Research Outreach & Service (TEK8)

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Translating Engineering Research to K-8 (TEK8) improves engineering career awareness in K-8 students by exposing them to the engineering design process in a hands-on way.

This combined research and outreach program involves undergraduate engineering students, engineering education graduate students, and area middle school teachers and students. In the summer, Ohio State undergradua

te students participate in paid research internships in engineering faculty laboratories. Then in autumn, these students are joined by engineering education graduate students in a course (ENGR 4850/6850) that teaches them how to develop age-appropriate engineering design challenges that exemplify the societal significance of the research. The design challenges are delivered in the classrooms of our diverse partner school, Metro Middle School.

These hands-on design challenges can be executed in 90 minutes or less using everyday, low-cost materials. In the last phase of the course, design challenges are posted online for the benefit of teachers and informal STEM educators.

For more information, contact Howard Greene, PhD, Director of K-12 Outreach, or call him at 614-688-7541.