2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Combining the forces of industry and university increases the ability to develop engaging pre-college programs that expose students to engineering practices that incorporate real-world challenges. A partnership between a large landgrant university, a renewable energy research center and major power coorporation provides secondary educators with resources for teaching technological and engineering literacy using sustainable energy. This paper details the model of the partnership program, highlights the methods of integrating an electric dragster (e-dragster) project through a pre-college program, and discusses associated challenges and successes seen throughout program implementation with five secondary schools in the southeastern United States of America.
The partnership tests students' ability to use available equipment, resources, and the engineering design process following project requirements to construct an e-dragster. This collaboration provides teachers with equipment for five e-dragster kits. Each e-dragster kit includes an Arduino Nano, two electric motors, two electronic speed controllers, a LiPo battery, a magnetic sensor, and additional components. Resources available through the partnership program include a curriculum that provides step-by-step guides for significant elements of the design process and copy-paste programming for students to use as a foundation for their prototype. Teachers incorporate the curriculum into technology and engineering course or as an extra-curricular activity for student engagement.
Opportunity for design is present where students must construct a chassis to house all required components following specific size specifications. Along with housing the components within a particular volume, students must appropriately distribute the weight within the e-dragster. Significant engineering practices involve virtual and physical modeling, programming, electric circuitry work, and digital documentation. The initial cost is $120 per kit, with the understanding that most of the equipment can be reused by teachers multiple times. Funding from partnership programs can go to replenishing worn equipment at participating schools and providing new kits to other schools.
In addition to designing an e-dragster, students must document their process. Students submit their digital engineering design notebooks for evaluation by technology and engineering professionals. One day during the academic year, teams visit a large land-grant university in the southeast United States of America. During their visit, students observe and demonstrate their various designs in a racing competition. The visit allows for exploring a university and gaining information on future degree programs.
Pre-college programs must utilize industry and university partnerships to provide valuable, real-world, relatable equipment and experiences to teachers and students to develop interest and identity in engineering. This program is a model of how a pre-college partnership provides an engaging experience for students and provides insight into associated challenges. Schools need help to provide financial support for such relevant experiences. While teachers can learn and teach engineering-related content, they can only do so with funding and access to the equipment. This lack of resources is why industries and universities must partner with teachers to provide early student exposure to engineering practices and tools that can increase interest and identity for future post-secondary enrollment and workforce skill development.