2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Experience with the Development and Implementation of Online and Hands-on Rocketry Education and Outreach

Presented at AERO 1: Rocketry and Space Education

Space is increasingly becoming globally competitive, and both U.S. civilian and government agencies continue to increase and grow their activities in space. There is also a dearth in the workforce of highly trained and skilled space scientists and engineers. The overall goal of the program guiding this study is to enhance knowledge and expand the pipeline of students pursuing careers in space. Online learning platforms have gained in popularity due to their accessibility to broader audiences which the pandemic has further fostered. Furthermore, research suggests that incorporating hands-on activities in classrooms enhances student foundational knowledge, hands-on capabilities, and overall engineering design aptitude. Integrating hands-on activities into massive open online courses (MOOCs) could increase student access to more real-life learning opportunities. This paper reports on instructor(s) experiences while developing and implementing an introductory rocketry course with both online and hands-on components intended for high school and early collegiate students. 

Authors

Mr. John Juhyun Kim University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [biography]

John Kim is currently pursuing a master's degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work focuses on the impact of hands-on kits and MOOCs towards enhancing science literacy.
Timothy Plomin University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Tim Plomin is currently pursuing a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work focuses on the impact of hands-on kits and MOOCs toward enhancing science literacy.
Heather Ruth Arnett University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Heather Arnett is the Coordinator of STEM Engagement Activities in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018 with an emphasis on experiential STEAM learning and outreach programs. Her work focuses on recognizing resource assets in diverse learning spaces and developing methods for accessible learning.
Dr. Luisa-Maria Rosu [biography]

Dr. Luisa-Maria Rosu is the Director of I-STEM, (Illinois Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Education Initiative. She has more than 20 years of STEM program evaluation experience. She received her Ph.D. in Continuing Teacher Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds an M.A in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California and an M.S. in Real and Complex Analysis from the University of Bucharest, Romania. She received a CORE Early Career Fulbright U.S. scholar award for the proposal Investigations of Quality Criteria in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Teacher Education and a YWCA leadership award for STEM education.
Dr. Joshua Rovey University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Dr. Rovey is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering with background and expertise in space propulsion. He received BS, MS, and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and was a research engineer at Starfire Industries LLC before returning to academia as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. In 2017 he joined the faculty of aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois. He has published over 150 journal and conference papers on space propulsion and he regularly teaches 200 students a year in his senior-level aerospace propulsion course. He was recipient of the University of Illinois Provost Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2023.

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