HAM-MASTERSREPORT-2014.Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Copyright By Hubert K Ham 2014 The Report committee for Hubert K Ham Certifies that this is the approved version of the following report: Antenna Design Challenge Approved by Supervising Committee: Supervisor: __________________ Hao Ling Co-supervisor: __________________ Catherine Riegle-Crumb Antenna Design Challenge By Hubert K Ham, B.S. Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August 2014 Antenna Design Challenge By Hubert K Ham, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Hao Ling Co-Supervisor: Catherine Riegle-Crumb Abstract In today’s new and changing world, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) education has come to the forefront of educational reform. The expectation for better prepared workers for today’s technology infused businesses requires a better trained student, not only at the post-secondary level, but also at the secondary level. Today’s student has access to technology that could have only been dreamed of 60 years ago. With this need for higher level skills in the STEM field for the work force, it would only be logical to expose students to aspects of engineering in younger grades, particularly at the high school level. The Antenna Design challenge has been designed to expose students to the engineering process and technology that is relevant to their everyday lives. This report will examine how an engineering challenge can be incorporated into the physics classroom, while observing how different levels of scaffolding affect mastery of the material and implementation of the lesson. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ___ CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………………4 STEM education .……………………………………………………………………………4 Problem Solving …………………………….………………………………………………7 Collaboration…………………………………………………………………………………10 Real world Technology ………………………………………………….………………13 Guided and Structured Inquiry………………………………………………..………15 Alignment of Learning Standards…………….………………………………………17 CHAPTER 3: METHODS …………………..…………………………………...…………………19 3.1 Materials …………………………………………………………………………..……20 3.2 Equipment Setup for part 1 of Design Challenge ………..………………22 3.3 Equipment Setup for part 2 of Design Challenge ………..………………23 3.4 Guided Inquiry vs. Structured Inquiry ……………………..………..………29 3.5 Pre-Test and Post-Test …………………………………………………………….31 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS……………………………..……………………………………32 4.1 Pre-Test …………………………………………………………………………………32 4.2 Wireless Signal Mapping …………….……………………………………………33 4.3 Pre-Test and Post-Test Comparisons …..……………………………………40 4.4 Antenna Designs …………………………………….………………………………47 4.5 Engagement Results …………………………………………….…………………48 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ………………………………………………..……………………50 5.1 Proof of Concept …………………………………………………………….………50 5.2 Limitations …………………………….….…………………………………..………50 5.3 Further Studies ……………………………………………………………………...51 CHAPTER 6: APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE ..…………………………………………… 55 6.1 Developing Engineering Awareness …………………………………….….. 55 6.2 Developing an Understanding of the Design Process ……….…….…..56 6.3 Developing Knowledge for and of Engineering Teaching .……….…..57 6.4 Engaging Students ………………………………………………………………… 58 APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………………………… 60 Appendix A ………….……………………………………………………………………… 60 Appendix B ………….……………………………………………………………………… 64 v TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED ___ Appendix C ………….……………………………………………………………………… 65 Appendix D ………….……………………………………………………………………… 66 Appendix E ………….……………………………………………………………………… 72 Appendix F ………….……………………………………………………………………… 75 Appendix G ………….……………………………………………………………………… 76 Appendix H ………….……………………………………………………………………… 77 Appendix I ………….……………………………………………………………………… 78 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………………… 79 vi Chapter 1: Introduction When it comes to the U.S. educational system, it undergoes changes, sometimes over decades and sometimes over just handful of years. As of recent, there has been a strong push for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education and understandably so. According to the Department of Commerce, over the past 10 years, STEM jobs have grown three times as fast as non-STEM jobs. With technology and demands from industry becoming more high tech, requiring more skilled workers, the need for qualified workers is ever increasing. Aside from the need for more qualified individuals for STEM related fields of work, STEM education must provide necessary skills for students to be successful in college and K-12. With this large demand and need, there is obviously a need for highly qualified teachers to aide this change. From the 2011 State of the Union address by President Obama, “We want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math. In fact, to every young person listening tonight who contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, becomes a teacher. Your country needs you.” The push is not only for better prepared students, but also for better prepared teachers. This report investigates how an engineering design challenge can be incorporated into a high school physics curriculum and the insights that can be learned while doing so. While implementing such a challenge and related activities into 1 the core classroom, the purpose is not to have the perfect lesson plan, but to show that it can implemented in a public secondary school. At the secondary level, in a public high school, a class will have a wide range of student ability and interest. Some of the students in the classroom may have no interest at all and yet some could possibly be future scientists and engineers. This report attempts to measure and quantify the level of student engagement in this design challenge. Thus the use of cell phone applications is adopted to specifically target the students’ engagement by using a piece of equipment that they have every day interactions with. To also engage the students the use of an engineering design challenge is selected to give students the opportunity to think creatively and problem solve. While converting this design challenge to fit the secondary science classroom, we will look into whether different applications of the design challenge affect students’ engagement and ability to successfully assimilate the new knowledge. There will be two groups that will be scaffolded differently; one will undergo instruction with minimal instructions, while the other group where they will have samples present to help inspire and help students begin their design challenge. The latter group will also have certain processes modeled to provide students with guidance in data collection and other scientific investigative processes. This opportunity gives us a chance to determine whether scaffolding students differently through this design challenge will affect how successful they are at learning new concepts. The comparison of the two groups will 2 also help determine which method of application might be more appropriate in applying engineering challenges at the secondary level. With the materials created and tested, the end result will also provide an example of an engineering design challenge that educators can implement in their everyday physics classroom. 3 Chapter 2: Literature Review STEM education In today’s changing world, STEM education is the future. Our natural world is explained through science and math, everything from weather patterns to the smallest virus. Not only do we use it to understand our natural world, but it is a necessary need for our virtual world. Everything from smartphone technology and microchips to the buildings that house the machine that builds them. The U.S. Labor Department listed their top 10 fastest growing occupation from 2008-2018, which included professions in the biomedical field, medical scientists, and biochemists (see Appendix B). All 10 of the professions on the list require extensive training in STEM related education. Eberle (2014) states that “STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. Innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain our economy. This innovation and science literacy depends on a solid knowledge base in the STEM areas. It is clear that most jobs of the future will require a basic understanding of math and science—10-year employment projections by the U.S. Department of Labor show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation.” With this increasing need for STEM education in public education, the antenna challenge attempts to address this by taking a challenge that is performed at a post- secondary level and adapting it appropriately for the secondary level. The post- 4 secondary level involves engineering students who participate voluntarily in the program, whereas the secondary level involves students who are placed in the class as a requirement of the state’s graduation requirements. In this challenge they will measure and analyze wireless signal strength from an everyday router and then research and design their own antenna to use on the router and analyze their results. At the post-secondary level they have specific goals, for example, to have the longest range or smallest physical size. For the secondary level it will be more about