annual report - ceeo: homeceeo.tufts.edu/documents/annualreport2016.pdfannual report july 1, 2015...

Annual ReportJuly 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016

2016 Fiscal Year

Kids Can... Think. Discover. Solve. Invent. Change the World.

1 2Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach Annual Report FY 2016

This report marks my first full year as director and the CEEO’s 20th anniversary. It’s amazing to think about how much the CEEO and the world has changed in the past 20 years.

In the summer of 1996, I was a junior Mechanical Engineering student working on one of our very first NASA grants. Myself and one other student were hired for just 4 weeks to help prepare the first teacher workshop. We sorted LEGO materials, helped build wind tunnels, and cobbled together raw HTML to make a website in a corner of Chris Rogers’ fluids lab amid his graduate students doing fluid flow experiments and experiments on wafer polishing. The teachers were excited to learn about engineering and we could see the potential, but they also had lots of feedback about the tools they needed and the constraints of school on their ability to do innovative work. There were no engineering standards for teachers to meet, little to no engineering education research to draw on, and the world wasn’t ready to think about children as engineers.

In contrast, this past summer the CEEO employed over 35 undergraduate and high school students for 10 weeks in our beautiful space at 200 Boston Ave, in addition to CEEO staff and faculty. Every person in our 6,000 square ft space was working on engineering education -- from prototyping new ideas for LEGO and National Instruments, to furthering our research on projects like InterLACE and Novel Engineering, to developing a new Portable Maker Studio, to creating resources for our online engineering education program. The students met every morning to share ideas and met with CEEO faculty regularly about ways to integrate projects and new ideas.

In addition to our personnel growth, we now have a number of Tufts University and external university faculty engaged in the Center. We have our own faculty at CEEO, collaborations and grants with Tufts Faculty in different departments, and research projects with faculty in different universities expanding from the US to Spain, Den-mark, Australia and more!

Our growth has also impacted more K-12 Teachers. In the world, we have national and local science and engi-neering standards to point teachers to, and a wealth of research generated at CEEO and elsewhere to draw on to build our tools and interventions. We even had 140 people from 16 different countries spend 3 days at Tufts at our LEGO Learning Symposium and Tufts STEM Education Conference to learn about tools for engaging stu-dents in engineering. From as close as Somerville and as far as Guam, the world knows children can engage in engineering and is looking for the best resources to use.

The CEEO is continuing to be a leader in the space of K-16 engineering education.

As always, the CEEO has a lot of accomplishments to share and this report provides only the highlights. For this year, we choose to feature the wide array of work happening around makerspaces and our new Online K-12 En-gineering Education (OKEE) program. Both efforts are novel in the K-16 engineering education world and show how the CEEO’s blend of outreach and research work together to create innovation and impact. We share up-dates on our current successful projects, InterLACE and Novel Engineering, as well as our new CEEO Innovation Fund efforts. Kristen Wendell and her research group joined the Center this year and we were thrilled to be able to celebrate her Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award with her for her innovative research in Community-based Engineering Education projects.

Please be sure to visit us on social media and join our mailing list to keep up on all the latest news and events.

Sincerely,

Merredith PortsmoreDirector, Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach

From the Director Table of ContentsWho We Are and What We Do

About the CEEO 4CEEO People and Organization 5CEEO’s Impact at a Glance 7Project and Program Overview: FY 2016 Milestones 8

Highlights at a GlanceGraduating and New Students in FY 2016 9Checking in with CEEO Alumni 10Highlights of FY 2016 11

Featured Initiatives in FY 2016Online K-12 Engineering Education (OKEE) 15Meet the First OKEE Students 16Makerspaces at Tufts 17

Press and Publications in FY 2016CEEO in the News 19Publications and Presentations by CEEO Authors 21

Financial StatementsFY 2016 Financials: Overview of Revenue and Expenses 23Balance Overview and Total Commitments 26Grant Applications Submitted in FY 2016 27

Donations to CEEOThank You to Our Donors 30

Who We Are and What We Do

About the CEEO

The Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) is a leading innovator in K-12 engineering education. We inject engineering learning into K-12 classrooms to change how students think and learn today, ultimately shaping how they invent tomorrow. We believe all students are budding innovators who will excel by learning through failure, working in teams and solving problems. The CEEO knows Kids Can . . . Think. Solve. Discover. Invent. Change the World.

INSPIRED BY KIDS’ IDEAS Kids are naturally engaged in figuring out the world, curious about how things work, open to trying new things and not afraid to fail. Yet early classroom experiences often focus on achieving measurable outcomes, coming up with the “right” answer, avoiding failure and memorizing other people’s ideas. At the CEEO, we’re all about shifting the focus back to kids’ ideas. We research how young people build and use their ideas and engineer classroom-tested tools to fuel their creative instincts and support them as they explore the world in new ways.

ENGINEERING A BETTER FUTUREWe are at a critical juncture: we need to inspire and catalyze the next generation of American innovators, or risk losing a competitive edge in the global market. The CEEO believes that by providing our k-12 teachers with the opportunity and support to take risks and be innovative in their teaching, they will engage students in a whole new world of creativity and excitement in the classroom. Our teachers are integral partners as we prepare our students to be world-class innovators who can create a brighter future in a safer, cleaner and healthier world. MAKING A WORLDWIDE IMPACT The CEEO’s innovative curricula, educational tools and research are sought by educators, administrators and corporations around the globe. Known for inspiring students to engineer at a young age, the impact of the Center’s work can be felt worldwide. • In conjunction with LEGO, the CEEO developed ROBOLAB and LabVIEW for LEGO

Mindstorms – robotics software and training tools that have helped more than 10 million students learn math, science, engineering and technology.

• The CEEO’s Student Teacher Outreach Mentorship Program (STOMP) has sent more than 200 TUFTS students into 60 Massachusetts classrooms and sparked 10 programs across the U.S.

• The CEEO’s SAM Animation software, which empowers students and teachers to express their ideas using stop-motion animation, has attracted 20,000- 30,000 users and is available on every continent.

