|
07.08
The Eagle National Drag
Race: IEEE-USA Grant Made Competition Possible
By Ronald Rodgers
Receiving an IEEE-USA Precollege
Education Committee (PEC) Teacher Reward/Grant
[1] last school year had impacts beyond my
expectations. During this time of “No Child Left
Behind” and meeting the education standards,
students have little time for hands-on projects.
This grant program provides small amounts of
funding for novel ideas that introduce
engineering to students, and promote innovation
and creativity in or outside of the classroom.
My initial idea was to use the money to purchase
materials for my third grade students at Eagle
Elementary School in Brownsburg, Indiana to
build Lego drag racers.
However, I underestimated the
costs of the Lego blocks, wheels and axles.
While discussing the grant with a fellow
teacher, Mrs. Spector, who initially wasn’t
going to be involved, she became excited and
asked if she could help out. She suggested we
use cardboard instead of Legos. I had no problem
obtaining a substantial amount of cardboard.
When I was the Pike Township 4-H supervisor,
Temple-Inland cardboard company would supply
cardboard for the backing of posters, so I asked
them for the cardboard that I needed for this
project. They said yes and I picked it up three
weeks later.
By switching to cardboard, we
had enough money to allow both third- and
fourth-grade students to participate in the
competition. But each car still needed the
following materials to be constructed: a rubber
band, two round pencils and a weight. I had no
problem rounding up enough rubber bands, but the
round pencils were difficult to find. I had to
go to a local novelty wholesaler to purchase
them.
We also ran into a cost issue
with the weights. In the original design, a D
size battery was used to weight the car, but the
cost of 236 D-size batteries would have wiped
out our total budget. After discussing the
problem with Mrs. Spector, we opted to use clay
instead.
Planning the project and
coordinating with other teachers of different
grade levels was very satisfying, but the most
gratification came from seeing how the children
were affected — the pride that the students took
in their cars, the way they shared and
problem-solved. It was worth the time.
It was neat to watch the
children create something with their hands. The
vast majority of the students had never put
together a model or a diorama. Watching how the
children worked within their groups and openly
shared their ideas with others was rewarding.
The students would ask questions such as, “Why
are these pieces needed?” and another student
would provide the answer. This project was a
team-building activity for my class. Their
science journals were interesting to read. Some
students wrote only one word, while others
explained in great detail.
Due to the project’s unqualified
success, we will continue this as an annual
event. Mrs. Spector and I are going to meet over
the summer to make revisions to the project. We
have verbal commitments of support from
Temple-Inland and Staples. We are also planning
to put some of the cost into the science
equipment budget.
This project would not have been
possible if I had not been invited by Mr. Ken
Reid, past chair of the IEEE-USA PEC, to a
Teacher-in-Service-Program [2] hosted by the
IEEE Central Indiana Section in 2006 that
invited teachers and engineers to interact. I
accepted Mr. Reid’s offer because we have a
personal relationship — I was his younger son’s
third grade teacher, he had volunteered at Eagle
several times, and I also work with his wife.
The workshop was a very enriching experience. It
was the perfect mixture of hands-on
problem-solving activities and verbal
presentations. The engineers were eager to share
in a very non-condescending manner, and they
treated all the teachers with respect. It was at
this event that I learned about the grant and
how to apply for it.
Many people have personal
relationships with classroom teachers and
schools. I used to go in to my children’s
classroom to read, and I volunteered at my
children’s school for other things. Last week, a
former student who just graduated from Purdue
University escorted his niece on a fieldtrip. I
have seen former students of fellow teachers who
come in to read or volunteer time. Again, the
key reason I went to the IEEE
workshop/conference was because of my personal
relationship with Ken Reid (and the free meals
with excellent food, of course), so get to know
local teachers and find out how you can help.
In closing, I would like to
express our gratitude to IEEE-USA for this grant
opportunity, and to Ken Reid, who led me to the
IEEE, and whose assistance was just a phone call
or e-mail away. His advice and prodding was
appreciated. Sandra Kim helped oversee the
grant, and her hard work was greatly
appreciated. I would finally like to thank all
of you, who have or will create a relationship
with a teacher and work within that teacher’s
classroom.
References
[1] IEEE-USA Precollege
Education Committee Teacher Reward/Grant:
www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/pec/teacher-grants.html
[2] IEEE Teacher in Service
Program:
www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/tispt/
Ronald Rodgers is a third grade
teacher at Eagle Elementary School in
Brownsburg, Indiana. He received one of the
IEEE-USA Precollege Education Committee (PEC)
Teacher Reward/Grants last year.
Comments may
be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.
Opinions expressed are the
author's.
|
E-mail
this page to a friend
