EPICS in K-12: An Innovation to Encourage SMET in K-12

该项目建议通过垂直整合伊利诺伊大学本科EPICS团队与香槟-厄巴纳的K-12学生，扩展EPICS工程项目社区服务模式。 根据项目的性质，K-12学生将作为顾问，客户或队友与本科生在真实的科学和工程项目，服务于社区。 以问题为基础的学习和合作学习将是促进学生学习的主要教学方法。 通过向K-12学生提出一个开放式问题，并挑战他们共同努力寻找和实施解决方案，学生将在学习新信息，分析数据和替代方案，综合和创建解决方案以及评估替代方案时发展认知能力。 此外，让K-12学生与本科工程专业的学生一起参与大型的现实世界的“动手/动脑”问题，将增加年轻学生对SMET的动力、信心、兴奋和兴趣。

This project proposes to extend the EPICS Engineering Projects in Community Service model by vertically integrating select University of Illinois undergraduate EPICS teams with K-12 students in the Champaign-Urbana. Depending on the nature of the project, the K-12 students will work as consultants for, clients of, or teammates with undergraduate students on real science and engineering projects that serve the community. Problem-based learning and cooperative learning will be the key pedagogical approaches to enhancing student learning. By presenting K-12 students with an open-ended problem and challenging them to work together to find and implement a solution, the students will development cognitively as they learn new information, analyze data and alternatives, synthesize and create solutions, and evaluate alternative. Further, engaging K-12 students in large, real-world "hands-on/minds-on" problems in teams with undergraduate engineering students will increase the motivation, confidence, excitement and interest of younger students in SMET.