ABOUT THE CEEO


Who We Are and What We Do Who We Are and What We DoCEEO People and Organization

p

Director

Merredith Portsmore

Faculty

Staff & Post Docs

Elissa MiltoDirector of Outreach Programs

Magee GiarrossoProgram Administrator

Lynne RamseyStaff Assistant

Jordi Albo CanalsVisiting Professor

Alison BlanchardOffice Assistant

Ki Cheon HongVisiting Researcher

Aaron JohnsonPostdoctoral Research Associate

Advisory Board Members Faculty Steering CommitteeAndy BellVice President of Development & Academic Relations, National Instruments

Thabiti BrownHead of School, Codman Academy

Meg CampbellChief of Innovation & Strategy, Codman Academy

Jeannie DiefenderferTrustee, Tufts University

Per HavgaardSenior Initiatives Manager, LEGO Foundation

Holly JamesBoard Member, James S. McDonnell Foundation

Steve KarolManaging Partner & Founder, Watermill Group

Vincent MannoProvost and Dean of Faculty, Professor of Engi-neering, F. W. Olin College of Engineering

Vince McKayAssistant Superintendent, Somerville Public Schools

Ioannis Miaoulis President & Director of Boston Museum of Science

Stacey MorseTufts University Engineering Alumna

Jill PappasElementary School Teacher, Winchester, MA

Leila ShakkourTufts University Arts and Sciences Alumna

Reed StevensProfessor of Learning Sciences, Northwestern University

Mike ThorneUniversity of Oxford Physics Alumnus

Laurie Gaskins BaiseProfessor of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAdjunct Associate Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences

Barbára BrizuelaProfessor of EducationDean of Academic Affairs for Arts & Sciences

David HammerProfessor of Education & PhysicsDepartment Chair of EducationDirector of STEM Education Program

Chris RogersDepartment Chair and Professor of Mechanical EngineeringAdjunct Professor of Education

Chris SwanAssociate Dean, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic LifeAdjunct Associate Professor of Education Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students and Hourly WorkersErica AlbertEngineering Psychology ‘18

Meaghan Annett Cognitive Brain Science ‘17

Aditi Ashok Computer Science ‘16

Andrew Bennett Mechanical Engineering ‘15

Joshua Berl Computer Science ‘17

Brian Bertini Chemical Engineering ‘17

Vincent Bett Computer Engineering ‘19

Joytika Bhargo Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Elizabeth Billings Biomedical Engineering ‘17

Alison Boreiko Computer Science ‘17

Marc Bucchieri Mechanical Engineering ‘16

Daniel Callahan Engineering Psychology ‘17

Bianca Capretta Music ‘19

Sarah Carty Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Jhanel Chew Grad Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Chandler Coble Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Elena Cokova Computer Science ‘18

Emma Coltoff Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Laura Coughlin Engineering Science ‘16

Joseph Cowan Mechanical Engineering ‘16

Emma Cusack Biomedical Engineering ‘19

Coralys De Jesus Undecided ‘19

Thomas DePalma Biomedical Engineering ‘18

Annalisa Debari Mechanical Engineering ‘18

William Dolan Economics ‘17

Elizabeth Dossett Undecided ‘19

Simone Draper Environmental Engineering ‘18

Caitlin Duffy Environmental Engineering ‘18

Michael Edegware Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Lisa Fantini Electrical Engineering ‘18

Leah Fletcher Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Laura Fradin Biology ‘16

Jackson Fulk-Logon Biomedical Engineering ‘18

Juliana Furgala Computer Science ‘19

Edward Futterman Undecided ‘19

Anuththari GamarallageElectrical Engineering ‘18

Catherine Gao Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Thomas George Chemical Engineering ‘19

Jillian Gerke Quantitative Economics ‘16

Alexandra Gilligan Chemistry ‘16

Kristin Glomstad Grad Student, History and Museum Studies

Dominic Granato Mechanical Engineering ‘16

Yash Gurditta Undecided ‘19

Dominic Guri Grad Student, Mechanical Eng

Pong-Ravee Halelamien Mechanical Engineering ‘16

Sarah Hall-Swan Computer Science ‘18

Nadia Hallaj Biomedical Engineering ‘18

Lexi Hamsmith Grad Student, Education

Luke Hanley Biomedical Engineering ‘17

Sonja Hartmann Civil Engineering ‘19

Mahsa Hayeri Grad Student, Education

Robert Hayes Grad Student, Education

Samuel Heilbron Computer Science ‘17

Sara Hogan Chemical Engineering ‘16

Noel Hwang Electrical Engineering ‘17

Martin Iotchev Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Kirsten Jorgensen Chemical Engineering ‘17

Rohan Joshi Engineering Sciences ‘17

Ross Kamen Engineering Psychology ‘18

Azmina Karukappadath Computer Science ‘18

Suneeth Keerthy Computer Science ‘19

Christopher Keyes Chemical Engineering ‘18

Alexander Klein Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Rachel Kramer Engineering Sciences ‘17

Mile Krstev Environmental Engineering ‘19

Shelley Kwok Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Emily Lai ACS Certified Chemistry ‘17

Rebecca Larson Computer Science ‘17

Annie Levine Civil Engineering ‘16

Emma Levitt Mechanical Engineering ‘15

Mingzhe Li Computer Science ‘17

Calvin Liang Engineering Psychology ‘16

Jason Linker Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Veronica Little Undecided ‘16

Rohini Loke Undecided ‘19

Evan Lorey Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Caleb Lucas-Foley Computer Science ‘19

William Luna Interdisciplinary Studies ‘17

Martin Majkut Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Rachel Marison Computer Science ‘17

Michael Mayer Grad Student, Mechanical Eng

Camille-Louise Mbayo Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Daniel McCormack Undecided ‘19

