University Outreach in STEM Education through a Roller ... - CiteSeerX

Session S3D

University Outreach in STEM Education through a Roller Coaster Science and Engineering Camp David P. Wick, Michael W. Ramsdell, Kathleen Fowler, Peter Turner, Patrick D. Schalk Clarkson University, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract - We describe the structure, implementation, and outcomes of a Roller Coaster Science and Engineering Camp for students in grades 7-12. The framework for the camp has been developed over several years with the goal of providing a unique experience in STEM education using the theme of roller coaster science and engineering. Students form simulated “roller coaster design companies,” whose goal is to design a working roller coaster. To assist with the design process, we have developed a Roller Coaster Card Game that incorporates a series of track segments depicting starting hills, vertical loops, corkscrews, cobra rolls, horseshoe turns, and brake segments which can be assembled to initiate the design process. Based on scientific analysis, students exchange cards from the original design with cards depicting similar segments and corrected dimensions. Only certain card combinations result in a working model. The final design is then programmed into a commercial roller coaster software package, where it can be simulated from a first-person rider perspective. We discuss the impact of the camp on student involvement in other research projects and enrichment opportunities. While the specific impact of any single intervention is difficult to measure, we offer some assessment of student participant performance in math/science. Index Terms – Educational Outreach, Roller Coaster Science and Engineering, STEM INTRODUCTION Growing national efforts focus on preparing K-12 students in STEM and inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM fields [1]. In this paper, we describe the structure, implementation, and outcomes of an innovative summer Roller Coaster Science and Engineering Camp developed for economically disadvantaged and/or underrepresented minority students in grades 7-12. The camp is one component of a New York State STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) grant at Clarkson University, initially awarded in 2006, entitled IMPETUS (Integrated Mathematics and Physics for Entry To Undergraduate STEM) for Career Success. The summer program provides a scientific experience for participating students, carefully designed for three separate grade levels (paired as 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12), using the theme of a roller coaster to motivate interest and excitement. Each level incorporates a component

of discovery in conceptual physics integrated with mathematics through direct application to the roller coaster theme to engage a target audience of approximately 50 participants in Northern New York (NNY). PROGRAM PURPOSE AND GOALS The primary goal of the IMPETUS for Career Success program is to provide opportunities for students from economically disadvantaged rural areas to help them realize their potential for college entry as STEM majors and eventual career success in STEM professions. Regional Need The Northern New York region contains approximately half a million people in six counties. The region is sparsely populated with 44 residents per square mile, compared to the NY State average of 402, and characterized as isolated, rural, and socio-economically depressed. While the region contains more than 20% of the state’s land area, it is home to only 2% of the state’s population and receives only 0.2% of the total federal funding received by the state [2]. The poverty rates for the past 10 years are consistently among the highest in the state, with 18% or more of students under the age of 17 living below the poverty level [3]-[4]. St. Lawrence County (SLC) is the largest county in the state, located in the northernmost section, along the Canadian border. SLC contains 44 schools in 17 rural school districts that range in size from approximately 350 students, to one larger district of over 2,000 students. SLC unemployment was over 10% for the year July 2009 to June 2010, well above the state average of 8.3% for that same time period, according to the United States Department of Labor [5]. School Report Card Data for 2008-2009 from NY State’s Education Department (NYSED) shows that for NNY: • 31/55 (57%) districts (76% in SLC) are classified as “high needs.” • 23/55 (42%) districts have free/reduced lunch eligibility rates above 40% and as high as 65%, and from 19992008 these rates increased faster than the general population, which actually decreased in all but one county.

