11th IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference — Live Keynotes 9 AM - 12:30 PM US EST

Session Introduction: Introduction
Session Keynote-1: Keynote Speaker 1 — Jayshree Seth Session Keynote-2: Keynote Speaker 2 — Dean Aslam Session Keynote-3: Keynote Speaker 3 — Allison Jackson
Session Track-01: Track 2 — Full Papers I Session Track-02: Track 3 — Full Papers II Session Track-03: Track 4 — Full Papers III Session Track-04: Track 6 — Full Papers IV Session Track-05: Track 7 — Full Papers V Session Track-06: Track 8 — Full Papers VI
Session Poster-1: Poster Session 1 Session Poster-2: Poster Session 2 Session Poster-3: Poster Session 3 Session Poster-4: Poster Session 4 Session Poster-5: Poster Session 5 Session Poster-6: Poster Session 6
Session WIP-01: Track 1 — Works-In-Progress I Session WIP-02: Track 9 — Works-In-Progress II Session WIP-03: Track 10 — Works-In-Progress III
Session Workshops: Track 5 — Workshops
Session Closing: Closing Remarks

Full Papers

Session Track-01

Track 2 — Full Papers I

Conference
11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST

A STEM Program Designed, Developed and Delivered for Upper Primary School Pupils in Singapore

Lee Kar Heng (TBSS Center for Electrical and Electronics Engineering & Cong Ty TNHH Cong Nghe va Giam Sat Radar TBSS, Singapore)

6
In Singapore and many countries, students have avoided doing STEM courses because it is more difficult to read such courses and the job remunerations are not as well as other courses after graduation. The country is currently experiencing lack of good engineers, technologists and scientists [1], [2]. TBSS started an initiative to introduce STEM to students at young age in both fun and effective learning way from 2017. Team TBSS designed and developed a 6-hour STEM targeting upper primary school pupils aged between 10 and 12 years old who are reading from primary 4 to primary 6 in schools. The program has been conducted several times with Henry Park Primary School. The process, findings and experiences will be shared in this paper.

Assessment of Systems Requirements Specification Skills Based on an Industry Body of Knowledge

Andres Fortino (NYU & Autonomous Professional Development, USA); Tanusha Virodula (NYU, USA)

7
Contribution - The acquisition of systems requirements knowledge and skills by systems developers is a desirable outcome of a STEM graduate program in technology management. The result is not necessarily to create certified students (although that is certainly desirable) but to confirm that the program helps students acquire the necessary competencies as outlined in an industry standard. We present a process to align the program curriculum with an industry-standard to ensure those competencies. We describe a path for alignment of programs to develop other desirable competencies and our experience with the process.
Background - We selected the International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) as a vendor-neutral book of knowledge and, knowledge structure for BA (Business Analyst) professionals as well as a well-developed credential in the profession. We used a well-documented process to align a university curriculum to the industry needs, following similar work for project management and data analytics.
Research questions - To align the curriculum to the IIBA BABOK, we asked: (1) whether students graduating from the program had acquired adequate business analysis and systems requirements competencies; and (2) If they had not, how the curriculum be modified to help students acquire those competencies.
Methods - The curriculum was reviewed, and we assured initially that topical coverage of the pertinent course of study aligned adequately with the IIBA BABOK (Business Analysis book of Knowledge) knowledge structure. Results - Using the existing curriculum, we found that a majority of the students were able to pass the assessment based on the IIAB BABOK at the end of their program of study. The exam results were sufficiently granular to allow us to make modifications to the curriculum and course contents to improve the passing rate in future trials.

Using Coding Competitions to Develop STEM Skills in Graduate Education

Andres Fortino (NYU & Autonomous Professional Development, USA); Maria Rivera (NYU, USA)

7
Contribution - We present the results of the development and implementation of an extra-curricular process to assist university students to develop skills in data analysis. We offered coding workshops in R and Python. To motivate the students to participate in learning and to practice the learned skills, we set followed a learning workshop with a contest on text data mining.
Background - University credit-bearing education is often streamlined to cover increasing amounts of subject matter knowledge in class. It is not usually possible for faculty to take time from their curriculum to develop basic analytics skills, such as the use of R or Python for business analytics. Extra-curricular skills-building activities are an effective vehicle to develop these skills outside class.
Research questions - Do extra-curricular workshops to learn coding result in successful learning? Would a coding contest after the workshop drive attendance? What are the elements of a successful workshop and coding contest, and what are acceptable metrics and levels of performance for these contests?
Methods - Coding workshops were developed and offered as extra-curricular opportunities for students in a STEM graduate program. After the coding workshops, short-duration coding contests were launched. The goal of the contest was to develop text analytic tools that could be used by the students to advance their academic careers. Attendance in the workshop as a percent of the student body and quality and number of coding contest submissions was a metric of success. Contest participation and successful submissions were a second metric.
Results - Two workshops were run with concurrent contests. An average of 10% of the student body registered, and 5% attended. Contest submissions were received, and in each case, at least one submission yielded a usable tool. The tools were subsequently used by students in their job search and to conduct research.

