Planes, Trains,

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Planes, Trains, AutomobilesMichael
RustProject STEPFellows ShowcaseJanuary 21,
2005
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Outline

• Me
• The school
• The classes
• Lessons I developed
• Results
• Pictures, student comments, etc.

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About Me

• Program Electrical Engineering
• Degree PhD.
• Year 2nd
• Research Biomedical Microsystems
• Nanotechnology
• Advisor Dr. Chong H. Ahn

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STEP Assignment

• Shroder Paideia Academy
• Primary Investigator
• Dr. Ted Fowler
• Co-Fellows
• Pam Heckel
• Teachers Classes
• Amy Jameson Physics, AP
• Kelly Poulin Algebra II
• Pat Witson Environmental Science
• Harry Voll Physical Science

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Lesson Themes
Planes, Trains, Automobiles
Balloon Powered Car
City Transportation
STEP and the City
Cell City
City Transportation
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Cell City

• Students struggle to understand the cellular
  world
• Compared cellular organelles to city functions
• Nucleus City hall
• Ribosomes Factory
• Students worked in pairs
• Created posters
• Short in-class presentation
• Engineering Concept
• System analysis

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Balloon Powered Vehicle

• Students design a vehicle that is powered by an
  air-filled balloon.
• Constraints
• Materials toothpicks, straws, lifesavers, etc.
• Cost each part is assigned fixed cost
• Design Tradeoff
• Cost vs Distance
• Competition style activity
• Distance, creativity , top overall (cost
  effective and distance)
• Engineering Concepts
• Design, failure analysis, testing

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City Transportation
Residential 1 (1.5,7.0)
Road
Lake
Downtown (5.0,3.0)
Subway
Center (1.5,3.5)
Radius 1.0 miles
Light Rail
Industrial (6.5,2.4)
Residential 2 (5.2,2.0)
Bridge
Airport (1.5,1.0)
(0,0)
(100,0)

• Students design a transportation system for a
  city
• Available transportation modes
• Roads 2 million/mile
• Light rail 25 million/mile
• Subway 35 million/mile
• Design Tradeoff
• Approval ratings vs cost
• Groups of 3 competing for construction contract
• Class determined contract winner

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City Transportation
Residential 1 (1.5,7.0)
Road
Lake
Downtown (5.0,3.0)
Subway
Center (1.5,3.5)
Radius 1.0 miles
Light Rail
Industrial (6.5,2.4)
Residential 2 (5.2,2.0)
Bridge
Airport (1.5,1.0)
(0,0)
(100,0)

• Engineering Concepts
• System design
• Modeling
• Data analysis
• Contract bidding

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Things that worked

• Competition style
• Bring their A game
• Constraints/Design Tradeoffs
• Lose a few, win over a lot
• Creativity
• Authentic
• City themes
• Transportation issues
• Continuity
• Starting 3rd straight quarter with some students

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Student Comments

• What did you like most
• I liked that it gave you a chance to use your
  creative sense
• Being able to work together, using our brains.
  Designing and being creative. It gave us a look
  to the future at something we may want to do.
• It was another way to learn math. It was fun
  and different.
• What did you like the least
• There was nothing I didnt like about this
  project.
• It made us think too much.
• I dont like math

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Thanks