NY State 2010 standardized test data in Mathematics showed that student proficiency levels (Level 3-4 out of 4) 978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD 41st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S3D-1

Session S3D were below the state average in nearly half of the districts for grade 7, while more than half were below for grade 8 [6]. In particular, nine districts had less than 50% of their students achieving proficiency levels for grade 8, with a low of 24%. Moreover, 77% and 76% of districts failed to achieve the state average for Level 4 (exceeding proficiency or mastery), at grades 7 and 8, respectively. One school district had no students in grade 8 scoring at Level 4 and seven other districts had less than 10% at this level compared to 18.2 % for the state. Economically disadvantaged students performed below their non-disadvantaged counterparts in all districts with the discrepancy as high as 24%. Student enrollment and performance in upper level math and science courses is low [7]. In 2008 – 2009, on average, only 10% of students enrolled in Physics. Enrollments in Chemistry were only slightly higher. While college entrance rates range between 64% and 93% for the districts, indicating a significant number of students are pursuing at least a 2-year degree, most are not adequately prepared to enter STEM majors. Partnership Model The IMPETUS for Career Success program was founded on a historically successful partnership between Clarkson University, St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Education Services (SLL-BOCES), and 18 component school districts who are committed to leverage the educational expertise of Clarkson’s science and engineering faculty and student body, as the state’s highest ranked small research institution, to improve the quality of public school education in our rural and economically struggling region of Northern NY [8]-[10]. While Clarkson University’s long history of K-12 outreach programs continues to establish a foundation for systemic and selfsustaining cultural change in this region, there are many challenges to overcome. To this end, the partnership model centralizes the Board of Cooperative Education Services as a bridge between the university and local school districts, providing a muchneeded rural solution uniting our students, teachers, and faculty. In this region where popular and traditional STEM venues such as museums, aquariums, science centers, and high-tech industry are lacking or non-existent, Clarkson University is committed to partner with local businesses and community-based organizations to offer students and teachers alternative and effective STEM advertisements, incentives, and opportunities to overcome rural challenges. The IMPETUS for Career Success program is one of several program initiatives that reflect this commitment. Program Components The IMPETUS for Career Success program includes academic year and summer components centered on standards-driven content, inquiry-based learning, and student research. The highlight of the program is the Summer Roller

Coaster Science and Engineering Camp, whose description is the focus of this paper and outlined in the following section. Additional components are briefly described to establish context, scale, and a general overview of program initiatives. During the Academic Year Program, approximately 100 participants engage in weekly in-school activities and monthly on-campus workshops designed to improve their academic skills, awareness of career paths, self-efficacy, and aspirations for majoring in STEM. An engineering design project, based on the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Roller Coaster competition provides the motivation and framework for students to develop math and science skills [11]. Activities are supported by three graduate and several undergraduate fellows who act as mentors to deliver in-school tutorials and assist with on-campus experiences. Participants are provided with career exploration opportunities through collaborations with university faculty and students, the University’s Career Center, annual Career Fair, alumni presentations, and mentoring. Upper class students are offered the opportunity to conduct original research investigations with the goal of presenting their findings at the annual NY State Student STEP conference. Additionally, the program provides professional development for mathematics, science, and technology teachers who function as coaches, mentors, and recruiters. A parent component permits family members and legal guardians to have access to college preparation training, financial aid counseling, and career workshops. ROLLER COASTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CAMP During the Summer Program students engage in a design experience using the theme of roller coasters to motivate interest and generate excitement in science and engineering. Unique roles requiring different levels of mathematical modeling and analysis are assigned according to grade level. Corresponding training and design phases include computational methods as well as paper-and-pencil activities linked directly to state mathematics and science standards. A single design team includes student members from grades 7 through 12. The week-long camp is orchestrated by project faculty, Clarkson University’s Office of Educational Partnerships (OEP), Graduate and Undergraduate IMPETUS Fellows, and student volunteers. Parents are invited to attend the final “unveiling” ceremony and competition where “company teams” present their completed designs/models along with technical posters explaining the relevant math and physics learned. Company Structure Student participants form mock roller coaster design companies, each with three technical divisions corresponding to the grade levels shown in Table 1. A single design company typically consists of 8 students and 1 teacher-coach. Teachers act as company CEOs for the program, holding company meetings, planning work sessions, and delegating

