Exposing Secondary Teachers to Engineering Design By Developing Virtual Laboratories

Widener University, Chester PA

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NO.: 0230587 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Nippert, Charles INSTITUTION NAME: Widener University TITLE: Exposing Secondary Teachers to Engineering Design By Developing Virtual Laboratories ABSTRACT The engineering approach to design is rarely included in high school courses partially because teachers lack a thorough understanding of design and the approach to design. A goal of this project is to have high school educators learn and practice the fundamentals of engineering design using a subject with which they have some expertise as a starting point. These pre-service science teachers will design and construct, with the help of an engineering professional, an interactive Internet based Virtual Laboratory to be used in a high school physics course. The resulting software will then be tested and used in a high school setting. This approach allows the pre-service scholars to share their educational expertise while dealing with the technical aspects of web-site design and simulation of scientific phenomenon. Much research has proven that experts approach problems differently than novices. This project will teach pre-service science students the fundamentals of engineering design by presenting them a realistic design problem, and the experience of setting up of a instructional web- site about it. .