Educating & Training STEM IT Professionals Based on the CDIO Standards Evolution

Alexander Zamyatin (Tomsk State University, Russia)

4
Today, the development and implementation of integrated STEM education is one of the up-to-date challenges for pedagogical theory and practice. There is a large body of research devoted to this issue, especially in relation to K-12 STEM education (Kelley et al., 2016; Shernoff et al., 2017; Goodwin et al., 2017; Thibaut et al., 2018; Struyf et al., 2019; Hinojo-Lucena et al., 2020; Ortiz-Revilla et al., 2020; Wang, et al. 2020), but also higher education (Flynn et al., 2014; Langie & Pinxten, 2018; Margot et al., 2019; Winberg et al., 2019). However, researchers pay little attention to the coordination of education & training of university graduates in various fields (science, mathematics, engineering, technology) for future joint work in multidisciplinary teams. At the same time, coordinated education & training of professionals in various STEM fields for multidisciplinary teamwork is extremely important, since most innovations are born on an interdisciplinary basis, and maximum productivity and efficiency of teamwork is achieved through the division of labor in the joint activities of STEM professionals. The fact is any university graduate from a certain major, having even the best integrated STEM education & training, is not able to solve a complex real-world problem alone. It can and should be solved by team of professionals in various fields of knowledge & activity, having interdisciplinary education & training for a better understanding of the problem complexity, as well as each other when working together.

Comprehensive analysis of IEEE 802.11ah for Wireless Communication Networks

Aws Zuheer Yonis, Abdulrahman Tareed and Hamza Dweig (Ninevah University, Iraq)

8
IEEE 802.11ah is an approved amendment to IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard to support growing demand for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. IEEE 802.11ah is intended for extended range and low power applications in the unlicensed sub 1 GHz band, including machine to machine communication and the internet of things. 802.11ah uses narrower contiguous channel bandwidths than IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac to facilitate long range, low power communication at a lower data rate. Valid channel bandwidths are 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 MHz IEEE 802.11 ah standard was originally targeting high throughput applications. However, being able to have IP connectivity and the fact that Wi-Fi have already spread in every corner of the world, make this standard one of the most suitable technologies for next generation techniques. The paper evaluates the performance of IEEE 802.11ah and some of its features in various scenarios in this research work.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

Session Track-02

Track 3 — Full Papers II

Conference
11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST

The Science and Technology Wing: An Experiment for In-residence STEM Undergraduate Education

Jorge Santiago-Aviles and M'hamed Bokreta (University of Pennsylvania, USA); Geraldine Light (Walden University, USA)

5
In this article, we relate the story and the guidelines for a STEM program now spanning more than three decades. The program, called the Science and Technology Wing, is mostly populated by engineering and physical sciences majors. The undergraduates enthusiastically participate in the technical developments highlighted by the faculty in the central research laboratories, bringing their newly acquired knowledge and familiarity to the college house projects facilities to share with their peers, staff, and guiding faculty. The experience so gained served the students in developing state of the art knowledge and experience in the technology of the day and its related science fundamentals. Over the three decades the topics the participants explored engineering related to gardening, business, social science, math, computer science, robotics, entrepreneurship, and humanities. With proposed experimental and theoretical projects being assessed in house by the participants for relevance to the residence infrastructure and supported by fellowship funds.

Implementing Blended Learning in K-12 Programming Course: Lesson Design and Student Feedback

Shuhan Zhang (The University of Hong Kong, China); Chunyu Cui (Tencent Education Center for Innovation and Cooperation, China)

6
Computational thinking (CT) has been widely integrated into K-12 classrooms through programming education. Although numerous initiatives have been developed to lower down the threshold for learning programming, instructors may still feel ill-prepared. Blended learning approach, a combination of student-centered learning and teacher-centered instruction, has proved to be an effective delivery mode for K-12 programming course. With the purpose of providing practical insights for the design of blended programming class, this study introduced an instructional unit of a K-12 programming course in a secondary school in China. It elaborated the course regarding lesson design, learning assessment, and course evaluation. The course contains 9 plugged sessions and 24 unplugged sessions, and each session consists of 1) a preview to introduce the concept, 2) hands-on activities to apply the concept, and 3) a summary or sharing of ideas. Student learning was evaluated with performance-based assessments, and questionnaire was employed to collect students' feedback and attitudes towards the course. The results show that students with low performance were the most beneficiaries of the course, and students tended to like visual programming tool and stage-mode learning format. Also, students with different learning backgrounds showed different preferences for the course materials. Suggestions are provided for further research and course design practices.

