Introducing Engineering into Texas State Math and Science Curricula

1. Introducing Engineering into Texas State Math and Science Curricula Abigail C. Perkins and Carol L. Stuessy Texas A&M University, College Station November 10, 2011 SSMA 2011 Colorado Springs, CO

2. Mission Statement To increase high school teachers’ and students’ literacy about earthquake engineering by integrating appropriate knowledge, skills, and tools into STEM mathematics and science classrooms.

3. Phases of EEEP Phase 1. Design Team • Develop, field-test, and revise materials Phase 2.Teacher Workshop • Integrating innovation into STEM classrooms

4. Phase 1: Design Team Overview • Foundation for 2012 EEEP Teacher Workshop • July 18-23, 2011 • Texas A&M University • Earthquake engineering-based instructional materials

5. Phase 1: Design Team Background • Distributed Expertise: • Diverse backgrounds • Conducive to authentic development

6. Phase 1: Design Team Objectives • Provide hands-on, minds-on experience about: • Roles of the engineer • Integrated STEM domains • Produce: • Recommendations for workshop activities • Classroom lessons

7. Phase 1 Product: Classroom Lesson Example Risk Awareness  The epicenter of an earthquake occurs X mi away from a bullet train traveling at 220 mph. If they’re traveling in opposite directions, and the earthquake propagates with a speed of Y mph, calculate the impulse of the collision. How many people would survive? Seismic hazard map of the southeastern U.S. provided by the U.S. Geological Survey http://usgs.gov/ hazards

8. Phase 1 Product: Graph Analysis Lesson

9. Phase 1 Product: Harmonic Motion Lesson

10. Phase 1: Feedback “Now I can explain a lot better as to why buildings fail and show how engineers can test and make structures that will not fail -or at least stay in one piece and not hurt people.  Now I can incorporate the engineering part into a lesson so that it will become a true STEM lesson for my kiddos.” -Design Team Teacher, Earth Science

11. Phase 2: Teacher Workshop Overview • Goal: Enable participants to design and implement materials integrating earthquake engineering into their own classrooms • 24 teachers • Texas A&M University • June 10-16, 2012 • Provisions

12. Phase 2: Content Focus • Earthquake engineers minimize risk • link natural w/ designed environments • Learners’ “needs to know” • Urban infrastructure components: • Water • Transportation • Communication • Power

13. Phase 2: Component Interconnectivity

14. Phase 2: What Teachers May Expect • Social learning • Networked communications portal • Exemplary models of teaching

15. Exemplary Activity Example:Jell-O and Broccoli Simulation • Simulates how structures respond to earthquakes • Manually shake table to mimic earthquake • Attached sensors generate graphical representations

16. Summary: The Future of EEEP EEEP aims to create a workshop that will benefit teachers by: • Contextualizing earthquake engineering into STEM • Lesson plans • Individualized • Field-tested • Elucidating the science and math of everyday life • Collaborating • Integrate models and simulations

17. Acknowledgements • Design team Professors, teachers, students • EEEP developers and facilitators Drs. Carol Stuessy and Gary Fry • Major support for EEEP is provided by the National Science Foundation • Design team 2011 and teacher 2012 workshops hosted by

18. Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Criticisms?