John McGowan Physics ‘18

Katherine McMurray Chemical Engineering ‘17

Camila Menard Computer Engineering ‘18

Akari Miki Undecided ‘19

Lois Moon Mathematics ‘16

Melissa Moore Peace & Justice Studies ‘16

Maretta Morovitz Computer Science ‘17

Andrew Narahara Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Mohamed Nassar Biomedical Engineering ‘19

Trang Ngo Chemical Engineering ‘19

Nhu Nguyen Mechanical Engineering ‘19

Julia Novakoff Engineering Psychology ‘18

Kevin O’BrienMechanical Engineering ‘17

Maeve O’Sullivan Engineering Psychology ‘17

Caroline Passalacqua Civil Engineering ‘19

Amit Patel Computer Science ‘18

Khalil Payton Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Sara Pearce-Probst Civil Engineering ‘17

Christopher Penny Physics ‘15

Thomas Petry Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Eva Philips Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Michael Pine Biomedical Engineering ‘19

Vanessa Pinto Women’s, Gender Studies ’16

Sanya Pradhan Undecided ‘19

Alex Pugnali Engineering Psychology ‘17

Alex Rappaport Environmental Engineering ‘17

Abdur Rehman Rashid Mechanical Engineering ‘15

Grace Reilly Biomedical Engineering ‘16

Eleanor Richard Child Study and Human Development ‘17

Alyssa Rivas Film and Media Studies ‘18

Rachael Robinson Computer Science ‘17

Terrence Roh Grad Student, Biomedical Eng

Nazifa Sarawat Environmental Engineering ‘17

Michael Seleman Undecided ‘19

Tanya Sinha Computer Science ‘19

Jennifer Skerker Environmental Engineering ‘17

Samuel Slate Computer Science ‘18

Orian Sneor Undecided ‘19

Tabitha Solomon Grad Student, Human Factors

Camila Solorzano Environmental Engineering ‘16

Rati Srinivasan Biochemistry ‘18

Oona Taper Anthropology ‘17

Jordan-Tate Thomas Biology ‘18

Daniela Torres Grad Student, Mechanical Eng

Alexandria Trombley Engineering Psychology ‘17

Samuel Usher Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Michael Vizner Grad Student, Child Study and Human Development

Christopher Warren Chemical Engineering ‘17

Daniel Weinstein Biomedical Engineering ‘18

David White Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Sara Willner-Giwerc Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Megan Wilson Civil Engineering ‘18

Lily Withington High School Student

Yoojin Yoon Biology ‘19

Benjamin Zackin Mechanical Engineering ‘18

Jiahe Zhang Chemical Engineering ‘19

Jacob Zizmor Worcester Polytechnic Inst

Erynne van Zee Environmental Engineering ‘17

Jennifer ThomasMasters Student inMechanical Engineering

Brian O’ConnellDoctoral Student in Mechanical Engineering

Whitney CrooksDoctoral Student in Mechanical Engineering

Devyn CurleyMasters Student in Mechanical Engineering

Amber KendallDoctoral Student in Education

Gabrielle VukasinMasters Student inMechanical Engineering

Dan LuoMasters Student inMechanical Engineering

Jessica SwensonDoctoral Student in Mechanical Engineering

Marina BersProfessor, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human DevelopmentAdjunct Professor of Computer ScienceDirector of DevTech Research Group

Brian GravelAssistant Professor of EducationDirector of Elementary Education

Daniel HannonProfessor of the Practice in Human Factors Engineering

Rich LernerProfessor, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development

Megan MuellerAssociate Director of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal InteractionResearch Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences and Center for Animals and Public Policy

Tom VanderveldeAssistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Science

Jessica WatkinsResearch Assistant Faculty of Education

Darryl WilliamsAssociate Dean of Recruitment, Retention, and Community EngagementDirector of the Center for STEM Diversity

CEEO Fellows

Fay ShawPostdoctoral Research Associate

Ethan DanahyResearch Assistant

Professor , CEEO and Computer Science

Bill ChurchLecturer

Kristen WendellAssistant Professor, ME

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Education

Barbara BratzelEducation Specialist

Bridget McCaffreyCurriculum Support

Sung Ho YoonVisiting ProfessorMechanical Engineering

David AlsdorfResearch Assistant

John HeffernanLecturer

Ean WongLab ManagerSoftware Developer

CEEO CollaboratorsLinda BeardsleyProfessor of EducationTufts University

Gary GarberPhysics Teacher, Boston, MA

Morgan HynesAssistant ProfessorSchool of Engineering EducationPurdue University

Maggie JacksonElementary School TeacherWinchester, MA

William MessnerProfessor of Mechanical EngineeringTufts University

Rob TorokMathematics TeacherTasmania, Australia

Mary McCormickPostdoctoral ResearchAssociate

Chelsea AndrewsDoctoral Student inEducation

Andy BrarenMasters Student in Human Factors Engineering

Matthew MuellerDoctoral Student in Mechanical Engineering

Jennifer ScintoMasters Student inMechanical Engineering

Elise DeitrickDoctoral Student in Education

Ganga KasiMasters Student in Human Factors Engineering

Amanda StrawhackerDoctoral Student in Child Study and Human Development

Astrid VeroyMasters Student in HumanFactors Engineering

Susan BitettiMasters Student in Mechanical Engineering

Karen MielDoctoral Student in Education

Hamid MansoorMasters Student in HumanFactors Engineering

Sam WoolfMasters Student inMechanical Engineering

Marya SchnedekerMakerspace Coordinator


Who We Are And What We Do Who We Are And What We DoCEEO’s Impact at a Glance Project and Program Overview: FY 2016 Milestones

New Grants

New Gifts

Closed Grants

Workshops at the CEEO in FY 2016

Cumulative number of teachers impacted by STOMP, Novel En-gineering, and InterLACE since 2001

Co-Ed RoboticsJuly 6–10, 2015Grades 3–8

Co-Ed RoboticsJuly 13–17, 2015Grades 3–8

Girls Design andEngineering WeekJuly 20–24, 2015 Grades 4–7

Engineering, Earthquakes, and More!July 20–24, 2015 Grades 5–8

Musical Instruments July 27–31, 2015 Grades 4–6

LEGO Summer Engineering Institute for Educators: Beginning EV3 WorkshopJuly 27–31, 2015

