This project focuses on integrating engineering design concepts and skills in the Force and Motion unit in Middle School to address the Next Generation Science Standards’ focus on STEM integration. The goal of this project is to increase students’ interest in STEM and expose them to integrated engineering activities. Students are introduced to the concepts and skills of engineering design, CAD software, virtual testing, prototyping, optimization, and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Students are engaged in using technology (CAD Software, Virtual wind tunnel) to design and test a shell for a mini race car, while learning science concepts and practices.
This curriculum presents the students with a real world problem of optimizing a Soap Box Derby Car, which is a race car powered by gravity. Working with a model Soap Box Derby Mini-Car (scaled to 1/13 of the size), students investigate the motion of the car down a track using various car shell shapes (box, semi-circle, trapezoid, etc.), and collect data on the performance of each shape. Next, they are guided to propose explanations of why the different shapes of the car shell result in different speeds. They are then introduced to study the basics of aerodynamics, with investigations using a physical wind tunnel and a virtual wind tunnel simulation that was developed for the project. Using this new knowledge of aerodynamics, and problem constraints and specifications, they will redesign a mini car shell using 123D Design (an intuitive and free CAD software), test it through the virtual wind tunnel, and collect data to evaluate their designs. The students will make conjectures based on what they have learned about force and motion to modify their designs to optimize performance. Students can print their designs using 3-D printers, and use a full scale wind tunnel to test their manufactured designs.
We will share activities from this integrated STEM curriculum, as well as sample student work. students learn about engineering design, as they apply scientific concepts related to forces, motion, and energy, and scientific practices of constructing explanations, analyzing data and using computational thinking. Real world applications of the technology are emphasized (virtual testing, additive manufacturing).
Dr. Nidaa Makki is an Associate Professor in the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education at The University of Akron, in the department in Curricular and Instructional Studies. Her work focuses on STEM curriculum integration and science inquiry practices in middle and high school. She is a co-PI on an NSF funded project to investigate the impact of integrating engineering on middle school students’ interest and engagement in STEM. She has also received funding to conduct teacher professional development in the areas of engineering education, problem based learning and inquiry instruction.
Dr. Nicholas G. Garafolo is a researcher in the broad area of thermo-fluids and aerospace, with an emphasis in advanced aerospace seals, near-hermetic fluid flows, and turbomachinery modal analysis. Dr. Garafolo currently holds a position as Assistant Professor at The University of Akron. Supporting the dissemination of his research activities, Dr. Garafolo has six journal manuscripts, over 30 conference papers and presentations, and $868,647 of total project funding. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Garafolo worked as a federal contractor, under the umbrella of a multi-million dollar contract, in space flight hardware research and development to NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Garafolo was instrumental in developing a synergistic approach in the research and component modeling of elastomeric space seals for manned spaceflight; an asset to NASA and the development of advanced aerospace seals for the next generation of manned spacecraft. The unique problem necessitated a grasp of both fluid dynamics and material science, as well as experimental and computational analysis. As a DAGSI/Air Force Research Laboratory Ohio Student-Faculty Fellow, Dr. Garafolo gained experimental knowledge in structural dynamics of turbomachinery. In particular, his research on engine order excitation yielded insight into generating high cycle fatigue of turbomachinery using acoustic excitation.
Dr. Wondimu Ahmed is an Assistant Professor in the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education at the University of Akron. He received his Ph.D. from University of Groningen, The Netherlands. His research focuses on motivation and emotions in education, particularly in STEM subjects.
Dr. Kristin Koskey is an Associate Professor in the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education at The University of Akron. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Measurement and M.E. in Educational Psychology. Dr. Koskey teaches courses in evaluation, assessment, research design, and statistics. She also works as a psychometric consultant and serves on the Editorial Board for the journal of Psychological Assessment. Her work is published in leading journals such as Studies in Educational Evaluation, Journal of Applied Measurement, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Journal of Experimental Education, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, and Educational and Psychological Measurement. Further, she has authored book chapters on Norming and Scaling for Automated Essay Scoring and Data-driven STEM Assessment. Dr. Koskey has secured grant funding from the Ohio Department of Education and National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as contributed to the evaluations on grants funded by the ODE, U.S. Department of State, and NSF.
Donald P. Visco, Jr. is the former Dean of the College of Engineering at The University of Akron and currently a Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.
Science and Health Learning Specialist k-12 since July 2006 for Akron Public Schools. She is in charge of professional development, curriculum and assessment development. She taught biology, chemistry, human anatomy, forensic and environment during 1995-2006.
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