Math & Crafts, Educational Activities: 400 Indigenous Kids Learning Math from Engineers and Scientists

Ernesto Vega Janica (IEEE Standards Association, USA)

11
This paper discusses the planning and implementation stages involved in teaching a math class, in full compliance with local educational programs, plus additional content based on native/indigenous numerical systems. The educational program includes a combination of theory and practice to help kids appreciate technical concepts by their own means and methods, as well as providing a wide-range of learning possibilities for other applications. These "Math & Crafts" activities will be implemented in five schools within the Arhuaco School System; an indigenous community of approximately 30,000 people. 400 children in 5th grade of elementary school will be our initial audience. Future projects are expected to include reaching out to urban classmates. Furthermore, the intent of this research is not simply to evaluate the use and adaptation of native numerical systems, but also to help preserve ancient knowledge, culture and language from multiple native civilizations. The research intends to monitor students' progress and skills with minimum interference of their native culture. The intent is to monitor three school year cycles from January of 2021 to December of 2023.
Note: due to COVID-19 global pandemic, prerecorded and remote classes will be provided.

Asymptotics for Iterating the Lusztig-Vogan Bijection for GL_n on Dominant Weights

Yuxiao Wang (Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science, USA)

3
The Lusztig-Vogan Bijection, conjectured independently by Lusztig and Vogan and proved by Bezrukavnikov, is a correspondence between the set of dominant weights for any reductive group G over an algebraically closed field and the set of irreducible G-equivalent bundles on nilpotent orbits. This bijection plays a crucial role in proving the Humphreys conjecture on the support varieties of tilting modules for quantum groups at unity. Bezrukavnikov's method of establishing the Lusztig-Vogan Bijection, however, is highly inexplicit and non-elementary. Recent efforts have been focusing on understanding the bijection in an explicit way and in combinatorial contexts. Achar suggested an algorithm for computing Type A Lusztig-Vogan Bijection (i.e., for 𝐺𝐿_n), and his algorithm is greatly simplified by Rush.
In this paper, we will pursue a new direction: we will iterate the algorithm proposed by Achar and Rush. We first present some basic properties of Type A Lusztig-Vogan Bijection and its iteration. Then. we explore the iteration on inputs of small length (2, 3, and 4), and the complexity of the result motivates us to modify the way of measuring the iteration for large inputs. With our new definition, we prove the asymptotic behavior between the number of iterations for input and the length of the input and obtain a recursive formula to compute the slope of the asymptote. Finally, we propose two possible directions to continue the work in our paper. The paper serves as another contribution to understanding the Lusztig-Vogan Bijection from a combinatorial perspective and a first step in understanding the iterative behavior of the Type A Lusztig-Vogan Bijection.

Broadening Participation in Computer Science through Sheltered Instruction Pedagogy

Patricia A Morreale (Kean University, USA); Mayra S Bachrach (1000 Morris Ave, USA); Gail Verdi (Kean University, USA)

5
Sheltered Instruction (SI), based on second language acquisition research, has been used to explore pedagogical interventions aimed at improving the outcomes of English Language Learners in Advanced Placement Computer Science (AP CS). English Language Learners are students who come from non-English speaking homes and backgrounds. With the increasing numbers of Hispanic students in many K-12 classrooms, Spanish is the language most often spoken by English Language Learners. During this year-long project, AP CS teachers attended a series of professional learning workshop on SI for Computer Science, and then utilized strategies from SI in their AP CS classrooms. Research outcomes of the pedagogical interventions identified new approaches to engage all students, through SI methods and materials used with the computer science curriculum. The SI pedagogy integrated with CS teaching skills shows how teachers can successfully engage more students in their classrooms, particularly students that may still be developing their academic English language skills, increasing CS education for all students. The SI methods used are explained here, for adoption by other computer science educators and researchers.

On the Generational Behavior of Gaussian Binomial Coefficients at Roots of Unity

Yuxiao Wang and Quanlin Chen (Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science, USA)

3
The generational behavior of Gaussian binomial coefficients at roots of unity shadows the relationship between the reductive algebraic group in prime characteristic and the quantum group at roots of unity. In this paper, we study three ways of obtaining integer values from Gaussian binomial coefficients at the roots of unity. We rigorously define the generations in this context and prove such behavior at primes power and two times primes power roots of unity. Moreover, we investigate and make conjectures on the vanishing, valuation, and sign behavior under the big picture of generation.
We will first present some useful tools in relating the integral q-binomial coefficients with usual binomial coefficients as well as interesting combinatorial objects in their own rite. We will then present our main result, formulating and proving a generational relationship between these integral q-binomial coefficients and usual binomial coefficients mod p. Finally, we will discuss the related combinatorial properties of integral q-binomial coefficients and their cousins with our definition in the first part.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

Session Track-03

Track 4 — Full Papers III

Conference
11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 11:30 AM — 12:30 PM EST

