An Impact Study of the Implementation of a Materials Science and Engineering Module at the Fifth Grade Level
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An Impact Study of the Implementation of a Materials Science and Engineering Module at the Fifth Grade Level Souheil Zekri1, LaNetra Clayton2, Emily Ferguson3, Geoffrey Okogbaa4, Ashok Kumar1, Tapas Das4, Grisselle Centeno4, and Louis Martin-Vega4 1 Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 2 Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 3 Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 4 Industrial Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 ABSTRACT An impact study of the implementation of a newly developed Materials Science and Engineering Module was conducted as part of a National Science Foundation funded GK-12 project at the University of South Florida. The objective of GK-12 STARS (Students, Teachers and Resources in the Sciences) program is to foster systemic change in elementary by enriching math and science curricula and encouraging long-term professional development for teachers in the K-5 band. The program also aims to decrease the current educational gap in science and math curricula prevalent among certain schools within the same school district, which is reflected in the outcome of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The module was developed for the purpose of enhancing existing textbook driven science instruction and creating a fundamentally sound scientific exposure in elementary school students. As part of this activity, students from three different schools (one private, one suburban, and one urban) were introduced to basic concepts in materials science and engineering through hands-on experiments, presentations, and field trips to the university’s material research related laboratories (i.e. polymer chemistry, microelectronics, nanotechnology, geotechnics, corrosion, etc.) The developed module offered information ranging from basic definitions to newly discovered cutting edge phenomenon in the field of nanotechnology. Subsequently, pre and post test instruments were administered to assess student performance. Results from the pretest showed that students from all participating schools performed within the standard deviation. The post assessment test showed that the experimental group had twice as many correct answers, as the control group from each school. INTRODUCTION Developments in advanced technologies, such as microelectronics and nanotechnology, have rapidly increased during the second part of the twentieth century. The impact of these advances has tremendously affected everyday life, especially in developed countries. As a result of such advances, certain adjustments to the current GK-12 science and mathematics curriculum must take place in order to prepare these future generation of engineers and scientists for the forthcoming challenges of the new age materials in increasingly high-tech and global marketplace. Recent studies across the United States have demonstrated that students' achievement in science and mathematics lags behind that of students from other developed countries in Europe
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