Advanced Engineering Technology
 
What does STEM stand for, and what is it?  STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  What is it?  It is a recognition that these four disciplines do not stand alone, but rely heavily on each other, and can be presented to students in an interdisciplinary fashion, thereby creating greater awareness of that interconnectedness.  What does STEM look like at State High?  We are working on that, but one way that we found to implement STEM was to "nest" a section of AET with a section of Physics.  Students learn the same content as Physics 1 students, but then apply it to robots and engineering.  Plans call for extending the model to AP Physics B in 2010-2011 if enrollment allows for it.

Schedule for the 2010-2011 school year:

September:

Introduction, Safety, What is Engineering?, Parametric Modeling, creating a journal

October:

Sensors, inventorying the VEX kit, Foster-Miller robot workshop

November:

Building the Squarebot, programming, running the maze

December:

Program management guest speaker, problem solving with the robot

January:

Rube Goldberg machine, engineering design, documentation, design reviews

February:

Build the Rube Goldberg machine, continue documentation, prepare for final build and test

March and April:

Release of specs for SumoBot competition, go through engineering design cycle for SumoBot
prepare documentation, design review.

May:

SumoBot competition at West Branch HS, prepare for Engineering Showcase here in late May

June:

End of year discussion, clean up, disassembly and storage of robots and accessories.