LEGO Summer Engineering Institute for Educators: Intermediate EV3 WorkshopAugust 3–7, 2015

Engineering, Earthquakes, and More! August 3–7, 2015 Grades 5–8

Mini Makers August 3–7, 2015 Grades 6–8

Helper ‘BotsAugust 10–12, 2015 Grades 1–2

Play That Song August 10–12, 2015 Grades 1–2

Robot Dance September 15, 2015 Ages 4+

Airplane BuildingWorkshop October 4, 2015 Grades 9–12

Systems Engineeringwith EV3October 9, 2015 Grades 6–8

Airplane Building WorkshopOctober 11, 2015 Grades 9–12

Danish High School Stu-dents LEGO Engineering WorkshopOct 13 & 14

Toy Testing for Visiting Teachers October 14, 2015 Ages 4–8

Toy Testing for ES93:PrototypesNovember 20, 2015 Ages 4–8

Systems Engineeringwith EV3December 4–9, 2015 Grades 6–8

Toy Testing for ES93:Final ProjectsDecember 11, 2015 Ages 4–8

649Cumulative number of classrooms impacted by STOMP, InterLACE, and Novel Engineering since 2001600

Cumulative number of K-16 students impacted by STOMP, Novel Engineering, and Inter-LACE since 200110,872Number of countries visited by CEEO Faculty, Staff, and Students in FY 201614

Development of a New Class in the Science and Engi-neering of Music, Tufts UniversityLEGO Education Sponsored Research, LEGO Educa-tion4-D Curriculum Visualization Tool Design — Design Specification Development, 100Kin10Maker Studios in Schools: Bring Creativity and Play to the Classroom, LEGO FoundationBillund Builds Music, Capital of Children

Research on Autism and Robotics, Fundació Sant Joan de DéuLEGO Education Outreach Gift, LEGO EducationCEEO Student Fund for Makerspaces in Australia, Lend LeaseAdvancing Engineering Education Through Project-Based Learning, National Instruments

The Development of a Robotic Companion for Chil-dren with Autism Spectrum Disorder, SamsungLEGO Learning Lab, LEGO EducationInteractive Multi-Touch Collaboration Table for the Classrooms, Templeman Automation Billund Builds Music, LEGO FoundationBillund Builds Music, Capital of Children Developing an Innovative Online Weight Management Program for Childhood Cancer Survivors (collaborative grant with Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition), Tufts UniversityPrepare and Inspire: Designing an Integrated and Sustainable STEM Model for Indonesia, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)4-D Curriculum Visualization Tool Design—Design Specification Development, 100Kin10

CEEO.tufts.edu pageviews from 134 different countries in FY 201615,200 OKEE.tufts.edu pageviews from

109 different countries in FY 2016 63,400

E-TEAM After School June–May, 2016 Grades 3–5

Chinese StoryGamesWorkshopJanuary 29, 2016 Ages 9–11

Toy Testing for Danish Students WorkshopFebruary 5, 2016Ages 4–8

Laser Cutting for 3DConstructionApril 9, 2016 Ages 10–13

April Vacation LEGOWorkshopApril 19–22, 2016 Ages 3–7

Canada

US

UK

India

Australia

Spain Japan

2,521 fans45 countries

1,353 followers 10+ countries

Denmark

Turkey

Indonesia

Top 10 Countries Following CEEO on Social Media

WeDo.DrEsChallenges.com pageviews from 129 different countries since 2013190,000 NovelEngineering.org

pageviews from 118 different countries since 201419,600


“At the CEEO, I learned the power of collabora-tion and community. Collaboration helps me to push myself, to do exciting work, and to devel-op new ideas. Tufts is a community of people who believe that young people have powerful and amazing ideas. I find these people inspir-ing. Together, we are creating opportunities for children to be resourceful learners who actively develop a deep understanding of the world.”

Highlights at a Glance Highlights at a GlanceGraduating and New Students in FY 2016 Checking in with CEEO Alumni2016 CEEO GraduatesMary McCormickPh.D. in EducationDissertation: The Complex Dynamics of Student En-gagement in Novel Engineering Design Activities

Ganga KasiM.S. in Human Factors EngineeringThesis: A Human Factors Approach To Enhance An Indi-vidual’s Motivation To Collaborate In An Online Learn-ing EnvironmentCurrently: In Singapore, exploring options for using hu-man factors engineering in the field of early childhood education

Dan LuoM.S. in Mechanical EngineeringThesis: Measuring the Frequency Response Function of X-Braced Guitar Top and Guitar Currently: Physics and math instructor at Boston Archi-tectural College

Hamid MansoorM.S. in Computer ScienceMaster’s Project: Digital Worksheet Project Currently: Pursuing Ph.D. in Computer Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute studying under Prof. Lane Harrison

Astrid VeroyM.S. in Human Factors EngineeringThesis: Influence of Gamification on Collaboration and Self-Organization in a CSCL Environment

Brian Gravel, Ph.D., Science Education

CEEO Masters Students Alumni — Where Are They Now?

