2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL PROJECTS DESIGNED TO TEACH FUNDAMENTAL MATH AND PHYSICS CONCEPTS TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 14: Engineering Learning Experiences Beyond Traditional Classroom

It is an undeniable fact that U.S. students, across all educational levels, lag behind their peers in countries considered major global competitors in the fields of mathematics and physics. This gap has negatively affected higher education institutions’ ability to recruit, retain, and graduate qualified engineers to meet the growing demands for the modern world. Addressing this issue requires more than efforts of higher education alone; it is a systemic challenge. High schools, middle schools, and even elementary schools must work together to establish a closed-loop precollege engineering education system that offers consistent and meaningful learning experiences for U.S. students. This paper presents three introductory-level projects designed to instill fundamental math and physics concepts in elementary school students. Each project introduces key physical laws along with the associated mathematical skills. The projects are structured progressively and are appropriate for students from second to fifth grade.

Authors
  1. Dr. Yucheng Liu South Dakota State University [biography]
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