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Introduction to the AIAA Educator Academy: A
New Challenge for AIAA Sections
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AIAA Educator Academy:
A New Challenge for AIAA Sections
Edgar Bering
Sept 4, 2013
Outline
• Academy Overview
• The Three Modules
 Mars Rover Celebration
 Electric Cargo Plane
 Space Weather Balloon
• Starting an Academy Program
 Mini-workshop
 Full Workshop
 Capstone Events
The Problem
• Effectively inspire K-12 students to pursue STEM careers
• Engage our Educator Associates with AIAA members
Strategic Goals
• Engage 65% of the AIAA membership in STEM
K-12 Outreach
 Market research indicates 52% actively want to help
with outreach right now!
• Engage 8 million students per year with an AIAA
volunteer or in an AIAA activity
 Trivial if Goal 1 is attained
• To reach all kids, need high volume programs
that can be run far from our population centers
One Solution
• Use a series of Curriculum Modules that will
teach engineering-related concepts in fields such
as aeronautics, astronautics and robotics (STEM)
• This regional program will increase interaction
among Educator Associates, AIAA Professional
Members, K-12 students, and the local
community
The Layers
Regions and
Sections
Educator Associates and Section Mentors
impacting thousands of Students
The Objectives
• Publish AIAA-approved, standards-aligned curriculum
modules that convey the wonder and excitement of
careers in aerospace. The first three of these have been
published.
• Have these curricula adopted on a long term basis in
many schools.
• Engagement with the schools that are using the
curricula by their local sections.
• Quantitative efficacy assessments from the teachers
using the materials.
The Modules
• Mars Rover
 Originated in Tucson Section
 Matured by Houston Section
• Electric Cargo Plane
 Mid-Atlantic Section
• Space Weather Balloon
 Houston, Michigan, Northern NJ Sections, with
others
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AIAA Educator Academy
• The AIAA Educator Academy has
dedicated web pages, which will give you
all the tools for a successful program from
workshop to capstone event
 https://www.aiaa.org/AIAAEducatorAcademy/
Webinars to Guide You Through the Process
• A series of webinars about different aspects
of the AIAA Educator Academy have been
recorded. To hear and download the
presentations, please go to
http://www.aiaa.org/STEM-K12-Webinars/
Starting an Educator Academy Program in Your Section
• Mini-workshop
 Section Council plus enough others to make 20
 Introduce one module in detail
• Full Academy Visit
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8 hour Teacher Training Workshop
Train the Trainers Workshop (leave a legacy behind)
Train the Capstone Organizers Workshop
This visit is mostly the Institute’s responsibility
Starting an Educator Academy Program in Your Section
• Capstone Regional Competition
 Provides incentive for teachers to use the whole curriculum
 Provides increased opportunity for Section-Teacher contact
 The Section’s job
• Mentoring
 TC and Engineers as Educators members provide content
and teaching support
• Follow Up Evaluations
Mars Rover Celebration
Students design and build a Mars Rover to carry out
a specific science mission on the surface of Mars.
• Grade Levels:
 3-5 and 6-8
• Contact:
 Dr. Edgar Bering
University of Houston
EABering@uh.edu
Electric Cargo Plane
Students design and build an electric cargo plane
that carries the maximum amount of payload
• Grade Levels:
 6-8 and 9-12
• Contact:
 Tom Milnes
JHU Applied Physics Lab
Thomas.Milnes@jhuapl.edu
Space Weather Balloon
Students design and build a space weather balloon
to collect data
• Grade Levels:
 9-12
• Contact:
 Dr. Ben Longmier
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Longmier@umich.edu
The Reward
Mars Rover Celebration Curriculum Module
What is the Mars Rover Curriculum Module?
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A six week inquiry based
science curriculum for grades
3-8.
Teams select a specific science
mission on Mars.
15 5E Lesson Plans.
All Lessons feature an
Essential Question
Science Notebook evaluation
Standards Aligned
Key Words and Reading
Strategy
What is Mars Rover Celebration?
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•
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Primary and middle school
(Grades 3-8) students design
and build a model Mars rover.
Teams select a specific science
mission on Mars.
The model is a mock-up of
mostly found/recycled objects.
Option to contain a low-cost
solar-powered car kit ($10) or
radio-controlled car ($25) may
serve as the chassis.
Standards & Skills
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•
•
•
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Science process skills
Laboratory experience
Investigation planning
Data collection
Inference
Organization
Communication
Writing
Teamwork
Mars Rover Pedagogy
• Conceptual understanding can be delivered through both
inquiry and direct instruction.
• Inquiry-based science instruction promotes a greater
understanding of scientific investigation as a process.
• This approach supports the central goal of the Mars Rover
Celebration—to promote long-term interest in STEM-related
fields and careers.
Cobern, W. W., Schuster, D., Adams, B., Applegate, B., Skjold, B., Undreiu, A., and Gobert,
J. D. (2010). Experimental comparison of inquiry and direct instruction in science. Research
in Science & Technological Education, 28(1): 81–96.
http://www.wmich.edu/way2go/docs/Experimental%20comparison%20of%20inquiry%20and
%20direct%20instruction%20in%20.pdf
Mars Rover Pedagogy
• Student choice should drive classroom activities & discourse.