Riley Jack MeehanEducation, 2015

Engineering and Design Teacher, High Tech High, San Diego, CA

Ashley RussellHuman Factors Engineering, 2011

Principal Engineer, Cambridge ConsultantsLecturer, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Eric FournierMechanical Engineering, 2013

Quality Engineer, Penumbra, Inc.Alameda, CA

“The CEEO shows that it’s not hard to engage children in solving complex problems, and that children can engage in the practices of engineering,” says CEEO alumnus Dr. Brian Gravel. While earning his Ph.D. in Science Education from Tufts University, Brian served as the CEEO’s SAM Animation Project Manager and oversaw the development of and educational research on stop-motion animation software for students and teach-ers. Upon graduation, Brian launched Tufts’ Elementary STEM M.A.T. program, which prepares elementary school teachers to engage their students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Currently an Assistant Professor of Education and Director of Elementary Education at Tufts, Bri-an leverages his mechanical engineering background and experience at the CEEO to develop new learning technolo-gies, to study the impact of those learning technologies, and to study scientific reasoning and representation in schools and makerspaces. His research focuses on representational practices in science and engineering and he is working on three NSF-funded projects in this arena. In SiMSAM (Simula-tion, Measurement, and Stop Action Moviemaking), Brian and colleague Dr. Michelle Wilkerson (U.C. Berkeley) examine how middle school students use modeling technologies to reason about physical phenomena. STEM-LiMS: Investigating STEM Literacies in Makerspaces looks at how youth and adults develop and communicate representations and understandings within makerspaces, while Engineering Inquiry for All in Nedlam’s Work-shop, Malden High School’s makerspace, asks how educators can use digital maker practices to empower youth to be problem solvers in the world.

As Director of Elementary Education, Brian helps prepare teachers who are attentive to student thinking and who recognize the productive resources students bring to classrooms. “Kids are nascent scientists and mathemati-cians,” says Brian. “Tufts graduates encourage children to use the tools of mathematics and science to engage with ideas, develop ideas about the ways in which the world works, and refine their emerging STEM practices.” The Elementary Education program combines Tufts’ strong partnerships with urban schools and Tufts’ robust re-search in STEM education. “The STEM education research faculty are also the teacher preparation faculty, making this program an exceptional environment for research and practice to inform one another,” explains Brian. Ulti-mately, this combination of research, practice, and partnerships advances both teaching and learning.

Gabrielle VukasinM.S. in Mechanical EngineeringThesis: Modeling Error in Optical Angle of Arrival Measurements for Position and Orientation Estima-tion in Sensor NetworksCurrently: Pursuing Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford with research in the Micro Structures and Sensors Lab on MEMS resonators

New Graduate StudentsMatthew MuellerPursuing Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering B.S. in Mechanical EngineeringTufts University, 2015

Devyn CurleyPursuing M.S. in Mechanical Engineering B.S. in Mechanical EngineeringTufts University, 2015

Jennifer ScintoPursuing M.S. in Mechanical Engineering B.S. in Mechanical EngineeringTufts University, 2016

Jennifer ThomasPursuing M.S. in Mechanical Engineering B.S. in Civil EngineeringBrown University, 2014

Sam WoolfPursuing M.S. in Mechanical Engineering B.S., Mechanical Engineering and MathematicsTufts University, 2013


The LEGO Learning Symposium was held on the 6th and 7th of June 2016 at Tufts University. Teachers, adminis-trators, and other educational partners from sixteen different countries came together over the two day event to explore how K-12 learning happens in science, engineering, mathematics, literacy, and other disciplines using LEGO technologies.

The Symposium kicked off with a keynote presentation from Mitchel Resnick (Designer of Scratch software and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab) and was packed full of teacher talks, hands-on workshops, panel discussions with teachers and students, and lots of networking amongst participants. At the event, seven exceptional teachers (from Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Costa Rica, and Russia) were recognized as part of the first-ever international LEGO Education Teacher Award.

Highlights at a Glance Highlights at a Glance

LEGO Learning Symposium 2016 From October 19th to 24th, a group of researchers, students, and partners from the CEEO went to Denmark to participate in Billund Builds Music, an intervention funded by the LEGO Foundation and the Capital of Children. In-volving ten local schools, over four thousand students of all ages spent time during their school day exploring sound, building their own instruments out of found materials, then composing and performing pieces of music. Lead-ing up to the week, pilot workshops with students were conducted in Boston as well as professional development with a group of ten teachers from Den-mark who participated in the program.

While in Denmark, researchers spent their time videotaping and follow-ing the progress of specific classes to develop case studies while CEEO students and partners went around to classes to run workshops on vari-ous concepts in music, the science of sound, and the engineering design process. Classrooms from all over the Billund Kommune were able to post pictures and videos of their work and view the work of their peers on a website developed by the CEEO which can be found at www.Bil-lundBuilds.dk. The week presented a number of challenges to the team, but a sentiment shared by most teachers was their surprise at how much learning happens when students were left to explore and build on their own.

Billund Builds MusicHighlights of FY 2016

Kristen Wendell Returns to Tufts UniversityIn January of 2016, CEEO alum Kristen Wendell returned to Tufts as a new assistant professor in the Department of Mechan-ical Engineering. Kristen earned her Ph.D. in Science Education from Tufts in 2011. Kristen came to Tufts from the University of Massachusetts, Boston’s Center of Science and Mathematics in Context (COSMIC), where she was principal investigator on two NSF-funded projects: one on the use of community-based engineering to prepare novice urban elementary school teach-ers in science and engineering and the other on supporting urban students’ engineering discourse. In May, Kristen was a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the U.S. government’s highest award for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their indepen-dent research careers.

LEGOengineering.com/symposium2016

2016 Tufts STEM Education Conference

TuftsSTEMEdConference.org

www.BillundBuilds.dk

On June 7–8, 2016, Tufts University hosted a STEM Education Conference for more than 140 registrants from six-teen countries. Tufts is home to a diverse and vibrant collection of educational research and outreach projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The conference provided an opportunity for Tufts professors and researchers to share their work with a wider audience of educators. The STEM conference overlapped with the LEGO Learning Symposium, allowing both groups of attendees to benefit by interacting.

The STEM conference was organized around four talks by Tufts professors and a large number of workshops. The morning talks, by David Hammer and Marina Bers, focused on ways of deepening understanding in STEM education: how to really listen to student thinking and how to engage young children in programming. The af-ternoon talks, by Natasha Wright and David Kaplan, offered intriguing glimpses into their engineering research on desalination systems and silk, respectively. The workshops covered a wide array of topics as well, from LEGO and STEM to ScratchJr to Community-Based Engineering to Teaching Infectious Diseases. The excitement and exchanges of ideas carried beyond the formal presentations; the participants made excellent use of the time built into the conference for discussion and networking.


