The paper describes the design, construction, and evaluation of an instructional module for K-12 science and engineering students on energy harvesting using piezoelectric crystals. The module consists of a combination of lecture and activities. The lecture component covers the history of piezoelectric materials, how they work, how to use them to generate energy, and how to measure the amount of energy generated. The activity component includes how to make a piezoelectric crystal, and an embedded assessment, pre assessment, and post assessment. The module was used in three engineering classes. Students worked in teams to prepare crystals and successfully tested them. An evaluation of the module indicated that a high level of learning was achieved. In addition, the students all enjoyed the hands on experience. This module was created as a result of attending a Summer Research Experiences for Teachers program at Texas A&M University in 2014.
My name is Bill Heeter. I have been teaching pre-Engineering classes now for fifteen years. I have taught four different Project Lead the Way classes. Currently, I am certified to teach three PLTW curriculum's and I am a past “Master Teacher” for Engineering Design and Development, the capstone PLTW curriculum. I taught several non-PLTW classes including Manufacturing Engineering and AC/DC. I also taught a Petroleum Engineering curriculum. I graduated from Texas A&M in 1973 with a B.S. Degree in Industrial Engineering-Industrial Distribution. For most of my career I worked with Industrial Supply Houses engineering electrical systems, mechanical systems, fluid power systems, and conveyance systems. After that I spent seventeen years with Dow Chemical developing new products (R&D) for Dow customers. I just retired as the Department Chair for the Career and Technology Education Department at Porter High School. I was also the lead teacher for the Engineering House. Currently, I work part time for the Tomball I.S.D.
Dr. Sheng-Jen ("Tony") Hsieh is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution and a member of the Graduate Faculty at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. His research interests include automation, robotics, cyber-manufacturing and Industry 4.0; optical/infrared imaging and instrumentation; micro/nano manufacturing; and design of technology for engineering education. He is also the Director of the Rockwell Automation Laboratory at Texas A&M University, a state-of-the-art facility for education and research in the areas of automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0 systems. He was named Honorary International Chair Professor for National Taipei University of Technology in Taipei, Taiwan, for 2015-21. Dr. Hsieh received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
Jun Zou received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002. In 2004, he joined in the department of electrical and computer engineering at Texas A&M University, where he is currently an associate professor. His current research interests lie in the development of micro and nano opto-electro-mechanical devices and systems for biomedical imaging and sensing applications. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and SPIE.
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