An Examination of Industry Standards of Success within Penetration Testing Groups

Mollie Ducoste, Rachel Bleiman, Trinh Nguyen and Aunshul Rege (Temple University, USA)

2
Penetration testing groups can be used as an ethical proxy to study cybercrime groups, as both parties share the common goal of identifying and exploiting weaknesses in their targets' systems. In particular, this study examines college students' experiences while participating in the 2018 and 2019 National Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC), which simulates a professional, real-world penetration test. Metrics from industry standards of pentesting practices are compared to the metrics identified from the experiences of the CPTC participants, revealed through semi-structured group interviews. Industry metrics include standards such as methods, information gathering, attack generation, quantity of findings, quality of findings, and reporting of findings. Additional metrics identified from the CPTC participants include skills of the team, the environment, expectations, and the relationships among group members. This study aims to examine the metrics of the successes and failures of penetration testers, which serves as a way to better understand the operations and processes behind the execution of cyberattacks.

Curriculum to Broaden Participation in Cybersecurity for Middle School Teachers and Students

Laurin Buchanan (Secure Decisions, USA); Lori Scarlatos and Nataliia Telendii (Stony Brook University, USA)

10
To both broaden and increase participation in any STEM field such as cybersecurity, we need to attract more students. Research shows that to do this, students need to be engaged with cybersecurity during middle school. There is a lack of age-appropriate and classroom-ready cybersecurity curriculum, however, and many teachers feel unprepared to teach the subject. To address this gap, the CyberMiSTS project team created a summer professional development workshop for middle school teachers that integrated a recent research-based understanding of cybersecurity into a curriculum that is accessible to both middle school students and their teachers. The project sought to encourage participation of a broad and diverse set of students in the field of cybersecurity by showing them how human relations play an important role in cybersecurity. We discuss our prior related work using branching web comics to introduce middle school students to cybersecurity concepts and careers, and the state of evidence-based research into effective approaches and methods for cybersecurity education. We identify challenges to broadening the pipeline for a truly diverse cybersecurity workforce that can meet industry's need for cybersecurity professionals with a wide range of experience and skills. The paper introduces our approach for the teacher professional development workshop, maps how we designed the project to meet our research goals, and documents initial findings regarding what is needed to increase teacher self-efficacy about cybersecurity concepts and careers in a middle school classroom.

BEAT: Branding and Entrepreneurship of Assistive Technology for Social Good

Zhigang Zhu (The City University of New York, USA); Gerardo Blumenkrantz (The City College of New York, USA); Katherine Olives (Zahn Innovation Center, USA)

4
This paper describes the opportunities and challenges found in incorporating both branding and entrepreneurship components into an engineering senior design course (Capstone course). This newly upgraded course is called BEAT: Branding and Entrepreneurship of Assistive Technology. The original joint senior design course on assistive technology has been run for over ten years, serving undergraduate seniors in computer science, computer engineering and electrical engineering at CCNY, working on assistive technology projects to help people in need. The class had informally included entrepreneurial components in the past, but from 2019 on, we formally integrated both branding and entrepreneurship components into the curriculum. This paper describes the motivation of the work, the four key components in the course syllabus, a number of student evaluation mechanisms, course outcomes so far and results of a student survey, and some final discussions of the opportunities we provide to our students and challenges we face in implementing this cross-disciplinary curriculum.

Augmented Running

Shane Murphy and Mihir Patel (US Military Academy, USA); John R Rogers (USMA, USA)

3
This paper details the on-going research to analyze and simulate the metabolic effects of running with mechanical assistance. A subject was augmented with bungee cords and ran on a treadmill; the subject's O2 and CO2 were monitored. The subject was fitted with markers and motion was captured with an IR camera system. Ground reaction forces measured by the instrumented treadmill were recorded. From pilot VO2 / CO2 data, the group found that O2 consumption is significantly reduced with augmentation, as predicted. The effect is like running downhill. The team is currently learning to simulate the body and the effect of external forces using the OpenSim program. Immediate future work is to incorporate the bungee forces in an OpenSim simulation to predict metabolic rate. Involvement in research has had multiple educational benefits for the students. They have understood haw classroom theory applies in the laboratory. They have developed a sense of the complexity of research work.

