An official website of the United States government
High school science and math classes can often seem irrelevant to the everyday lives ofstudents leading to difficulties in engaging students in these topics. Moreover, limitedopportunities for hands-on learning can further perpetuate perceptions of subject matter difficultyand result in limited exposure to available career paths. By incorporating hands-on curriculummodules in geotechnical engineering, it is possible to overcome these issues while providingstudents with real-world applications making the material more engaging and meaningful. Thispaper presents two curriculum modules developed as part of the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) site at North Dakota State University. Thesemodules—one for a high school science class and one for a high school math class—weredeveloped with the aim of promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematicseducation (STEM), while inspiring students to consider careers in geotechnical engineering. Thelessons are designed to align with the Next Generation Science Standards and include hands-onactivities along with real-world applications to enhance student understanding of the subjectmatter. The effectiveness of these modules was evaluated through formative and summativeassessment and student surveys. The results indicate that the modules can effectively engagestudents in geotechnical engineering by connecting the math and science concepts from theirclasses and increase their interest in STEM fields. These curriculum modules are a valuableresource for high school math and science teachers looking to integrate engineering into theirclasses.
more »
« less
Full Paper: Where’s the Math? A Case for Reconsidering Math in K-12 Engineering
Prior evidence suggests that active, student-centered learning environments can positively influence students’ perceptions of STEM career pathways, and that engineering activities can provide motivational contexts for learning math concepts. However, specific benefits to student proficiency in mathematics via engineering design activities are less well established, with some studies pointing to greater student improvement in mathematical practices than content comprehension. Previous studies also note that math standards can be effectively aligned with hands-on activities, but obstacles may include a lack of teacher confidence with engineering concepts and student aversion of math during engineering activities. This paper details an investigation of the prevalence of mathematics in middle school and high school engineering, particularly with regards to a study of thirty popular activities on the virtual library Teach Engineering. Results show that standards-based math content is clearly integrated into most of the reviewed activities, with math tasks comprising about one-third of the total activity time on average. Notably, the math tasks occur almost exclusively during (e.g., measuring) or after (e.g., plotting data) the hands-on phase of each activity; in other words, math was not used to inform design decisions or make predictions. The study suggests that more readily deployable engineering curricula that utilize math at the front-end of activities may be needed for better integration of all STEM disciplines and to more authentically demonstrate the utility of mathematics in the engineering field.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1758335
- PAR ID:
- 10500606
- Publisher / Repository:
- ASEE Conferences: 14th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: 232 KB
- Size(s):
- 232 KB
- Location:
- University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
null (Ed.)outh-staff relationships and program activities are important elements in designing high- quality afterschool activities that promote a broad range of outcomes. Using a qualitative approach, Latinx adolescents were interviewed (n 1⁄4 28, 50% girls) about their experiences in a university-based afterschool math enrichment activity. Findings under the first goal of the study suggest that Latinx adolescents perceived changes in their math-specific outcomes (e.g., problem-solving skills), future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways (e.g., envisioning a future career), and social-emotional skills (e.g., relation- ship skills) as a result of participating in the activity. Under the second goal of the study, findings identified the specific practices that adolescents thought promoted those out- comes, including incorporating advanced math concepts and engaging in collaborative learning, engaging in campus tours and informal conversations, and using culturally respon- sive practices. The findings from this study can be leveraged by scholars and educators to design, further strengthen, and evaluate high-quality afterschool activities.more » « less
-
Academic bridge courses are implemented to impact students’ academic success by revising fundamental concepts and skills necessary to successfully complete discipline-specific courses. The bridge courses are often short (one to three weeks) and highly dense in content (commonly mathematics or math-related applications). With the support of the NSF-funded (DUE - Division of Undergraduate Education) STEM Center at Sam Houston State University (SHSU), we designed a course for upcoming engineering majors (i.e., first-year students and transfer students) that consists of a two-week-long pre-semester course organized into two main sessions. The first sessions (delivered in the mornings) were synchronous activities focused on strengthening student academic preparedness and socio-academic integration and fostering networking leading to a strong STEM learning community. The second sessions (delivered in the afternoons) were asynchronous activities focused on discipline-specific content knowledge in engineering. The engineering concepts were organized via eight learning modules covering basic math operations, applied trigonometry, functions in engineering, applied physics, introduction to statics and Microsoft Excel, and engineering economics and its applied decision. All materials in the course were designed by engineering faculty (from the chair of the department to assistant professors and lecturers in engineering) and one educational research faculty (from the department of chemistry). The course design process started with a literature review on engineering bridge courses to understand prior work, followed by surveying current engineering faculty to propose goals for the course. The designed team met weekly after setting the course goals over two semesters. The design process was initiated with backward design principles (i.e., start with the course goals, then the assessments, end with the learning activities) and continued with ongoing revision. The work herein presents this new engineering bridge course’s goals, strategy, and design process. Preliminary student outcomes will be discussed based on the course’s first implementation during summer 2021.more » « less
-
Informal mathematics learning has been far less studied than informal science learning – but youth can experience and learn about mathematics in their homes and communities. “Math walks” where students learn about how mathematics appears in the world around them, and have the opportunity to create their own math walk stops in their communities, can be a particularly powerful approach to informal mathematics learning. This study implemented an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design to investigate the impact of problem-posing activities in the math walks program on high school students' mathematical outcomes. The program was implemented during the pandemic and was modified to an online program where students met with instructors via online meetings. The researchers analyzed students' problem-posing work, surveyed students' interest in mathematics before and after the program, and compared the complexity of self-generated problems in pre- and post-assessments and different learning activities in the program. The results of the study suggest that students posed more complex problems in free problem-posing activities than in semi-structured problem-posing. Students also posed more complex problems in the post-survey than in the pre-survey. Students' mathematical dispositions did not significantly change from the pre-survey to post-survey, but the qualitative analysis showed that they began thinking more deeply, asking questions, and connecting school content to real-world scenarios. This study provides evidence that the math walks program is an effective approach to informal mathematics learning. The program was successful in helping students develop problem-posing skills and connect mathematical concepts to the world around them. Overall, “math walks” provide a powerful opportunity for informal mathematics learning.more » « less
-
Lyoussi, A.; Carette, M.; Hodák, R.; Jenčič, I.; Le Dû, P.; Pospíšil, S.; Reynard-Carette, C.; Snoj, L.; Stekl, I.; Vermeeren, L. (Ed.)Active learning engages students in activities that could enhance their ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the material being learned. Evidence-based studies have shown that active learning increases student performance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. This paper presents the design of active learning units in nuclear engineering. The goal is to enhance students learning and technical skills, thereby improving their preparation for success in pursuing STEM graduate programs and careers in nuclear engineering. Three modes of active learning that are of interest are problem-solving, lab-based hands-on activities, and simulation. The active learning units are aimed at using interactive mode to provide students with the mastering of fundamental principles and concepts, and better understanding of how equations translate and apply to real-life engineering situations. The introductory nuclear engineering topics to be covered include radioactivity and half-life, binding energy, atom density, radiation interactions, radiation dose, radiation shielding, stopping power, and fission. An assessment plan for the effectiveness of the active-learnings units is also presented.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--44831
