Using Hands-on Robotic Projects to Engage and Strengthen

High School Students Participation in STEM Education

Andy Zhang, Iem Heng, Farrukh Zia, and Sidi Berri

NYC College of Technology/CUNY

300 Jay Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

2012 ASQ STEM Agenda Conference

July 16 – 17 , 2012 Menomonie, WI University of Wisconsin-Stout

STEM education is the key in producing qualified individuals to work in today’s fast paced, highly competitive public and private enterprises.

Unfortunately, the supply of qualified workforce has been declining for the past twenty years due to the steady drop of well-prepared college students majoring in STEM related fields.

Introduction

All students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past with an increased emphasis on technology and engineering at all levels in the Nation’s education system.

National Science Board Suggestion

1. Ensure Coherence in Nation’s STEM Education System;

2. Ensure that Students Are Taught by Well-Prepared and Highly Effective STEM Teachers.

National Science Board Further Suggested Measures be taken in Following Two Areas:

STEM education should be treated as an

integral education.

The reason that mathematics, science, technology and engineering are taught in classes is we hope that students can use these subjects concurrently to make new discoveries, to explore new ideas, to make new products and to provide better services.

As such, more hands-on project-based activities, that enable students to apply the knowledge and skills they learn from STEM courses should be implemented into curriculums.

How to Get Students Interested in STEM Education?

Why hands-on Approach?

Study indicates that students learn well in teams, in project based activities, and in collaborative environments.

The hands-on project based activities will also strengthen students’ skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity/innovation.

These skills have been identified by top U.S. companies as priorities for employee development, talent management and succession planning.

To Maximize Participation, Trainings Were Offered :

1) On weekends in conjunction with our FIRST partners,

2) In afterschool programs,

3) In summer programs.

• LabVIEW, C/C++, Java, and Matlab are being used.

• CAD and CAM packages such as Autodesk Inventor, Solidworks, Creo/Elements Pro, and MasterCAM are being used.

• Students also have access to a machine shop which include CNC milling center, a water jet, and rapid prototyping machines.

UTILIZING THE STATE OF THE ART

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

IMPLEMENTING CONCURRENT ENGINEERING PRACTICE

To Help Students to Realize the Importance of the Following: 1. Multidisciplinary Fields. 2. Teamwork and Collaboration. 3. Formation of Design Team: Practicing the Selection

of Team Leaders and Team Members. 4. Cooperate and Collaborate Throughout the Whole

Length of the Project. 5. Inject New Skills. 6. Acquire Broader Knowledge Beyond Their

Specialized Field.

Weekend FTC Scrimmage

2011

2012

Helping High School Students to Build Large FRC Robots

Get Involved with New York State’s STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) Project

TYING TO THE TEACHING OF 21ST CENTURY SKILLS

Learning and Innovation Skills, which include creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, and communication and collaboration;

Information, Media, and Technology Skills, which include information literacy, media literacy, and information and communications technology literacy;

Life and Career Skills, which include flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility

Chemical Detection Robot Project (CDR)

Computer Model of

Control Unit

Computer

Model of

CDR

Physical

Prototype of

CDR

Physical Model of

Control Unit

Electrical Design of CDR

AIRCASTING HAND-HELD CHEMICAL DETECTION DEVICE

Communication Design

Mechanical Design Electrical Design

Sensor Calibrations

Testing Using Smart Phone

Making The Connections

The outreach robotic training program helped answer many questions that parents and students often ask at colleges and universities’ open houses:

What is mechanical engineering? What is electrical engineering? What is computer engineering? Etc. If students were not exposed to any engineering

activities, of course they would not be able to tell the difference among various engineering fields.

The hands-on robotic project put students on a discovery path. It can spark and nurture students’ interests.

It provides opportunities for students to mess around the robotic technology and find something useful and engaging.

Conclusions

The hands-on design project allows student to see the big pictures.

It help student to make connections among the various engineering and technology fields and give them a new perspective.

It help students to realize the multidisciplinary nature of product design and appreciate the importance of teamwork, time management, and how to work with others in a team. They learned leadership skills as well.

The work is partially funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Division. The award number is NSF ATE No 1003712. The authors appreciate greatly the support from the NSF.

Also, the authors would like to thank all of the students who are involved with MTC.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thank you!

Any Questions?