Highlights at a Glance Highlights at a GlanceVisiting Faculty at the CEEO

Barbara BratzelBarbara Bratzel worked at the CEEO from July 2015 to August 2016 as an educator in residence during a one-year leave of absence from her job as a science teacher at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA. Barbara worked on outreach, professional development for teachers, and curriculum development.

Clare GartlandDr. Clare Gartland, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Suffolk in Suffolk, England, visited the CEEO in November 2015. Clare came to Tufts CEEO to learn more about our STOMP program.

Irma MgeladzeSwiss high school teacher Irma Mge-ladze, a physics and math teacher in Köniz, Switzerland, came to Tufts CEEO during her sabbatical in March of 2016. Irma teaches a robotics course for tenth graders and came to the CEEO to learn about new educational projects involv-ing robots.

Sung Ho YoonProfessor Sung Ho Yoon is visiting from the Mechanical Engineering Depart-ment of Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT), Korea, from January 2016–January 2017 and is interested in both K-12 and college-level engineer-ing education reform.

CEEO Innovation Fund GrantsThis year we launched the CEEO Innovation Fund grants. These grants give an opportunity to CEEO faculty, staff, and graduate students to apply for in-ternal research money to allow them to explore research projects that may not be able to be funded elsewhere. We were very impressed with the results of the CEEO Innovation Fund Grants when presented in February 2016. The program was a success and we submitted a new round of applications for 2016. We had a promising launch with seven proposals submitted and four of these proposals, described below, funded.

Teaching Systems Engineering by Building LEGO Robots (Principal Inves-tigator Aaron Johnson) — a workshop with a research component studying twelve to sixteen middle school students studying different team dynamics based on skills

Surveying International Differences in Teaching and Learning (Principal In-vestigators Lija Yang and Aaron Johnson) — development of a survey that was sent to international teachers to learn how the expectations of teachers and students vary by country and the effect this has on the way we currently do, or possibly could, teach engineering

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) (Principal Investigator Brian O’Con-nell) — the creation of a tool to help track usability and inventory of the CEEO Maker Studio

FlowGo Toolkit (Principal Investigators Erica Kemmerling and Merredith Portsmore) — the development of a tool to help K-12 students learn fluid me-chanics

Erica Kemmerling, Tufts Mechanical Engineer-ing Department, allows students to play with

FlowGo prototypes at 2015 CEEO Open House

Novel Engineering UpdateDuring the past year, Novel Engineering has focused on dissemina-tion. In addition to holding workshops, we have developed a package of Novel Engineering dissemination materials and are developing a network of partners that will also be able to hold Novel Engineering professional development. Partners include New York Hall of Science, Purdue University, Washington University in St. Louis, Harpeth Hall School (a girls’ school in Tennessee), and North Carolina State Uni-versity. The dissemination package includes a website, book units, a teacher guide, and materials for dissemination partners. We are also writing a Novel Engineering book and hope to have a draft by the end of September. In the next year, we will support dissemination partners and submit the Novel Engineering book to publishers as well as sup-port local schools that are participating in Novel Engineering. Novel Engineering Arc

The InterLACE (Interactive Learning and Collaboration Environ-ment) project completed another successful year. Visual Class-rooms, the start-up created by Eric Coopey and Leslie Schneider to commercialize the InterLACE platform, saw continued adoption in classrooms at both high-school and university levels, and several new features were added to support teachers in the administration, coordination, and organization of their activities, classes, and class-room data. Two computer science students (Hamid Mansoor and Ryan Dougherty) completed their master’s projects around imple-menting new features and interactive elements associated with the new InterLACE Interface 2.0 (the continued research and development on the collaborative learning environment happening here at the CEEO). In spring 2016, the “Design Team Teachers” group was relaunched, with teachers meeting periodically and experimenting with the use of InterLACE, Visual Classrooms, and collaborative projects in their classrooms as they explored and reflected on peer-to-peer learning techniques with their students.

InterLACE Design Team Teachers from NH and MA meeting at the CEEO, Spring 2016

InterLACE Update

RFID installed in front of the CEEO Maker Studio

Research Faculty at the CEEOAs September 2015 started, the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) was able to appoint the first CEEO faculty mem-bers in conjunction with an overall restructuring. As Chris Rogers and David Hammer moved from Co-Directors to become Co-Chairs of the CEEO Steering Committee, Ethan Danahy and Merredith Portsmore became the first Research Assistant Faculty with primary appointments at the CEEO. Since 2010, Dr. Ethan Danahy had been a Research As-sistant Professor within the Department of Computer Science at Tufts, working closely with the CEEO throughout that time. Now, his primary appointment will be at the CEEO, keeping a secondary appointment in Computer Science.

Dr. Ethan DanahyResearch Assistant Professor,

CEEO and CS

Dr. Merredith PortsmoreResearch Assistant Professor,

CEEO

visualclassrooms.com

novelengineering.org


Featured Initiatives in FY 2016 Featured Initiatives in FY 2016Online K-12 Engineering Education (OKEE)

While the CEEO has been inspiring students and educators with hands-on tools and progressive pedagogi-cal approaches for the past twenty years, the

reach of that work was often limited by finances, location, and personnel. In fall 2015, we undertook a new initiative to provide access to CEEO-based engineering teaching to any teacher, anywhere in the world. The Online K-12 Engineering Educa-tion (OKEE) program is a set of four graduate-level courses, offered 100 percent online over eighteen months, that provides K-12 educators a chance to develop their content knowledge and the teach-ing practice in engineering.

Designed and developed during the 2014 aca-demic year, we looked at the challenge of reach-ing a wider audience of teachers and identified key design requirements of the program. From talking to the teachers we met at conferences and events, we knew it needed to be 100 percent on-line to reach teachers who would never be able to make it to the Tufts campus. Busy professional teachers with families let us know OKEE needed to be asynchronous to allow educators with shift-ing schedules a chance to learn while juggling the demands of their job and life. From our own years of workshops, research projects, and working with pre-service teachers at Tufts, we knew that help-

Becky McDowell has a long career in education, teaching various elementary and middle school classes, as well as developing STEM curriculum for the NGSS standards as a product develop-ment manager for an education company. She currently teaches K-5 STEM using LEGO in the pi-lot year of her school’s program.