Taking STEM Enrichment Camps Virtual: Strategies & Reflections from Quick Pivot due to COVID-19

Rebecca Lowe, Adrienne Smith and Christie Prout (Cynosure Consulting, USA); Guenter Maresch, Christopher Bacot and Lura Sapp (North Florida College, USA)

6
Since COVID-19 began spreading in the US and quickly established as a global pandemic in March of 2020, the NSF-funded STEM SEALS team at North Florida College faced the touch decision to either cancel their inaugural hands-on STEM enrichment camp planned for Summer 2020 or rushing at full speed to take it virtual. The biggest concern in making the decision to go virtual was a passionate belief in the importance of not losing the hands-on focus that had been planned. After all, the STEM SEALs effort at NFC was designed to expand access to high quality STEM experiences for historically underserved students in a high poverty, rural area. Changing from the in-person delivery to distance learning with minimal preparation presented a daunting challenge and also a unique opportunity; the opportunity to study the process and provide guidance to other STEM providers who are considering a move to a virtual platform. This exploratory study aimed to (1) identify the barriers to moving STEM enrichment programming in a rural environment from in-person to virtual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) describe key decisions that were made in transitioning to the virtual format along with the rationale behind those decisions, and (3) disseminate best practices that emerged from the inaugural effort.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

Session Track-04

Track 6 — Full Papers IV

Conference
1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST

A new method for disinfection and sterilization of air and objects using an electrified mist

Helena Ai He and Kenneth He (Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science, USA)

5
The COVID-19 virus has become a major global challenge. Thus, a safe and efficient method for disinfecting air and objects is needed. My novel method revolves around using an electrified mist produced by an ultrasonic mister using a pure water and ozone solution. The mist particles carry static electricity (negatively charged), which can absorb airborne dust, viruses, or germs; dissolved ozone can then kill the viruses or germs. As the water evaporates, the dissolved ozone completely decomposes into oxygen, which is not harmful to the human body. This mist will be dispensed by a device similar to a humidifier. When this equipment is placed indoors, people can communicate at close distances without wearing masks, have meals at the same table, and speak and sing freely. I plan to conduct skin and respiratory tract disinfection tests, which are of great significance to preventing COVID-19.
If two veils of mist with different polarities (negative and positive) are used, they will attract and continuously discharge in the air. Upon spraying this mist on objects, the mist particles will deposit on the surface of the object, forming a thin water film. Similar to thunderstorms, there will be a large number of negative ions generated, which will adsorb viruses or germs. This is similar to the pulsed electric field sterilization technology in food processing. The mist particles can discharge with electric field strength 10-50kV/cm, pulse width 100μs, and pulse frequency up to 2000Hz. This destroys the cell membrane or virus surface protein structure. Theoretically, my method can also be safely used for the disinfection of the face, hands, and respiratory tract. Currently, two prototypes are being assembled, and a series of experiments will be carried out. Preliminary tests have shown that the average sterilization rate of the electrified mist exceeds 91% efficiency.

Understanding electronics and CT in school - a simplified method for drawing and building electronic circuits for the micro-bit and breadboards

Bjarke K M K Pedersen, Jacob Nielsen and Jørgen Larsen (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)

6
Worldwide we see an increasing focus on implementing STEM, CT and Educational Robotics, within K-12 curricula and the British BBC and the Danish DR, have provided more than one-million pupils with the micro-bit technology. However, research show that breadboards and circuit diagrams, can be difficult to understand. In this paper, we have evaluated a set of tools and materials - designed to support the teaching of electronics and CT, for use with micro-bits, breadboards and circuit diagrams - by integrating them in a case study of a robotics course for 7th grade primary school pupils (n=21). The tools and materials consist of 3D-printable covers designed to visualize the internal connections of a breadboard, and a new type of circuits diagrams, incorporating visual cues from the these, into their designs. Results show that the tools and materials ease the learning of the breadboard and of how to use and interpret circuit diagrams. Furthermore, the tools and materials, have been made available free of charge.

Training Workers to Thrive in Future Technology-Driven Environments: A Blueprint

Wenbing Zhao (Cleveland State University, USA)

4
The rapid development in machine learning and artificial intelligence will inevitably make most workplaces into technology-driven environments where workers will be forced to use and rely on various technologies. In this paper, we outline two major challenges a non-tech savvy worker will face in such future work environments. The first challenge is the fear for technology, which is often termed as "technostress." The second is the lack of leadership skills. While the first challenge has been well-recognized, few industry sectors have recognized the need to offer leadership training for all its workforce. In future, the works will inevitably be more sophisticated and they will require the workers to have the skills to handle unexpected situations, especially on tasks related to working with customers because simple and repetitive tasks will have been automated by machines. To overcome these issues, we propose to provide individualized training for workers using carefully designed educational modules that are themselves backed by artificial intelligence. Essentially, artificial intelligence would be put to use to study patterns of human behaviors and identify the most effective ways to intervene that could alter human behavior for better.

