STEM Innovation and Design (STEM-ID) Engineering
Please note: This is a sample of the STEM-ID Engineering curriculum site. To receive full access to the curriculum, we must confirm that you have the required materials necessary for instruction - contact us at ampitup@gatech.edu.
Overview
The STEM-ID Engineering courses are 18-week integrated connections courses, developed as part of the AMP-IT-UP Math/Science Partnership project, that can be taught alongside core math and science classes, either as Engineering and Technology classes or as general STEM classes. The curriculum requires that students use the engineering design process within a problem-based learning context, and that they actively practice foundational mathematics skills and NGSS-aligned scientific practices to solve engaging challenges.
Each course is divided into a series of four challenges entitled the Data Challenge, Systems Challenge, Visualization Challenge, and Design Challenge. The first three build different skills, and the fourth is a multi-week design challenge that pulls the experience together. All courses in the multi-year sequence follow a similar trajectory and incorporate many of the same skills, but within different contexts and with increasingly more challenging technological manipulatives. By the 8th grade, students are rendering designs in 3D modeling software, using a 3D printer to create prototypes, testing their product, and iterating on the design.
During this 18-week 6th grade course, students engage in four sequential challenges that guide them through an exploration of the engineering design process and entrepreneurial thinking in the context of a carnival. The course begins with students making a sales pitch for a new carnival food stand based on market research. Students then run experiments using a pneumatic catapult and design a new carnival game board with appropriate odds of winning. After developing skills in engineering drawing, students re-design the catapult cradle to change the performance characteristics of their carnival game. During Carnival Tycoon, students incorporate and practice multiple math and science skills, including data visualization, probability, experimental design, profit calculations, drawing, and measurement.
During this 18-week 7th grade course, students pose as engineering consultants specializing in aircraft design. They have been hired by a new airline company to redesign airplanes to be more comfortable, profitable, and environmentally friendly. They will accomplish this through a series of challenges, starting with designing and testing different Styrofoam gliders. Students then examine the interior layout of airplanes, learn to use 3D modeling software, and finally, re-design a plane using a balsa glider as a model. During Flight of Fancy class students incorporate and practice multiple math and science skills, including measurement, experimental design, data analysis, and profit calculations.
During this 18-week 8th grade course, students will focus on the engineering design process and entrepreneurship, while using science and mathematics concepts in the context of applied problems. The course begins with a short design challenge in which students design and 3D print a cell-phone holder. Students then conduct experiments using a bio-inspired walking robot. The course ends with an open-ended challenge to design a rescue robot capable of navigating variable terrain. During the Robot Rescue challenges, students learn to use 3D CAD modeling software and 3D printing technologies. In addition, they explore math and science content, including modeling, data analysis, scientific procedure, friction, and systems thinking.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1238089, and 2101441. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
