Engineering:  Making it Better provided an overview of the field of engineering and the engineering profession as well as of specific engineering disciplines.  Within the field of civil engineering, the design and construction processes were illustrated with a structural engineering focus culminating in a structural design project that was intended to be used in a middle school classroom.  The project resulted in an analysis of structural types, properties, and considerations, as well as the design process and mathematical modeling.  Course requirements specified a twenty-hour follow-up, consisting of a combination of several components, which allowed the course participants to describe the ways in which the course material was integrated with the math and science curriculum in their own classrooms.  The formal follow-up to “Engineering:  Making it Better” consisted of three parts:  (1) independent work by the students to formulate lesson plans for the implementation of course material in accordance with their science and math curriculum, (2) an in-class meeting at Springfield Technical Community College in October, and (3) Blackboard discussion forums.

Contact:
Beth McGinnis-Cavanaugh, Springfield Technical Community College, http://www.stcc.edu

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