Carl Guinn started his career in the armed forces, serving on active duty for the U.S. Navy and Army, before becoming an elementary school teacher. For the last six years he’s taught fifth grade on a military base in Japan to the children of military and civilian personnel stationed there.

Silvia Scott is a multi-media expert who has been teaching technology to K-5 students for many years, and is now the Tech Integration Specialist at her school. She teaches such diverse subjects and technologies as digital citizenship, coding, iMovie, and MakeyMakey.

okee.tufts.edu

ing teachers become great engineering teachers was more than learning engineering practices and ideas, it was also essential they develop teaching practices to support hands-on engineering proj-ects and understand research and theory related to students’ learning through design. We were also passionate that our online program would be as interactive, hands-on, and dynamic as our in-per-son workshops and classes, a far cry from generic online offerings with taped lectures and multiple choice quizzes.

To that end, we created a four-course sequence (sixteen credit hours) that alternates between con-tent and pedagogy courses.

We welcomed our first small cohort of six students in Fall 2015. This group is from across the coun-try and around world -- from Marblehead, MA, to a military base in Japan. They have engaged in hands-on design challenges, in-depth readings of engineering education research, and analyzed lots of video of students engaged in design. We have loved getting to know our students who are true mavericks, working to implement engineering ed-ucation in innovative ways in a variety of settings, from private school STEM programs to traditional classrooms. Feedback has been very positive about our courses and this amazing group of educators have also helped to shape the improvements and revisions for the OKEE program. For Fall 2016, we OKEE online course videos

OKEE course sequence

Meet the First OKEE StudentsSarah Matheny is the first teacher of a new inno-vation lab at an independent school. She works with students from pre-K up through fifth grade, teaching them engineering skills such as design thinking. Her hands-on lessons have students using everything from LEGO to 3D-printers.

Beth Sommers has spent the last ten years teach-ing pre-K through eighth grade. Her current role is as the Curriculum Integration/Extended Learn-ing Coordinator at her school, where she focus-es on teaching STEM education and Reading/Math Enrichment, as well as organizing exciting enrichment opportunities for her students and colleagues.

Ned Dawes was a consulting civil engineer for twenty-five years before changing careers to ed-ucation nine years ago. He now teaches tech-nology and engineering to seventh and eighth graders, as well as running the after-school Bridge Building club.

had 15 students join us for the program and an additional 15 students try a single course. Cohort 2 has students from as close as Malden, MA, and as far as Qatar. Across both cohorts, we’re continuing to build a community of dedicated educators who are committed to working toward bringing engineering to students in the most dynamic and innovative ways.

We’re currently working on improving the overall messaging and advertising for OKEE with the help of Limelight Marketing as we work toward recruiting Cohort 3 for Fall 2017. The biggest takeaway for us is that hands-on online engineering education adds value to teachers’ toolbox and that it enables us to get to know and bring into the CEEO some amazing and dedicated educators.

OKEE Final Projects, from left to right, a snack alarm, a device to detect laundry falling behind the machine, and part of a robotic fish feeder


Tufts Maker NetworkSince 2014, the CEEO has been inves-tigating and supporting a distributed group of makerspaces across Tufts’ campus. This work — a collaboration between the CEEO and departments

of Mechanical Engineering, Hu-man Factors, and Occupational Therapy — has resulted in a grow-ing interdisciplinary network of student makers who share on-campus resources, spaces, and expertise. Collaborating makerspaces include Jumbo’s Maker Studio at CLIC (Collabo-rative Learning and Innovation Complex) and 200 Boston Ave-nue, the Bray Lab, and the Tufts Crafts Center. Students and clubs participating in the network have hosted weekly workshops and activities, including a popular Tufts-wide “Weekend of Making” in January 2015.

Featured Initiatives in FY 2016 Featured Initiatives in FY 2016Makerspaces at TuftsThe CEEO is committed to supporting making at Tufts. During the past year, several exciting events and collab-orations have shown how strong that commitment is, both on campus and abroad.

Making on Tufts CampusSeveral courses at Tufts have incorporated making into their class explorations, with students building prototypes at Jumbo’s Maker Studio to strengthen their learning. In the Occupational Therapy depart-ment, the course Physical Dysfunction and Pediatrics invited students to design solutions for unique and disabled populations. Offerings from Mechanical Engineering included three making-heavy courses this year. Freshman entering the Engineering School took an introductory Simple Robotics class, where they augmented their robotic constructions with 3D-printed and laser-cut elements. Interdisciplinary courses allowed students to explore building musi-cal instruments (Instruments and Experiments, out of the Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Music Departments), and to practice designing toys and games for young children (Tech Tools for Learning, a course in the Education and Child Development departments). Finally, a CEEO researcher taught an experimental course called Creativity, Fabrication, and Problem Solving, designed to expose interest-ed students from any background and major to the opportunities available in Jumbo’s Maker Studio. In the upcoming semester, a new Mechanical Engi-neering course, How to Make Almost Anything, will be taught by a visiting maker from Artisan’s Asylum, a community fabrication center in Somerville.

