GK-12: Adventure Engineering: An Inquiry Learning, Design Driven Approach to Middle Grade Science and Mathematics Education

该项目旨在将激动人心的基于冒险的情景--其解决方案需要探究性学习和工程设计方法--融入中学(5-9)科学和数学课堂。中年级学生将被安排在冒险场景中，例如刚果工程、火星任务，充满了精心设计的障碍，例如净水、发电、路线优化。适当的科学和/或数学原理的水平被编织到障碍中。然后，学生小组通过探究性学习和工程设计方法制定解决方案，从实验到概念化，再到原型建造和测试。这一课程以所需的科学和/或数学内容为基础，旨在取代现有的中学课程内容。一个团队(AE团队)将开发冒险工程课程，对象包括来自城市、郊区和农村学校的工程学研究生和本科生，中等年级的科学和数学教师，以及来自俄克拉荷马大学科学教育、数学教育和工程的教职员工。工程研究员将通过在中学课堂上的观察和参与，参加教育方法学院的课程，以及与中学教师的研讨会，在相关标准、现有课程和研究性学习方法方面进行广泛的准备。在为期三年的项目中，AE团队将在以冒险为基础的工程前提下，开发基于探究和设计的科学和数学课程，并进行勤奋的评估。为了容纳中等年级的教师，AE小组将在学年的每个星期六上午在教室外开会，并在夏天参加为期一天的工作坊。在AE小组会议期间，研究员将与指定的教师一起在中学课堂上制定和实施课程。每年，工程学研究员都会通过寻找不同的教师并协助他们实施冒险工程课程来增加外展活动。该课程将为网络传播做好准备，使其在三年的项目期后能够自我维持。冒险工程课程旨在激励那些关键的中等年级的学生，否则他们不会从事技术职业，特别是女性和少数族裔。为此，将为大约72个教室开发和实施冒险工程课程，其中一半将是俄克拉荷马城的主要少数民族教室。AE团队成员将从俄克拉荷马大学杰出的多元文化工程项目中招募，并在其专门协助下进行。

This project is designed to integrate exciting adventure-based scenarios, solutions to which require inquiry learning and an engineering design approach, into the middle grade (5-9) science and mathematics classrooms. Middle grade students win be posed with adventurous scenarios, e.g., Engineering the Congo, Mission to Mars, filled with carefully crafted obstacles, e.g., water purification, power generation, route optimization. The level appropriate science and/or mathematics principles are woven into the obstacles. Student groups then develop solutions to the posed obstacles through inquiry learning and the engineering design approach, running the gamut from experimentation to conceptualization to prototype construction and testing. This curriculum that weaves m the required science and/or math content is designed to replace the existing middle grade content.A team (AE Team) will develop the Adventure Engineering curriculum of engineering graduate and undergraduate Fellows, middle grade science and mathematics teachers from urban, suburban and rural schools, and faculty from Science Education, Mathematics Education, and Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. The engineering fellows will be extensively prepared in the pertinent standards, existing curriculum, and inquiry learning method through observation and participation in the middle grade classrooms, participation in College of Education methods courses, and workshops with middle grade teachers. During the three-year project, the AE Team will develop inquiry and design based science and math curriculum, with diligent assessment, under the adventure-based engineering premise. To accomodate the middle grade teachers, the AE Team will meet outside the classroom monthly on Saturday mornings during the academic year and for daylong workshops in the summer. Between AE Team meetings, the Fellows will work to develop and implement curriculum with the designated teachers in the middle grade classrooms. Each year, the engineering Fellows will increase outreach activity by seeking different teachers and assisting them with Adventure engineering curriculum implementation. The curriculum will be developed and prepared for web-dissemination to be self-sustaining beyond the three-year project period.The Adventure Engineering program is designed to motivate those students in the critical middle grades that otherwise would not pursue technical careers, particularly women and minorities. To this end, the Adventure Engineering curriculum will be developed for and implemented in approximately 72 classrooms, half of which will be predominantly minority classrooms in Oklahoma City. The AE team Fellows will be recruited from and with the dedicated assistance of the outstanding Multicultural Engineering Program at the University of Oklahoma.