978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD 41st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S3D-2

Session S3D responsibilities to help ensure student groups stay on task. Since a single company may be composed of students from several different school districts, team-building exercises are used to encourage interaction and permit students to engage each other prior to the actual design process. On the first day of the camp, students exchange “business cards,” decide on a company name, and design a company slogan and logo. For example, one of the award winning designs from the previous year was produced by a student company named “Adrenaline Crush” who designed a high-speed thrill ride that included several consecutive inversions by pairing a Clothoid loop with a Cobra Roll. Their company slogan was “Tracks of fire, nerves of steel.” Within the company structure, students in each division have assigned responsibilities and roles. Each division is permitted to make modifications that are specific to their roles, but large scale changes must be made at the company level with mutual agreement across company divisions. TABLE I SIMULATED COMPANY STRUCTURE Grade Level 7-8 9-10 Role/Division Concept Design Engineers Engineers Groups 6 6 Students per Group 3 3 Total Students 18 18

11-12 Safety Engineers 6 2 12

Training Sessions and Design Phases Four separate Design Phases are preceded by four Training Sessions that prepare students with the mathematical skills and scientific background needed to complete their tasks. To assist student companies with the design process, we have developed a roller coaster card game that incorporates a series of linkable track segments. Cards similar to those illustrated in Figure 1, depicting starting hills, launch segments, vertical loops, corkscrews, cobra rolls, barrel turns, horseshoe turns, and brake segments of varying dimensions can be assembled in a selected order by the Concept Engineers to initiate the design process. Based on scientific analysis, Design and Safety Engineers can propose alterations by exchanging cards from the original design with alternate cards depicting the same track segment but with corrected dimensions. Only certain card combinations actually result in a working model. Concept Engineers (grades 7-8) act as the roller coaster architects to begin the initial design phase. As a group, they are responsible for developing the preliminary roller coaster design which includes scale drawings (blueprints) and a wire

model. These items are then passed on to the Design Engineers (grades 9-10), who use them to conduct a kinematical analysis via potential and kinetic energy calculations for each section of the track. Design engineers alter the original concept design to ensure all track sections are sequentially compatible and the entire ride is mathematically feasible and exciting. For example, they may choose to alter the starting hill height to make sure the roller coaster is able to make it around a subsequent vertical loop section. Alternatively, they may choose to alter the loop dimensions, but would not independently be permitted to switch the track section to a corkscrew for instance, without further discussion with all company members. Safety Engineers (grades 11-12) inherit the latest working design to make a variety of rider safety calculations for subsequent track sections. They calculate the g-force exerted on riders as they enter into and out of turns, loops, and inversions. Too many positive or negative g’s and a rider may experience a sudden loss of blood from the brain resulting in “black out” or a sudden surge of blood to the brain resulting in “red out.” Safety Engineers fine tune elements of the plan until an exciting, physically possible, and safe roller coaster design has been achieved. The final design is then programmed into a commercially available 3D roller coaster software package called NoLimits (shown in Figure 2) [12]. The NoLimits software includes a design editor component with a CAD-based graphical user interface and a simulator component that permits full 3D viewing from a first person rider perspective or third person fixed position perspective. Once a design is rendered, the software displays real-time speed and g-force data during simulation that provides students with immediate feedback regarding any design issues. The company currently offers a free demo version and educational discounts on school site licenses for the full version. Supporting Activities While the Training Sessions and Design Phases are the primary focus of the Summer Program, several additional activities enhance the experience. One day of the camp includes a trip to Six Flags® Great Escape in Lake George, NY, where students collect sound-level, temperature, altimeter, accelerometer, and heart rate data (with data vests) on real roller coasters and other park rides for analysis when they return to the university. Student teams design mini research projects prior to the trip, treating the amusement park as their own personal “laboratory.” Data is collected with a set of PASCO Xplorer GLX® dataloggers [13]. In preparation for

