Engineering in the Classroom: A Low-Tech, Local Approach

When one mentions the word engineering, most people think immediately of high-tech items such as computers, or large-scale projects such as bridges, buildings, and roads. While these products represent the products of engineering, there are clear challenges to having students work directly on any of these projects in the context of a science classroom. As a ninth grade physical science teacher at an urban high school with a high dropout rate and few resources, the possibility of including engineering in my classroom seemed even less likely. However, after participating in a summer workshop on engineering, I found a way to introduce and engage my students in engineering design in a local and low-tech way. In this project, my ninth grade science students interviewed and observed the special education classes at Holyoke High School, then designed and constructed Assistive Technology devices for the special education classrooms out of everyday materials. Not only did my students learn about engineering design, they also learned a great deal about science, teamwork, and how to use what they learned to help other people. Holyoke is located in central Massachusetts, just north of the city of Springfield. The demographics of Holyoke High School reflect the population of Holyoke; over 50% of the students are non-native English speakers, with a majority of these students coming from Puerto Rico. The high school has few resources; as a ninth grade physical science teacher, I was teaching science in an English classroom, with slanted desks attached to the chairs. I did not have access to a sink or to a supply closet and had to carry all of my science materials on a cart. Despite these obstacles, I am always looking for ways to engage my students. In the summer of 2003, I participated in a summer professional development workshop at Tufts University called the “Pre-College Engineering for Teachers” (PCET) workshop. The workshop was designed to introduce science, math, and technology teachers to engineering and engineering design in order to help teachers meet the new curricular frameworks in Massachusetts that include a “Technology/Engineering” component. The main focus of the PCET project was to familiarize teachers with the engineering design process. It did this by focusing workshop activities on two main themes: water treatment and assistive technology. The United States Government defines an assistive technology as an “item, piece of equipment, or product system … that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” (29 U.S.C. Sec 2202 [2]) Assistive technologies can be commercially manufactured “high-tech” items, such as electronic hearing aids and motorized wheelchairs, or homemade “low-tech” items, such as customized pencil grips or booster seats. During the PCET workshop, we learned about and tried different “low-tech” design projects that we could use in our classrooms. The group visited the Assistive Technology Lab at Perkins School for the Blind. I was impressed with how the director, Molly Campbell, and the volunteers used everyday materials such as corrugated cardboard, clay, paint, glue, tape, and inexpensive items to create custom-designed chairs, games, and other helpful items for the Perkins students. At the end of the PCET workshop, each teacher was asked to create an “engineering design project” to implement during the subsequent school year. Teachers were given support in the form of $200 to purchase project materials and the assistance of a PCET fellow, an engineering graduate student from a university who could help in the classroom. Bree Carlson, a graduate student from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, worked with me during the workshop and the school year. We decided to introduce our students to the fundamentals of engineering design by asking them to create an “assistive technology” device. The project requirements were simple: We asked students to design and build a device that would help the special education students in our school.