Pre-college electrical engineering outreach: The design of a home security system (Evaluation)

Abstract

With the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in many U.S. states, teachers and administrators in K-12 schools have been seeking models for incorporating engineering design in science instruction. This pilot university-based program, utilizing a research-based framework of purposeful incorporation of cross-cutting concepts in secondary science education, was implemented for middle and high school physics students during six-hour-long visits with their classroom teachers. Research has suggested that secondary science educators require models of engineering activities that effectively integrate science content in engineering activities, which will promote science learning and broaden students' understanding of engineering knowledge and skills. Under the guidance of Stony Brook University faculty and engineering graduate students, the middle and high school students designed and built a home security system as a means to apply physics principles and electrical engineering practices to solve a technological challenge. Students worked in pairs to construct their designs, test their devices and subsystems in relation to given constraints, and optimize component functionality. Quantitative and qualitative survey data (7V=69) were collected to measure student impacts. Quantitative data revealed that a high percentage of the students who attended the program showed an increase in engineering knowledge and application of technical concepts. The majority also expressed increased interest in attending college, increased interest in majoring in engineering, an appreciation of soldering as a useful skill, and recognition of how specific physics concepts were applied to electrical engineering design. Qualitative data allowed the researchers to elicit thematic elements of student impacts, including appreciation of hands-on tasks related to potential engineering careers, novelty of using circuit boards for a practical technological device, and self-efficacy in creating and building designs as part of a team effort to maximize device efficiency and performance. Future science and engineering curricular efforts may leverage these findings to replicate and design similar curricular activities for secondary classrooms.