FIGURE 1 ROLLER COASTER CARD GAME


Session S3D this trip, students go through training exercises in Clarkson’s Motion Simulator Lab where they ride in a MaxFlight® VR2002 motion simulator programmed to operate as a virtual roller coaster. The exercises are primarily designed to familiarize students with roller coaster dynamics and enable them to become proficient with wearing and operating the data collection vest and equipment. A highlight of the trip to Six Flags® is an on-site invited presentation by one of the retired engineers who helped construct The Comet, a large wooden roller coaster at the park. His presentation includes the mathematics and physics used for understanding potential-kinetic energy relationships and roller coaster safety, thus reinforcing ideas from earlier in the week. Students also split into teams to take a “quiz” based on the original hand-drawn blueprints used to design the coaster, which includes engineering design principles such as wind loading of support structures and properties of concrete anchors. The students’ interaction with a real roller coaster engineer, who relays personal stories about college experience, the importance of learning mathematics and physics, coupled with the sense of accomplishment of designing thrilling rides, helps bring relevance to the IMPETUS program activities. Much like the Summer Program provides a grand finale to the Academic Year Program, an Award Ceremony provides a grand finale to the summer camp. Here each student company presents their roller coaster design in a grand conference-style exhibition in which parents/guardians (and immediate family), faculty, teachers, and school administrators are invited to participate. Each company division must present their portion of the design phase and answer questions from a panel of faculty judges. During the judging period, guests (young and old) participate in a variety of roller coaster activities and challenges to get a real sense of what their students actually do during the camp. Additionally, student companies compete in a separate Jeopardy-style question-and-answer session against each other and an invited team of volunteer parents/family guests. Finally, awards are presented at the conclusion of the day for a variety of categories that include “best in show” for each division, best overall company design, best performance by a new STEP program member, and best performance by a graduating senior. Some prizes are also given to families and guests for participating in the challenges and activities.

FIGURE 2 SCREENSHOT OF NOLIMITS ROLLERCOASTER SIMULATION [12]

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Here we discuss the impact of the summer camp on student involvement in other components of the IMPETUS for Career Success STEP program including research projects and enrichment opportunities. While the specific impact of any single intervention is difficult to measure, we offer some observations of student performance in mathematics at the 8th grade level where NY State standardized test data is available, performance on Regents level STEM related courses, and graduation/college attendance rates. Performance in Mathematics While some state and county performance data is available on an annual basis from NYSED [14], without access to the raw data from which it was compiled, detailed comparative statistics are simply not possible. Furthermore, we recognize that in the most ideal assessment scenario, only pre-post testing with an established control group can establish the true impact of a program initiative. Nonetheless we present a comparison of some data within the limits of accessibility and are careful to interpret the results descriptively without claims of significance. For example, a four year (2007 – 2010) summary of the percentage of students achieving the state proficiency level (Level 3 or 4) on the 8th grade mathematics standardized test is listed in Table 2 for three groups, including IMPETUS program participants, SLL-BOCES students, all NY State students, and NY State students classified as being Economically Disadvantaged (ED). While the program population size is very small compared with the thousands and hundreds of thousands of students that are included in the county and state calculation, respectively, we are still encouraged to be able to report that during this time frame, between 60% and 100% of the IMPETUS program students, who are predominantly classified as economically disadvantaged, achieved the state proficiency level. Corresponding data is presented in Table 3 for the percentage of students that reached Level 4 or mastery level, a level that may indicate the greatest potential for student pursuit of a STEM major post graduation. This concept bears exploration as an essential piece of a much broader analysis, critical to future investigations of student assessment and pursuit of STEM careers. TABLE 2 8TH GRADE MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENT [6]-[7]: PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ACHIEVING PROFICIENCY (LEVELS 3 AND 4) Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 IMPETUS (n/N) (8/12) (12/12) (8/8) (5/6) 67% 100% 100% 83% SLL BOCES 56% 68% 84% 53% NYS (All students) 59% 70% 80% 55% NYS (ED students) 43% 56% 70% 41% (n/N) = (number achieving proficiency / total number) ED = Economically Disadvantaged


