2014 California STEM Summit

1. Engineering'Pathways'
Dr.'Brandy'Wiegers,'San'Francisco'State'University'
With%Addie%Evans%and%Emiliano%Gomez%

2. !!
of!Engineering!Pathways!
Issue:!How'can'we'a<ract'and'
retain'a'more'diverse'student'body'
in'engineering'programs?'
'
Obstacles: !
Lack of Shared Culture!
No sense-making!
Anti-social!
Long math sequence before
calculus!
Antidotes: !
Collaboration among faculty!
Problem solving workshops!
Community of support!
Double up math classes!

3. !!
of!Engineering!Pathways!
• Goal:'Get'students'through'calculus'and'intro'
level'science.'
• Usual'ExpectaFon:'Two'year'process'to'get'
through'calculus.'
• Reality:'Usually'takes'much'longer,'adds'1K2'
years'to'a'“4'year”'degree.''
• SoluFon:'1'year'to'get'through'prerequisites'
for'calculus''
– with'support'via'math!workshops!and!tutoring!
'

4. Cañada College!
Veterans!
Veterans
Employment
Assistance!
Chabot College !
Displaced auto Alameda WIB!
workers, low
SES students!
City College of SF!
diverse, low
SES students!
S.D. Bechtel Jr
Foundation!
Saddleback College!
diverse, low
SES students!
Department of
Labor H1B Visa
grant!
Santa Ana College!
diverse, low
SES students!
Department of
Labor H1B Visa
grant!

5. Hands!on!Problem!Solving!

6. Students'have'to'match'
the'bo<le'to'the'graph'
using'math.'

7. Area'K'BP'Oil'Spill''
Real'World'Problem'Solving'
Ten'days'ago,'a'big'underwater'oil'well'from'DBD'Petroleum'
Company'ruptured'near'the'coast'of'Paradise'Island.'They'
reported'to'the'public'an'esFmate'of'8000'barrels'per'day'
being'discharged'into'the'ocean.'
'
Prepare'a'report'for'the'Paradise'Island'officials.''It'should'
contain:'
1. An'esFmate'the'oil'discharge'of'the'DBD'well'into'the'ocean,'
in'units'of'barrels'of'oil'per'day.''
2. An'explanaFon'of'the'calculaFons'and'informaFon'that'leads'
to'your'esFmate.'
3. An'evaluaFon'of'the'DBD'esFmate.'Is'it'reasonably'close'to'
your'esFmate?'Is'it'too'low?'Too'high?''

8. Real!World!Problem!Solving
Estimating areas!
!
Rates of change!
Finding relevant
information!
!
Calculating volume!
Unit conversion - to
m3 to barrels!

9. Gaps!in!Knowledge!
Unit%Conversions%
A'certain'island'has'no'currency,'
'instead'it'has'the'following'exchange'rate:''
'
'5'bananas'='2'coconuts' '10'coconuts'='3'seashells''
'5'bananas'='4'mangos ' '2'mangos='1'coconut''
'5'coconuts'='2'fish ' '15'seashells'='2'snakeskins''
'
'100'fish'='1'hammock' '10'snakeskins'='1'hammock'
!
How!many!bananas!does!it!take!to!!
trade!for!a!hammock?!!!

10. Unit!Conversions:'
SoluFons''
''
How!many!bananas!does!it!take!to!!
trade!for!a!hammock?!!!
10 snakeskins 15 seashells 10 cococnuts 5 bananas
1hammock ×
×
×
×
= 625 bananas
1hammock 2 snakeskins 3 seashells 2 coconuts
€

11. SoluFon'–'Units'&'Big'Numbers'
• Fermi'CalculaFons:''
– EsFmate'the'total'number'of'sheets'of'8.5'x'
11'inch'paper'used'by'all'the'students'at'
Chabot'in'one'semester.''
– If'the'land'area'of'the'earth'were'divided'up'
equally'for'each'person'on'the'planet,'about'
how'much'would'you'get?''
– Sea'O<ers'have'about'1'million'hairs'per'
square'inch'on'their'body.'How'many'hairs'
does'a'Sea'O<er'have'on'its'enFre'body?''

12. SoluFon'–'Units'&'Big'Numbers'
UNIT'RELAY'RACE'
(1)!Liquid!Volume'
Given'a'1.76'liquid'Cup'measuring'container,'
pour'1.25'L'of'water'to'within'±0.1'L.''
(2)!Length'
Given!7.2'inches'of'string,'find'length''.92'
x102cm'±'10'cm''
(3)!Area'
Given'7.2'inches'of'string,'find'a'square'space'
with'area''='334'x'10K4m2'±'1'cm2'

13. Area'K'BP'Oil'Spill''
Real'World'Problem'Solving'
'
'
What!is!area?!

14. Area'K'BP'Oil'Spill''
Real'World'Problem'Solving'
What'is'area?'
• A=Length'*'width'
• is'the'space'of'an'object,'without'the'width'
of'it'(base'of'object)'
• A'quanFty'that'expresses'the'extent'of'a'
2D'surface'or'shape'in'the'place.'
• Measurement'of'the'amount'of'space'
inside'or'used'in'the'object'

15. Area'K'BP'Oil'Spill''
Real'World'Problem'Solving'
How'is'"area"'related'to'"volume"?'
A'x'height'='width'
2D'and'3D'difference'
Area'*'h'='volume'
area'has'surface'space,'volume,'includes'
depth'
• A'*'(x'any'or'2)'='volume'
• volume'has'depth'while'area'is'space'but'they'
both'tell'you'nor'much'space'something'takes'
•
•
•
•

16. Area'K'BP'Oil'Spill''
Real'World'Problem'Solving'
Ten'days'ago,'a'big'underwater'oil'well'from'DBD'Petroleum'
Company'ruptured'near'the'coast'of'Paradise'Island.'They'
reported'to'the'public'an'esFmate'of'8000'barrels'per'day'
being'discharged'into'the'ocean.'
'
Prepare'a'report'for'the'Paradise'Island'officials.''It'should'
contain:'
1. An'esFmate'the'oil'discharge'of'the'DBD'well'into'the'ocean,'
in'units'of'barrels'of'oil'per'day.''
2. An'explanaFon'of'the'calculaFons'and'informaFon'that'leads'
to'your'esFmate.'
3. An'evaluaFon'of'the'DBD'esFmate.'Is'it'reasonably'close'to'
your'esFmate?'Is'it'too'low?'Too'high?''

17. 2012K2013'Passing'Rates,'pt'1'

18. 2012O2013!Passing!Rates,!pt!2!

19. THANK'YOU!'
SFSU'Bridge'to'Engineering'Problem'
Solving'Workshops'
Brandy'Wiegers,'bwiegers@sfsu.edu'
Addie'Evans,'adde@sfsu.edu''
'
h<p://www.csmesf.org/educators/
engineeringKpathways'
'