Creation and Implementation of an Open-Ended Design Course for a High School Summer STEM Program (Evaluation)

Abstract

This evaluation paper discusses the design of a new six week course in the Cooper Union Summer science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Program for high school students. Existing courses in the program focused on a single engineering discipline (electrical, chemical, mechanical, or civil) with well-defined projects chosen by the professor. The new course focused on open-ended engineering design and multidisciplinary entrepreneurship. Most courses at the high school level utilize a clear design goal so that students can spend their time in design of a solution and construction. However, there are clear advantages to introducing open ended design to students earlier, including addressing the ABET Criteria parts e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems and h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context. It has also been shown that students' intrinsic motivations in the design of a project can inspire further engagement in engineering. The procedure for creating the course materials and methods of instruction are discussed, as well as student project results and a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the course.

Using Human-Centered Design to Drive Project-Based Learning in a High School Summer STEM Course (Evaluation)

“…In the first year of the program, the primary goal was to expose high school students to engineering design process used in first year undergraduate courses and provide an opportunity for students to practice skills by developing a project. The first iteration of this curriculum at Cooper Union was evaluated by Bill and Skolnick [15]. It describes the resources used, instructional methods, examples of student work and survey questions and results.…”