I-Corps L: SENSE IT - The Student Enabled Network of Sensors for the Environment using Innovative Technology

Eidos Education, Highlands NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Through the NSF Innovations Corps for Learning Program (I-Corps L), this project will develop ways to increase the scale and impact of an instructional system to help teachers and students to create and use sensors to measure water quality. Sensors surround us and increasingly add information and guidance to our lives; however, many people are not aware of this or specifically how sensors work. The Student Enabled Network of Sensors for the Environment using Innovative Technology (SENSE IT) program provides an opportunity for teachers and students to learn core science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge through building, testing, programming, and deploying their own water quality sensor networks. There are other STEM programs that focus on the use of sensors; however, SENSE IT is distinctive in that the instruction covers design concepts, construction, calibration, and programming of the sensor as well as deployment and use. The project prepares and motivates young people for the future STEM workforce by providing: 1) a motivating, meaningful, and hands-on scenario for learning a wide range of STEM topics, 2) an engaging link between biological, physical, and social sciences, and 3) a cutting-edge example of science and engineering research, delivered directly into the classroom. The I-Corps for Learning project will increase the accessibly and widespread use of the existing SENSE IT program. The project will address the manufacturing and distribution of sensor kits (temperature, conductivity, turbidity, and depth) to provide easy access to the required materials to construct the sensors. Additional effort will involve providing access to the online curriculum and online professional development to provide teachers with the subject matter expertise to successfully lead students through the sensor construction, calibration, and deployment process. With the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) infusing engineering into science classes and increasingly popular Maker and other DIY movements across the country, SENSE IT will serve as a model for fully integrated STEM experiences addressing NGSS with interchangeable technology resources. If successful, a fully virtual professional development format will reach teachers who cannot travel or cannot get leave time from school, representing a expansion of available professional development programs. Through these accomplishments, SENSE IT will create a lower cost, and more widely accessible, hands-on STEM educational experience, contributing to the democratization of 21st century STEM education opportunities and expanding the number of students interested in and prepared for STEM related careers.