Session S3D TABLE 3 8TH GRADE MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENT [6]-[7]: PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS EXCEEDING PROFICIENCY (LEVEL 4) Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 IMPETUS (n/N) (2/12) (2/12) (2/8) (3/6) 17% 17% 25% 50% SLL BOCES 7% 8% 15% 11% NYS (All students) 12% 17% 19% 18% NYS (ED students) 6% 9% 12% 12% (n/N) = (number achieving mastery / total number) ED = Economically Disadvantaged

STEM Course Performance and Graduation Rates Table 4 summarizes the percentage of IMPETUS students enrolled in and passing NY State Regents level exams in Earth Science, Living Environment, Chemistry, and Physics from 2007 - 2010. Passing is defined as achieving a minimum score of 65% on a NY State Regents exam. The table reflects promising results for the IMPETUS program students in courses that are relevant to STEM. Table 5 summarizes graduation “College-Going” rates for both IMPETUS program students and all NY State students from 2007 – 2010. Note that in the first year of the IMPETUS for Career Success program (2007), there were no senior level (grade 12) students, as recruitment efforts were targeted at grade levels 7-11 to establish the initial cohort. TABLE 4 PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS PASSING REGENTS LEVEL EXAMS [15] Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 Earth IMPETUS (n/N) (12/12) (17/20) (12/13) (16/16) Science: 100% 85% 92% 100% NYS (All students) 73% 70% 72% 74% Living Environment:

IMPETUS(n/N) NYS (All students)

Chemistry:

IMPETUS (n/N)

(12/12) (12/12) (22/24) (22/22) 100% 100% 92% 100% 75% 75% 80% 78% (2/3) 67% 71%

(6/7) 86% 73%

(11/11) 100% 74%

(8/8) 100% 73%

(0/0) ----NYS (All students) 80% (n/N) = (number passing / number enrolled)

(3/3) 100% 78%

(4/4) 100% 77%

(3/4) 75% 82%

NYS (All students) Physics:

IMPETUS (n/N)

TABLE 5 PERCENTAGE OF GRADUATES WHO GO ON TO COLLEGE [15] Year 2007* 2008 2009 2010 IMPETUS Seniors (Grade 12) 0 8 7 16 Graduates 0 8 7 16 No. Attending College 0 6 6 14 % Attending College ---75% 86% 88% NY State College-Going Rate 78% 78% 79% 80% * There were no seniors during the initial year of the program.

Observations of Student Involvement and Research Through direct mentoring by IMPETUS program faculty and undergraduate/graduate student fellows, students enrolled in the program are strongly encouraged to participate in a variety of afterschool STEM enrichment

opportunities, including MATHCOUNTS (a national middle school competition), the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Modeling Competition (M3), Science Olympiad, and the JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) TEAMS Competition. As we’ve witnessed students developing increased self-confidence in mathematics and science as they progress from year-to-year through the IMPETUS program, we have likewise observed that the percentage of students choosing to participate in these other enrichment activities has increased. Additionally, many have actually excelled to the point of placing in competitions. For example, during this academic year an 8th grade IMPETUS student was one of the top three finalists in the St. Lawrence County MATHCOUNTS chapter competition, exceeding the performance of roughly 40 other competitors. An overarching theme for the IMPETUS program is research and scientific discovery. This concept is supported during the Summer Program as students create and analyze their own roller coaster. Similarly, a highlight of the Academic Year Program is the opportunity for students to conduct an original research project and present their work at the annual NY State Student STEP conference. The conference hosts approximately 500 students from over 50 STEP programs across NY State with an agenda that includes hands-on, student-driven workshops on college preparation, academic success, professionalism, and STEM disciplines. Students in our program begin their research projects early in October, working in teams of up to three, with the final deadline slated in mid-February. Although mentored by university graduate and undergraduate fellows and teachercoaches, students are responsible for forming a hypothesis, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and creating a detailed poster presentation. Judging at the STEP conference is taken seriously, with a panel of judges asking questions of each team in a closed-door presentation much like a graduate thesis defense. Since the inception of our program, our students attending the conference have submitted a total of 11 research projects and have received 4 trophies/awards in various categories (one per year), including: • 3rd place, An Investigation of Floor Characteristics and Exposure Time on Bacterial Transfer (Canton Central School District, 2008), • 1st place, Facial Features and the Human Response (Norwood Norfolk Central School District, 2009), • 3rd place, Effects of Magnetic Fields on Living Organisms, (Norwood Norfolk Central School District, 2010). • 3rd place, Where's the Body?: a Study of the Decomposition of Liver and Muscle Tissues from Animals in Northern New York, (Canton Central School District, 2011). While we have observed a number of students succeeding academically in STEM content areas and


