Design Squad Season 3

Wgbh Educational Foundation, Brighton MA

Investigators

Abstract

WGBH will produce a third season of Design Squad, PBS reality competition series-with an accompanying outreach campaign and Web site (pbskidsgo.org/designsquad)-designed to inspire a new generation of engineers. Through the show, teenagers learn to think smart, build fast, and contend with a wild array of engineering challenges-all for real-life clients. Targeted to 9- to 12-year-olds, and fun for people of all ages, this fast-paced TV series is the fuel behind a national, multimedia initiative designed to attract kids to engineering. The plan is to continue to build on the excitement and momentum have created during Seasons I and II, while also creating many innovations in project deliverables. More specifically, the four overarching goals are to (1) expand the project's reach into the middle school classroom with materials that will enable teachers to integrate engineering into their curriculum; (2) broaden participation with the TV show by casting contestants nationwide and producing three challenges at locations around the country (the Nevada desert, New Orleans, and Alaska); (3) create the first online community where kids can share their real-world engineering projects and provide a richer video viewing experience with embedded "pop-up" commentary; and (4) support existing partnerships especially with engineering professional societies, while forming new ones. Design Squad and its "Middle School Classroom" initiative will have maximum impact: (1) addressing a critical need in engineering education and children?s television; (2) increasing students, knowledge of engineering and the design process; and (3) showcasing engineering as creative, rewarding, and socially relevant, especially to girls and minorities. Formative and summative will inform both future seasons of Design Squad and the informal and formal science education community at large, which is lacking research on how teachers can integrate engineering into the middle school science curriculum. This project is co-funded by Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Directorate for Engineering.