Retention of Undergraduate Women in Engineering: Key Factors and Interventions

Wenbing Zhao and Xiongyi Liu (Cleveland State University, USA)

4
In this paper, we present a concise review regarding factors that impact the retention of undergraduate women in engineering as well as interventions that aim to boost female student academic performance and retention rate. We divide these factors into two types: individual factors, and environmental factors. The former refers to the student's characteristics. The latter refers to factors that could impact a student via social interaction. The core theories for individual factors include the self-determination theory, the expectancy-value theory, and the self-efficacy theory. An important theory on the environmental factors is the social capital theory. The primary individual factors include self-efficacy (competence belief), sense of belonging (relatedness), sense of autonomy, belief about worth, academic preparation, engineering identity. The primary environmental factors include social capital, family role, friends role, peers role, faculty role, level of advising and support, and stereotypic attribution bias. The various intervention programs that aim to boost student academic performance, retention, and persistency are designed to help strengthen student characteristics and provide a more conducive social environment for the student to excel in engineering. We classify the intervention programs into five categories, including mentoring, co-op, living learning, contextual support, and pedagogy.

Augmented Reality Technology Projects of Tea Culture for China's Secondary Students

Hongyu Chen, Dan Sun, Xue Zhang and Yan Li (Zhejiang University, China)

1
AR technologies has becoming an uprising yet challenging technology to foster K-12 students' learning. Previous research has reported contrasting but positive conclusions about the effect of integrating AR technology in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This research selected tea culture, which is a profound and long-lasting culture in China and the world, and designed and developed AR tea culture resources to facilitate secondary student's learning. In order to further examine the effect of utilizing AR tea culture resources, this study designed a quasi-experiment and utilized a mixed-method approach to examine students' knowledge acquisition, learning experience, and learning attitude towards tea culture during instruction through AR project. The analysis results show that students in experimental group achieved a better grade in knowledge acquisition, and significant improvement in learning experience and learning attitude towards tea culture than students receiving lecture through traditional teacher-led PowerPoint instruction. It is becoming more necessary to educate future developers and educators of the development and integration of AR technologies in formal education, where our experience could provide some implications for future STEM educational community.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

Session Track-05

Track 7 — Full Papers V

Conference
1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST

Experiences on Incorporating Market Experiments into Energy System Education

Bolun Xu (Columbia University, USA)

2
This paper summarizes an experience on integrating classroom electricity market experiments into a senior-level course in Columbia University: Energy System Economics and Optimization, which attracted a diverse student body covering various engineering programs as well as public policies and business school. In accordance with the virtual instruction method due to Covid-19, these experiments are assigned to students in the form of online quizzes. In these experiments, students role play electricity market participants by submitting bids or estimating future scenarios spanning topics including centralized market clearing, demand serving contracting, and wind power contracting. These experiments where performed using down-scaled real data from New York Independent System Operator, and the instructor will perform market clearing and analyze the results with the students. Experiences from this course show that these economic experiments attract students' attention and study interests especially at the beginning of the course, but also show rooms for improvements especially on better engaging student in more complex market settings.

Identifying Positive Catalysts in the STEM Career Pipeline

Daniel C Appel (US Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM & AEgis Technologies Group Inc., USA); Ralph Tillinghast (US Army & CCDC Armaments Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, USA); Mo Mansouri (Stevens Institute of Technology, USA)

4
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professionals continue to be in demand throughout the world. Building this future workforce remains the focus of many educational and outreach organizations. To optimize these efforts, it is important to identify what positive influences and catalysts affect students as they move through the STEM career pipeline. Using survey findings of currently employed scientists and engineers reflecting on their journey through K-12 education to careers, beneficial interactions can be identified. These results point towards different catalysts having influences as specific phases in the career pipeline, with notable bright spots of family and teacher influence particularly for middle school and high school girls. These insights can provide direction for STEM education and outreach programs to better reach K-12 students, particularly those from underrepresented demographics, at pivotal transition points with tailored multifaceted initiatives. These efforts can enhance self-perception and self-efficacy for students and help inspire those with career aspirations in STEM fields to continue pursuing their goals and become the next generation of problem solvers and innovators.

STEM-Coding Using Drones

Justine Horst (University of Wisconsin-Platteville, USA); Mehdi Roopaei (University of Wisconsin - Platteville, USA)

2
STEM learning from an early age is essential to confirm that students are prepared to meet the needs of the world they will inherit. Currently, there are incredible and inexpensive technologies to keep students engaged and passionate about their learning. A drone is a hands-on apparatus that could be incorporated in STEM for several learning applications such as class projects, experiments, and exploration. In this paper, the STEM-coding framework is designed for kids to learn coding using drone and Scratch programming. This platform attempts to visualize their coding by drone while Scratch makes a gaming environment to enhance their programming using block-based learning. The platform has applied in a STEM event at the University of Wisconsin Platteville and the results show the benefit of utilizing drone in STEM-coding as follows: i) transforms abstract concepts into concrete learning, ii) delivers an entertaining and motivating learning environment, iii) combines STEM theory with practice, and iv) provides a hand-on skill which is dynamic and attractive.

