Department of Veterans Affairs NSF Research Experience for Teachers through the Lens of Rehabilitation Engineering Design Department of Veterans Affairs Mary Goldberg, PhD Jon Pearlman, PhD Education & Outreach Project Director Assistant Professor Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Human Engineering Research Laboratories

Department of Veterans Affairs Background: Departmental Structure Rehabilitation Science & Technology Human Engineering Research Laboratories –Veterans Affairs Research Center –NSF ERC (QoLT) –Education & Outreach Programs

Department of Veterans Affairs Guiding Framework Increase number of students with disabilities in STEM disciplines Retain individuals who have re-entered the pipeline Insert participatory action design into engineering curricula Empower practitioners and end-users with QoLT

Department of Veterans Affairs Background: Product Development Resources –Design & fabrication facilities –5 full-time staff –Lots of AT users –Close ties to AT businesses –Multidisciplinary faculty & students Successes –5 products –3 patents awarded; 9 pending

Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Innovations for People with Disabilities (TIPeD) Target Populations

Department of Veterans Affairs Background: Design Curricula Fall TIPeD-C: Fundamentals of Rehab Design and Fabrication FabLab Spring TIPeD-C: Rehab Design Project FabLabREV/T Summer TIPeD-P: [facilitated in collaboration with the NSF REU program] and with business and law students RETELeVATE

Department of Veterans Affairs RET History Initiated by NSF in 2001 to involve middle & high school teachers in engineering research to bring engineering & tech innovation to the classroom 3-5 year grants to universities Involvement since 2007 Multiple collaborations across Pitt & CMU, namely the Learning Research & Development Center

Department of Veterans Affairs Integration of Veterans National Science Foundation supplement to support R&D experiences for veterans Collaborative veteran/teacher teams (REV/T) Supports transition to college by building and expanding upon skills learned in military

Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans + R&D  College Preparation for the classroom Often a non-traditional student, student with a disability Supports a culture of trust & connectedness (8 Keys to Success) Cross-mentoring opportunities between teachers & veterans

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Model & Philosophy Attractive & engaging topic across populations End-user involvement Design is iterative and interdisciplinary –Product development –Curriculum development Collaborative learning Design-based learning

Department of Veterans Affairs Timeline February 1: turn in application (including support letter from school principal) March-May: engineering design course 1 evening/week July: 4 week curriculum workshop Fall ‘14: design-based learning unit aligned with standards in RET participants’ classroom January ‘15: student design competition March ‘15: option for repeat participation

Department of Veterans Affairs RET Program Flow

Department of Veterans Affairs Spring: Research & Development Experience Goals –Design course –Complete a team product design project resulting in a functioning prototype and written report to include business plan Participants Process –Flipped classroom –Discussion based –Experiential learning through R&D activities

Department of Veterans Affairs RET Class Structure Product Design and Development Textbook complemented by short online lectures Required weekly class attendance (14 weeks) Weekly assignments [Critical] Class time devoted to activities related to project and skill development –Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Manufacturing –Prototyping and Fabrication Lab Group project –Weekly deliverables include design and prototyping & fabrication –Business Plan/Commercialization plan –Design Brief - Introduction; background; methodology; models; tests; futurework –Functional prototype Spring: Research & Development Experience

Department of Veterans Affairs Google services as a hub for all course related documentation –Drive, documents, hangout and Lecture video and slides posted online, 1 week in advance Syllabus for class activities, assignments and pre-reading requirements RET Class Structure Spring: Research & Development Experience

Department of Veterans Affairs RET Material/Software Provided Product Design & Development (Ulrich & Eppinger, 5 th edition) Autodesk Inventor Professional –Available for free download at Rapid prototyping for quick prototype fabrication –MakerBot Replicator 2X

Department of Veterans Affairs Project Overview –Activity Monitoring Device Case –Adaptive Hunting Device –Wheelchair Positioning Apparatus –Meter Feeder Spring: Research & Development Experience

