Paul A Klenk

Techtronics: hands-on exploration of technology in everyday life

Techtronics is an after-school science enrichment program partnering the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and Rogers-Herr Middle School in Durham, North Carolina. This program, funded through a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, introduces students in grades 6-8 to four branches of engineering: civil, electrical and computer, biomedical, and mechanical through hands-on project building. Students design and build bridges, robots, heart monitors, and solar energy systems. A group of 20 middle school students is divided into five teams of four students. An engineering undergraduate crew leader is paired with each team as a project facilitator. An engineering graduate student coordinator leads the entire group. This paper presents a detailed description of the Techtronics program including student background, coordinator and crew leaders, project content, and the outcomes and assessment process.

Work in progress - TechXcite: Discover engineering

TechXcite, an informal, project-based middle school engineering program, is a partnership between Duke Universitys Pratt School of Engineering, the Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Sciences at North Carolina State University, National 4-H Council, and the National Science and Technology Education Partnership. The curriculum is centered on seven themes (Wireless Communication, Biomedical Technology, Digital Imaging, Alternative Energy, Transportation, Architecture and GIS/GPS). Each theme contains two modules with four 45-minute activities. The project-based activities introduce exciting technologies that children encounter in their everyday lives. Afterschool staff, most of whom have no formal engineering education, teach the program. This paper presents a description of TechXcite and a brief evaluation summary for the fall 2008 implementation of the program. At this early stage in the program only preliminary results are available. However these initial results indicate that Afterschool staff and students increased their awareness and understanding of science and technology.