Adapting a STEM Robotics Program to the Covid-19 Pandemic - an application for Systems Engineering

Neville E. Jacobs (IEEE Baltimore Section, USA); Eric V Sudano (Eric V. Sudano System Solutions LLC, USA); Dwight Bues (SAIC Corp., USA); Gennaro Avvento (Gennaro J. Avvento Technical Services LLC & Lockheed Martin (Retired), USA); Ralph Tillinghast (US Army & CCDC Armaments Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, USA)

4
At the 2019 ISEC conference, a paper was presented [1] that quantitatively described how the IEEE STEaM Robot Challenge project, based on hands-on teamwork and student interactions, leads students to improved learning engagement, and an increased interest in Engineering. After cancelling the event in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was decided to re-design the project and research whether in the midst of current restrictions, improvements in students' learning engagement could still be obtained even when students would have to work from home and where teamwork could only be practiced on-line. The changes would need to provide a comparable Challenge in each of the four elements of the previous program, and would be validated by a student survey similar to the one conducted for the 2019 paper. Because the project needed to work right the first (and possibly only) time, it was decided to use System Engineering concepts for the re-design, so the project would then become a case study on the use of this technique in an educational setting. The lessons learned from this redesign, and the arrangements developed for the 2021 Robot Challenge competition, may not only be of value for those planning other competitions, but the new on-line system utilized could be readily adapted to reach students living in rural and underserved communities, thus providing them with the same learning experience as those living in metropolitan centers

Water Footprint at Schools with Arduino Project: STEM and Sustainable Development Goals

Otacilio Antunes Santana (Federal University of Pernambuco & DBR | PROFCIAMB, Brazil); Caina Silva (Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil); Mayara Lima (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

14
How can we measure the Water Footprint at Schools? The objective of this work was to apply an Arduino Project to measure water flow in a school context of reducing the Water Footprint to involve Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The work achieved its purpose, as it managed to apply an Arduino Project in school environments to assess the water footprint per capita. This project, together with the work of PROFCIAMB, managed to reduce the water footprint compared to schools that did not carry out this action. The interdisciplinary and innovative project involved STEM teachers and the whole school, creating a new way of using educational objects and devising strategies to reduce water consumption in some environments at the School. Students who reduced their water footprints obtained the highest marks in the National Exams. This proves how important it is to promote engagement in contextual practices. Thus, joining STEM and SDG was a successful alternative in the students' learning processes and for environmental purposes.

Immersive Technology in Integrating STEM Education

Mehdi Roopaei (University of Wisconsin - Platteville, USA); Emilee Klaas (1 University Plaza, Platteville, WI, USA)

2
Educators are often faced with the challenge of exposing students to new environments and information in an educational and timely manner. The use of immersive technology in a classroom allows teachers to expose students to simulations or conditions that could be difficult or not possible to explore without this technology without ever needing to leave their desks. These technologies not only provide students with lessons in the science fields, but also help them develop social and emotional skills that are critical to success in higher education and the work field. The immersive technology integrated in STEM motivates kids to employ their problem-solving abilities to find answers to impossible challenges and help to shape their future better. This paper is an attempt to analyze the impact of immersive technology in STEM education by providing advantages, challenges, and drawbacks of integrating this technology to an educational system. Additionally, the state of art papers in the filed of STEM learning using immersive technology are reviewed.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

Session Track-06

Track 8 — Full Papers VI

Conference
1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST
Local
Mar 13 Sat, 1:30 PM — 3:00 PM EST

A Voice Assistant for IoT Cybersecurity

Jeffrey Chavis (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA); Malcolm K Doster, Jr. (Charles Herbert Flowers High School, USA); Michelle S Feng (The Bryn Mawr School & Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA); Syeda J Zeeshan (Atholton High School, USA); Samantha Fu (Johns Hopkins University, USA); Elizabeth Aguirre (Johns Hopkins University); Antonio Davila (American University, USA); Kofi Nyarko (Morgan State University, USA); Aaron Kunz, Tracy Herriotts and Daniel P Syed (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA); Lanier Watkins (Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute, USA); Anna Buczak (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA); Aviel Rubin (Johns Hopkins University, USA)

8
The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more
pervasive in the home, office, hospital, and many other userfacing
environments (UFEs) as more devices are networked to
improve functionality. However, this explosion of networked
devices in UFEs necessitates that security systems become easier
to help users remain aware of the security of the devices on their
network. Users may not have the skills or the time needed to
continuously monitor networks of increasing complexity using
common open-source tools. Specifically, they are not likely to fully
comprehend the data that those tools present, nor are they likely
to have a working knowledge of the tools needed to monitor and
protect their IoT-enabled network environments. This paper
explores development of a system that uses ambient computing to
facilitate network security monitoring and administration. Our
system is designed to combine machine-learning-enriched device
awareness and dynamic visualization of IoT networks with a
natural language query interface enabled by voice assistants to
greatly simplify the process of providing awareness of the security
state of the network. The voice assistant integrates knowledge of
devices on the network to communicate status and concerns in a
manner that is easily comprehensible. These capabilities will help
to improve the security of UFEs while lowering the associated
cognitive load on the users. This paper outlines continued work in
progress toward building this capability as well as initial results
on the efficacy of the system.

