), Circuits and Our Environment (Resource Exchange) Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34283

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2020 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015