Southeast Region 

One-Week Institute for Grades 3-8 Educators

Inquiry and Innovation: How Science Informs Engineering Solutions

During this hands-on, minds-on, inquiry-based professional development institute, educators:

• Interacted with engineering and design staff of local companies and learn how they problem-solve design and production issues during new product development for the aerospace, agricultural, automotive defense, energy and medical industries.

• Explored the role that Materials Science plays in manufacturing and how it informs the design process.

• Discovered how engineers solve modern-day problems and design challenges, such as building and improving sensor technology, manufacturing precision parts and controlling production costs.

• Observed local research scientists using technology in the field as they gather real-time data to investigate changes in natural phenomena.

• Identified the tools and techniques used to monitor shifts in local wildlife populations that are the result of climate change, and learned how to incorporate the same tools and techniques into their own classroom investigations.

• Participated in design challenges and experienced open-ended problem solving through new design iterations.

• Learned how technology and engineering have advanced the study of natural history, and discovered how they can integrate them into student investigations.

Partners & Collaborators: Mass Audubon’s Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary; AccuRounds; North Easton Machine Company; Sensata Technologies; Coyle & Cassidy High School & Middle School