The Go-Light Game as a Tool for Enhancing the Mental Skills Required in STEM Learning

William R English, PE (LLLEI & DCPS, District of Columbia Public Schools, USA)

4
This paper presents the "Go-Light Game", as a tool to aid in the development and exercise of the mental and social skills required for students to succeed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers. Go is played primarily in Asia and said to be the oldest, most popular, and by far the most complex board game in the world. "Go is the ultimate mind sport. It has no equal in the strategic gaming world." (American Go Association, www.usgo.org). In addition, the Go Game context supports social skill development better than does playing video games.
To facilitate the use of the Go Game for the intended purpose, the game was scaled down from the full-sized 19 x 19 board with 361 stones to smaller, "Go-Light Game" boards of either 8 x 8 or 7 x 7 and a corresponding 64 or 49 stones. The Go-Light game play time, 15 to 30 minutes, is intended to be compatible with high school student schedules and interest spans. Unlike Chess, the Go Game can be scaled down in complexity under the same rules of play. Another adaptation to the high school context was to make the Go Light Game board and stones relatively inexpensive and portable.
Initial experiences with student Go Game play in diverse groups of Washington DC high school students are presented. Initial experiences demonstrate that the game has the power to attract, engage, and stimulate mental and social learning activity in a wide range of high school students in ways beneficial to STEM learning and career advancement.
Confirmation of the general assertion, "the Go Game can be an especially useful tool in developing the mental capabilities to contain and apply STEM knowledge", requires further systematic play research and corresponding student cognitive performance testing.

How Do Students Learn Best? A Case Study of EGR244: Digital Logic Design

Golnoosh Kamali (Johns Hopkins University, USA)

3
As an educator, we are always asking ourselves how do students learn best? How can we keep our students engaged and help them comprehend the material? What can we do to increase student success? This preliminary study attempted to answer some of those questions. This learning outcomes assessment study tried to determine the most effective teaching method particularly for students in STEM by using data gathered from the EGR244: Digital Logic Design Class, taught in the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters at the Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD. The methodology incorporated to determine the most effective teaching method was to map exam questions covering different chapters and the methods by which that information was taught with student grade outcomes. The two teaching methods explored were of a PowerPoint presentation lectures, whiteboard lectures, or a combinational approach. Results indicated that a combination teaching method of PowerPoint and whiteboard lectures were most effective in students learning the material and resulted in higher grade outcomes overall.

Performance of Modified LMS Control Algorithm for Smart Antennas

Salah Dauga (UD, USA)

1
Several adaptive filter structures are proposed for noise cancellation. This paper presents a modified least square algorithm(MLMS), the objective of this algorithm in this system is to use the filter weights w[i] for two algorithms, which are LMS, and Sign error algorithms. these use a modified LMS(MLMS) algorithm to adjust filter weights according to mean filter weights. Furthermore, simulation studies show that the MLMS algorithm gives better performance compared to LMS, and Sign error algorithms. Finally, the validity of this proposed algorithm is illustrated by three numerical examples.
Index Terms-Adaptive algorithm, Adaptive filters, least mean squares algorithm, Sign error algorithm, modified least square algorithm.
In this paper, LMS algorithms are used by means of the ability of an adaptive antenna array with a number of elements for interference rejection. The effect on interference rejection of a wide range of factors in an antenna array is observed. As predicted from antenna theory, the predominant lobe and other lobe widths are reduced. The results of Simulation indicate LMS algorithms are efficient.

Use of Rubric and Assessment to Encourage Self-regulated Learning

Abrar Habib, Mona Ismail and Nuha Alzayani (University of Bahrain, Bahrain)

0
Self-regulated learning is the ability of a learner to consciously monitor and develop one's own learning independently. Some learners naturally exhibit this skill more than others. In an attempt to encourage self-regulation in learners, the assignments in a 400 level course for Civil Engineering undergraduate students are designed to replicate the main steps in a self-regulated learning cycle. The first step in the self-regulated learning cycle is setting the goals and perceiving the main features of the task. This step was implemented by asking students to evaluate a professional's work using a well-established rubric. The second step is for students to implement the task by themselves. The last step in the self-regulated learning cycle is self-reflection and self-evaluation. Each step involved students submitting an assignment (a formative assessment). In their reflections, students expressed positive attitudes towards this method and from their responses it was clear that helping them develop their meta-cognition improved their learning. Furthermore, it was evident from instructor observation while grading the assignments that the students made conscious efforts to reach the goals that they set at the beginning of the self-regulation learning cycle.
Session Chair

To Be Determined

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