Session S3D continuing on to college, we have also been witness to a change of attitude and self-esteem that has been relayed through anecdotal evidence in the form of faculty-teacher conversations. The personal stories of how these students have changed their own perception of what they can do with their lives is inspiring for our team of faculty, assistants, teachers-coaches, and fellows. One teacher recently told us about one of her IMPETUS students who, prior to joining the program, lacked any motivation to remain in school, let alone succeed academically; “Jason was a student that wanted to quit (school) when he turns 16. He now has goals to graduate and go into the army. His team won 1st place in the IMPETUS roller coaster competition. Jason is now hardly unprepared for class.” Such comments remind us of the privilege of our profession, as educators seeking to make a difference. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful for the generous support of New York State Education Department (NYSED), the assistance of Clarkson University through the Office of Educational Partnerships (OEP), and the partnership commitment of St. LawrenceLewis Board of Cooperative Education Services (SLLBOCES). We are also grateful for the assistance of Dr. Bruce Brydges at the Potsdam Institute of Applied Research (PIAR). REFERENCES [1]

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, “Report to the President – Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) for America’s Future,” September, 2010.

[2]

US Census Bureau: State and County Quick Facts, http://quickfacts.census.gov, 2010.

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Annie E. Casey Foundation, “2009 Kids Count Data Book: State profiles of Child Well-Being,” Annie E. Casey Foundation: Baltimore, MD, 2009.

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New York State Department of Labor: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, http://www.labor.state.ny.us, 2009.

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New York State Education Department: District & Building Aggregates – Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics, http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/, 2011.

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Turner, P.R., et al., “BOCES-University Partnership as a model for Educational Outreach: K-16 STEM Professional Development,” Math & Science Symposium, Knoxville, TN, 2007.

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Powers, S.E., et al., “Successful Instituionalization of a K-12 University STEM Partnership Program,” Proceedings of the 115th Annual ASEE Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, PA, 2008.

[10] Fogg, P., “A New Standard for Measuring Doctoral Programs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 53, No. 19, 2007, p. A8. [11] American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT): Six Flags America Roller Coaster Design Contest, http://www.aapt.org/programs/contests/rollercoaster.cfm, 2010. [12] NoLimits Rollercoaster Simulation available from http://www.nolimitscoaster.com, 2011. [13] Xplorer GLX® dataloggers available from Pasco Scientific, 2011. [14] New York State Education Department: New York State School Report Card for School Year2009-2010, http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/reportcard, 2011. [15] New York State Education Department: Comprehensive Information Report, http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/reportcard/2010/home.html, 2011.

AUTHOR INFORMATION David P. Wick Associate Professor, Physics Department, Clarkson University, [email protected] Michael W. Ramsdell, Visiting Assistant Professor, Physics Department, Clarkson University, [email protected] Kathleen Fowler, Associate Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Clarkson University, [email protected] Peter Turner, Dean of Arts & Sciences, Clarkson University, [email protected] Patrick D. Schalk, PhD Candidate, Department of Physics, Clarkson University, [email protected]
