Dozens of students and teachers from Oʻahu public middle schools participated in a hands-on engineering and design workshop at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
In the Research and Engineering Design Skills Clinic for Students and Teachers (RED) participants were tasked with applying the engineering design/inquiry process and scientific concepts to solve a mystery on the source of an epidemic, and to build, and then rebuild an aerodynamic whirligig device.
Activities were facilitated by undergraduate students from the UH Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program and UH Mānoa College of Engineering graduate students. The engineering school collaborated with STEM Pre-Academy to improve the quality of middle school science research and engineering design projects, provide teachers with new approaches for cultivating research and engineering design skills and expose participants to college-level research work.
“The team developed the RED Clinic to create opportunities for students and teachers to experience passionate engagement with research and engineering design,” said Davin Sasaki, STEM Pre-Academy project manager and research project developer.
Attendees at the October 28, 2017 event included 43 students and teachers from:
- Jarrett Middle School
- Kahuku High and Intermediate School
- Kailua Intermediate School
- King Intermediate School
- Stevenson Middle School
- Washington Middle School
Keynote addresses were given by Aaron Ohta, professor of electrical engineering and Reza Ghorbani, associate professor of mechanical engineering. Both shared aspects of their projects and research, and told stories about the events and circumstances that brought them into the engineering field.
Geena Wann-Kung, who is currently studying electrical engineering at UH Mānoa shared the academic path that brought her from Kapiʻolani Community College through international competitions at NASA facilities and finally to COE.
For many, the highlight of the day was attending the Student Research Project Showcase. Participants divided into teams and visited two of four UH Mānoa engineering and research labs to learn about projects and research conducted by engineering undergraduate and graduate students.
At the end of the day, all agreed that it was the interaction between UH Mānoa faculty and students, STEM Pre-Academy staff and interns, and the middle school students and teachers that provided the greatest rewards and insight into the state of engineering and possibilities for the future.
“It was the first time that I had seen these kids, many of them who barely speak in class, really unwind and start to interact with their peers-even from other schools,” said Jason Akamine, an eighth grade science teacher at Washington Middle School.
“The activities truly showed the possibilities of using the engineering design process and project-based activities in the classroom. I look forward to taking what I have learned here today and using it in my own classroom,” Akamine said.
The RED Clinic was made possible by teachers, students, clinic developers, volunteers, UH faculty, the Office of Naval Research Science and Technology Program and Chaminade University.
STEM Pre-Academy looks forward to convening an enhanced RED Clinic in Fall, 2018. Go the STEM Pre-Academy website for more information.
