TBP MindSET Program

In addition to containing modules designed with MindSET criteria in mind, this page contains incomplete modules that may be improved upon, and references to other sources of module ideas that may be employed or adapted with the original authors’ permissions.

Modules should be designed to teach and reinforce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles. These principles may either be taught

• directly through activities reinforcing the math/science curricula of K-12 students, or
• indirectly through activities that improve students’ spatial, temporal, or reasoning ability.

Well-designed modules meet the following criteria.

• The mathematics and engineering principles are closely tied to the engineering activity.
• The module covers a few concepts very well, as opposed to covering a variety of concepts. It is tempting to create a worksheet covering various topics that occur in one’s engineering field. This is more likely to distract students so that none of the topics really sink in. In contrast, a single (or few) concept(s) applied to many applications greatly enhances intuition.
• The cost in materials of doing the module is relatively low. Designing the activity so that the materials are reusable is a plus (the Electronic Module series on the breadboard is such an example); however, the time and cost required to refurbish the material or equipment should be taken into account.

Well-designed worksheets meet the following criteria.

• are complete and self-contained so that students can keep them as reference;
• introduce few new terms and continuously reinforce these terms in both text and diagrams; and
• have clear, uncluttered figures.

Templates for creating new modules

• Module summary
• Procedure
• Student worksheet

Modules

When running modules, make sure that your learning outcomes are clear! You should synchronize your syllabus (second column in the tables below) with concepts being taught at school.

The following modules were created by Lockheed Martin and Florida Delta (University of Central Florida) and (some of them) Florida Alpha (University of Florida).

The following modules were developed as part of Florida Alpha’s (University of Florida) GatorTRAX and SECME programs.

Incomplete modules

Sources of module ideas

• NASA Space Place
• Music and math by Phil Tulga
• Discovery School
• Math Forum
• The Futures Channel - Algebra in the Real World
• Car Talk