NSF Award Number ECC 0230609

THE VIRGINIAMIDDLE SCHOOL ENGINEERING EDUCATION INITIATIVE: TEACHING ENGINEERING IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS

School of Engineering and Applied Science

University of Virginia

Larry G. Richards

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

434 924 3191

At the University of Virginia, we have undertaken a major project to design, implement, test, and distribute Engineering Teaching Kits (ETKs). These kits introduce engineering concepts and methods into existing middle school science and math classes. Students learn about essential engineering functions: design, build, analyze, test, and redesign. ETKs promote awareness of the nature of engineering, and stimulate excitement about its practice. They also develop an appreciation for the tradeoffs involved in the practice of engineering, and how engineering decisions impact society and the environment.

Each ETK emphasizes the engineering design approach to problem solving. We identify topics from science, math, and technology that have interesting engineering applications, and then help students learn science and math in the context of engineering design. Each ETK includes real-world constraints (budget, cost, time, risk, reliability, safety, and customer needs and demands) and each involves a design challenge that requires creativity and teamwork.

This project involves faculty and students at the University of Virginia (from both education and engineering), teachers and students in local middle schools, and administrators and parents. So far over 1000 middle school students have used these materials. Teams of fourth-year Mechanical Engineering students participate in this project as part of their senior design class. Twenty five local middle school teachers have used these ETKs in their classes.

Over the past four years, Engineering Teaching Kits have been field tested in local middle schools on a wide array of topics:

Under Pressure Designing submersible vehicles

RaPower Model solar cars.

Brainiacs Brain tumor treatment technology; gels and brain perfusion

Destructural Mechanics Engineering materials and the design of structures

Catapults In Action: Projectile motion

Pump – It – Up Human circulatory system functioning, heart disease, fluid flow, and artificial heart pumps

Alternative Energy Resources Primarily wind power

Losing Stability: Designing and building stable floating structures

Aerospace Engineering: planes and rockets
Bio - Mech - a – Tek: designing artificial arms
Get Stressed: Building Bridges
Sustainable House Design
Crane Corp: Simple Machines for complex tasks
Aspects of the Crash: protecting vehicle occupants

Filtering Ideas: Water Filtration

HoverHoos: Hovercraft design

Crash and Burn: Cars racing off a ramp.

Roller Coaster Physics

Transformers: Energy Transformation