Experience the Joy
Fun, Fun and More FunThe main outcome of the cohort was JOY. The students experienced so much fun using Driving to Success by Making Math Easy STEM Module that QCC STEP will use the module again next year. Secondly, the students displayed tremendous ingenuity and engineering skills by overcoming the various obstacles that they encountered attempting to race the cars. Finally, the older students spontaneously began working with the younger students to help them understand the more difficult mathematical concepts. The spontaneous peer-to-peer learning, and intrinsic motivation displayed by the students are the biggest outcomes.
The Program
Queens Community College STEP Program
STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) is a pre-collegiate program, successfully running at QCC (Queensborough Community College, Bayside NY) since 2006. The program, which is funded by the New York State Department of Education, seeks to strengthen students' skills in science and math and motivate them to enroll in college and pursue careers in science, technology, and the licensed professions.
STEP is offered to students in grades 7-12 who are either underrepresented minority and/or economically disadvantaged.
First step: Creativity
Day 1 : Design and Build CarThe first day was spent entirely on the design and the build of the car. The camp was only four days and the instructors decided to place a major emphasis on creativity. They purchased extra paint and art supplies to augment the paint and stickers that came with the STEM Module. There was a competition at the end of the camp and there were prizes for car design, speed and distance traveled. The kids utilized glitter, washi tape along with the paint and stickers to design their cars. Most of the kids used the tape as a temporary item to aid with construction and design of the car. However, one student decided to be extremely creative against the advice of the instructors and used washi tape to augment his wheels.
Second step: the ramp
Day 2 : Build the RampThe second day was focused on building the ramp. The students watched the video link provided in the book on how to build a ramp out of a cardboard box. They also were able to research the different types of ways to create a box on their devices. The class built three ramps together, one working much better than the others. The final ramp not pictured here was a 70 inch LCD TV box. Building the ramp was a massive hit and the kids had a tremendous amount of fun working together to construct the ramps.
Third step: the race
Third Day : Race the CarsA lot of the kids didn’t follow the instructions and used the wrong screws with the wheels. This resulted in their wheels falling apart in the race. There were short and long screws, and the long screws were required for the wheels. Fortunately, some of the kids spontaneously removed the screws from their working cars and shared them to the ones who had used the wrong ones. The creative 9th grader who used washi tape to create custom wheels also used the wrong screws and decided to take his car apart and rebuild it all over. Unfortunately, his car was slow because of his fancy wheels. But he was creative and persistent, which is all we can ask for as educators.
Fourth step: the math
They worked through the sections of the book. The math was challenging, and the older students took it upon themselves to explain the concepts to the younger students. The car and ramp are the ultimate math manipulatives. The students had to gather data about the dimensions of the car and then use the formulas provided to calculate the speed of their cars. We introduce the concept of gravity and angle of inclination. The car requires something to make it move, and the ramp enables gravity to take hold and move the car.
Fifth step: competition
Prizes for Design, Speed and DistanceA picture is worth a thousand words and words cannot describe how beautiful we feel the adjacent picture is. The vast creativity of the children can be seen. The children were judged upon the name and design of their car. They were required to name their cars. Please note the Barbie car in the center of the picture. There were also prizes for the fastest car and the car that went the longest distance. Everyone is a winner with Driving for Success.