Department of Veterans Affairs Summer: Professional Development Complete 4-week curriculum development workshop Receive Act 48 credits Complete a design-based learning unit –E.g. prosthetic limb Veterans complete research and development in college transition program

Department of Veterans Affairs Fall: Curriculum Implementation Complete ~6-week design-based learning unit aligned to math & science standards –Cross-curricular Classroom visits by RET program staff Prepare students for design competition –Student teams of 4 –May include conducting individual classroom (or multi-classroom, where applicable) competitions

Department of Veterans Affairs Fall/Spring: Design Competition Participate in design competition –Artifact, poster, video –Grand prize team(s) receive internship –Best Design, Math, Presentation, & Science Novel online competition format –Peer review software –Engineers, designers, & AT expert judges

Department of Veterans Affairs Assessment Methods

Department of Veterans Affairs Assessment Methods & Additional Research Design self-efficacy –Teachers, veterans, students Product review Design canvas IDEATE

Department of Veterans Affairs Outcomes 70 teachers 6 veterans 1,000+ students New approach to math & science integration Online design competition method

Department of Veterans Affairs Results and Future Work Lessons learned –Instructor perceptions –Feedback from RET mentor & participant surveys Changes for future cohorts Research questions

Department of Veterans Affairs Acknowledgements & Questions Mahender Mandala, MS Financial support –University of Pittsburgh –Human Engineering Research Laboratories –NSF Research Experience for Teachers –NCIIA –NSF QOLT ERC Our clients RET participants and previous trainees

Department of Veterans Affairs Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Program Overview Mary Goldberg Quality of Life Technology Center Human Engineering Research Labs

Department of Veterans Affairs Human Engineering Research Labs Development of assistive technologies to enhance the independence of persons with disabilities & older adults engineering-research-overviewhttp://herl.pitt.edu/video/human- engineering-research-overview

Department of Veterans Affairs Quality of Life Technology Center a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center Home & Community Health & Wellness QoLTbots Virtual Coach Safe Driving Mobility & Manipulation Perception & Awareness Person & Society Human-System Interaction Testbed Systems Basic Research Requirements Technologies & Insights Products Needs & Feedback Industry/Practitioner Collaboration & Spin-off Company Creation VibeAttire Education, Outreach & Diversity Enhancement “Intelligent systems that enable older adults and people with disabilities and improve everyone’s quality of life” Origami Robotics Individual Community Society

Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Student Profile 85% age 24 or older 47% have a family 27% are female

Department of Veterans Affairs Current State of Transition Transition process not well understood by faculty, staff, students Unique needs due to non-traditional student status Disability presents a unique challenge Vets with physical disabilities: 33% higher education institutions offer special programs Vets with invisible disabilities: 23% institutions have programs –Example: TBI VA has treated 8,000 brain injuries in this population Affects of TBI on academic and professional experiences

Department of Veterans Affairs 8 Keys to Success Create a culture of trust & connectedness Develop consistent & sustained support from campus leadership Provide comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff Develop systems to ensure sustainability of effective practices Develop an early alert system to preempt overwhelming challenges Centralize vets’ services and provide a designated space Coordinate student services with local communities, organizations, government agencies Use uniform set of tools to collect and track data

Department of Veterans Affairs

Background: Motivation of AT Social Impact –Equality, participation, safety Inappropriate designs –Abandonment & failures Lack of user-driven market forces –3 rd party payers

Department of Veterans Affairs Outline Background & Introduction RET Program –Spring Research and Development (R&D) Integration of veterans (REV-T) –Summer Professional Development –Fall Implementation of Curriculum –Fall/Spring Design Competition Assessment Methods Outcomes

Department of Veterans Affairs Beginning a New Era of Science Instruction? Until now another teaching silo (procedural) mathematics on the way out rapid topic march skills vs. concepts weak teacher content and pedagogy Moving forward embracing STEM conceptual mathematics and simulation demanded focus on big ideas integrated skills & concepts ???

Department of Veterans Affairs