• Teachers should act as “guides” & “listeners” whenever
possible.
• Active exploration should precede explanation of new material.
• Student experience and preconceptions should be recognized
and addressed.
• Divergent thinking should be actively encouraged.
Mars Rover Celebration Event
Why an Event?
The Mars Rover Capstone Event
• Helps to prepare children in a way
that traditional classroom lessons
cannot fully achieve
• Students learn to work in teams over
a period of time, accountability for
project completion, presentation
skills, and experience the scientific
method in a fun and fulfilling activity
• Students can participate in a STEMbased activity encompassing many
individual interests.
Getting Ready
The Mars Rover Capstone Event
• Designed to be executed in a
single classroom, one grade level,
a school-wide competition, or a
citywide event.
• Smaller school-level competitions
help reduce the number of models
in the city-wide competitions.
Electric Cargo Plane
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Electric Cargo Plane
• Exposes students to aerospace engineering and
the engineering design process
• Students study how to make things fly
• Indoor setting
• No expensive Radio Control equipment required
• A capstone event where the students compete to
see which student or student team can lift the
most cargo can be added
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Electric Powered Flight as a Learning Tool
• Topics for Learning
 Newton’s Laws, Forces and Torques, Conservation
of Mass, Momentum, and Energy, DC Electronics,
Dynamics, Kinematics, Propulsion, Energy
Conversion, Aerodynamics, Gravity, Stability,
Equilibrium, Drag, Lift, Friction
Why Tethered Flight?
• Radio Controlled Airplanes Can Be
Problematic for School Use
 Expensive Electromechanical Controls Needed
 Large Airfield and Good Weather Needed
• Tethered Flight Solves These Problems
Tethered Flight Concept
Tether
Power
Supply
Power
Pole
Clear Packing Tape
• Constrained Flight Path
 Can be done Indoors
 Expensive RC Equipment not needed
Flat
Speaker
Wire
Electric Cargo Plane Challenge
• Must complete one lap of tethered flight with and
without cargo about the power pole
 Plane must be 8” off the ground at all times
• Scoring
MESA
MEC
Oral
30
30
Written
55
20
Design
Performance
40
55
20
30 30 x Cargo/Best Cargo
TOTAL
180
55 - Most Weight
50 - Next Most …
100
What You Get
MANDATORY
Kelvin Electronics 850647
3-6V, 17000 RPM, .26A
http://www.kelvin.com
$.79 each
OPTIONAL
Kelvin Electronics 990175
$5.75 per set of 8
What’s Needed
• Power Pole - We recommend Kelvin 850747 - $175
 http://www.kelvin.com
• Power Supply
 Model Train Variable DC Transformer
What’s Needed
• Wings - Pink or Blue Foam Board - Home Depot $12
• Fuselage - Basswood or Graphite Kite Stay
Where to Put Cargo
• Don’t Want to Change Trim of Airplane
• Should Add Cargo Such that Center of
Gravity (“Balance Point”) Does not move
 Aerodynamic and Gravity Forces remain aligned so
Airplane Remains Trimmed
Practice, Practice
• Successful teams will have experience flying,
adjusting, and repairing planes
 Unlikely to do well if your plane hasn’t been tested
with power pole
• Teachers can use AIAA Foundation
Classroom Grant Program to Obtain Power
Pole and Power Supply( up to 2 teachers per
school may apply- grants are reviewed on
their on merit)
Space Weather Balloon
Project Aether: Aurora
A precursor/test of concept for Module
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Genesis
• Module stems from Project Aether
 Run by Ben Longmier from Houston (3 yrs), and now Ann
Arbor Michigan (1yr)
– http://ProjectAether.org
 Middle School, High School, undergrad levels of handson education
• Key Aspect
 Designed to be highly interactive in terms of gaining
hands-on build experience and field experience
Space Weather Balloon Concept
Challenge
• Construct equipment to fly to the edge of
space and back while:
 Tracking with GPS and radio
 Taking photos
 Performing an experiment
• Flight takes 2-3 hrs, travels ~100miles
 Recovery can be in remote areas
• Future engineering design challenges
 For now, just surviving and getting back is the
challenge!
Setting Up to Fly
Launch Day (or night)
Inflation
Taking Off
Tracking
Recovery
Curriculum Module
• Contains a 12 week lesson unit plan for the
classroom to prepare for
 Planning, Launch/Recovery
 Experiment ideas
 List of supplies
How to Start
• Contact Lisa Bacon (lisab@aiaa.org) and me,
Edgar Bering (eabering@uh.edu)
• Tell us you want to schedule a mini-workshop
visit
• Tell us which modules you are most interested in
 prioritize
• Give us a range of dates
Special Thanks
• Curriculum modules developed in conjunction with our AIAA
partners:
 The AIAA Mid-Atlantic Section
 The AIAA Houston Section
 The University of Houston
 The AdAstra Rocket Company
• Special Thanks to our STEM K-12 Development Team:
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Ben Longmier
Elizabeth Henriquez
Tom Milnes
Paul Wiedorn
 Edgar Bering
 Lisa Bacon
 Elana Slagle