Baby BB8 made by Tufts Maker Network

Jumbo’sMaker StudioDuring the past year, Jumbo’s Maker Studio has made a big impact on the

Tufts campus. Jumbo’s Maker Studio at 200 Boston Avenue has thrived as the CEEO’s local makerspace, and another branch has opened at Tufts’ new Collab-orative Learning and Innovation Complex (CLIC) at 574 Boston Avenue. The new Maker Studio @ CLIC has a lot of traffic, due to weekly maker communi-ty events like take-apart nights, waffle nights, and switch-and-solder workshops. The CLIC facilities in-clude 3D printing, soldering, sewing, and more (laser cutting is still available at 200 Boston Avenue). Tufts students, staff, and faculty all tinker together at both locations. The Bray Lab is a new space designated specifically for Mechanical Engineering students to explore mak-ing and rapid prototyping. The Shop space in Bray is organized to maximize safety and scaffold making explorations with the powerful tools housed in this shop, including CNC (computer numerical control) routers, vertical band saws, and lathes. Researchers who run the space offer regular trainings to Engi-neering School students on safe handling and con-struction with the tools. Bray also offers a Design Lab for ideation and prototyping, and an Instrumentation Lab for testing and data collection, and a Mechatron-ics Lab for creating with technology and robotics.

Makers at Jumbo’s Maker Studio @ 574 Boston Avenue

International MakingMembers of the CEEO are collaborating with teach-ers and students at the International School of Bil-lund (ISB) as they launch their new Creator Space. Researchers stayed in Denmark as Researchers, Mak-ers, and Artists in Residence, and explored robotics, woodworking, architecture, and tangible storytelling with ISB students from PreK-8th grade. This research is funded by LEGO Foundation.A CEEO Masters student spent several weeks in Christchurch, New Zealand, launching a documen-tation area for the LEGO Imagination Station. The educational maker space is happy to have a way for children to post and share their own work to the Imagination Station community of followers. A CEEO doctoral student provided outreach and professional development to Queensland schools in Australia. Educators curious about new STEM curric-ulum policies in their region were excited to explore pedagogy, along with PaperBots and LEGO WeDo 2.0, in these educational workshops.

RFID Tag SystemThrough the Tufts Maker Network, Tufts students have access to all the specialized materials and equipment they need to turn their ideas into reality. With so many new tools to explore, students quickly run into challenges, or want to ask for advice. Engi-neers at the CEEO are working to create an automat-ed system for tracking this kind of maker activity, and providing just-in-time help when students get stuck.JumboTap terminals in each space allow makers to start and stop individual sessions with each machine station. A handy “Help” button alerts the knowledge-able volunteer makers, researchers, or faculty mem-bers who run each space to stop by and help that student get started. The JumboTap terminal also lets students document and share their work. “Snap” but-tons on the terminal take a picture of the awesome new creation, and post it directly on the Tufts Maker Network website, where students can show off the result of their hard work.The development and use of the JumboTap RFID terminals are the focus of a doctoral dissertation in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Engineer-ing Education. The terminals were developed as part of a CEEO Innovation Fund grant.

Occupational Therapy students design a cast prototype

maker.tufts.edu


Press and Publications in FY 2016 Press and Publications in FY 2016CEEO in the NewsWordPress.tv (July 4, 2015) — Rafi Yagudin: WordPress in Education Case Study – Tufts UniversityWordPress Wizard (July 4, 2015) — Rafi Yagudin: WordPress in Education Case Study – Tufts UniversityBillund Online (July 29, 2015) — It Swings in Boston: Travel Letter from Teacher Group in BostonSloan Science & Film (July 30, 2015) — Building Blocks: Lego and EngineeringCaja Popcorn email blast (August 16, 2015) — Tins in Time for Labor Daythink1 (September 4, 2015) — Daniela Torres: KIBOHuffington Post (September 8, 2015) — Democratizing the Maker MovementStart Engineering (September 23, 2015) — How to Protect Your Students from Job-Eating RobotsTufts Now (October 2015) — People Notes October 2015: Kristen WendellTufts Now (October 2015) — People Notes October 2015: Merredith PortsmoreTufts Now (October 2015) — People Notes October 2015: Brian GravelTufts Now (October 2015) — People Notes October 2015: Chris Rogersbillundonline.dk (October 16, 2015) — Music Occupies Billund Communitymasslive.com (October 20, 2015) — LEGO Education North America Relocating to Boston’s Back BayColby Magazine (December 2015) — Margaret Aiken Strengthens Connections Between Museum and Communitywww.100Kin10.org (December 15, 2015) — 100K in 10The Hechinger Report (December 16, 2015) — Wire Those Sensors! Save that Turtle!Slate.com (December 16, 2015) — A Novel Way to Teach Kids About EngineeringMastertech Blog (December 18, 2015) — Novel Engineering Project Teaches Kids About Engineering by Using

Fiction Books @TuftsCEEOTufts Now (January 11, 2016) — How Pets Help PeopleOther Machine Co Blog (January 12, 2016) — LEGO and Super Soakers: How a Tufts University Professor is

Changing EducationTufts University School of Engineering, Research and News (January 13, 2016) — Rogers Interviewed by CNC

Machine CompanyBig Deal Media (January 14, 2016) — Put STEAM into STEMYou Tube (January 21, 2016) — Billund Builds Musicthink1.tv (January 26, 2015) — Elissa Milto: Novel EngineeringTufts School of Engineering (February 2016) — ME in the NewsThe Tufts Daily (February 9, 2016) — Fletcher School Hosts Third Annual Innovation WeekThe Tufts Daily (February 9, 2016) — 150 Students Attend Tufts Maker Network’s ‘Weekend of Making’Empresarial UMH Science Park (February 16, 2016) — An Autistic Child Improves his Quality of LIfe Thanks to the

Interaction with the Social Robot from Aisoy Robotics100Kin10 Press Release (February 16, 2016) — 100Kin10 Announces New Partnerswww.aisoy.com (February 16, 2016) — A Child with Autism Improves his Quality of Life Interacting with the Robot

Aisoy 1PR*Urgent.com (February 17, 2016) — PledgeCents, Inc. Named as Partner in 100Kin10, National Network to

Grow STEM Teacher ForceNational Science Foundation (February 18, 2016) — President Obama Honors Early Career Scientists with Top

White House Award

White House (February 18, 2016) — President Obama Honors Early Career Scientists Kansas City infoZine (February 19, 2016) — President Barack Obama Honors Early Career ScientistsYoutube.com/Curtin University (February 25, 2016) — Learning through LEGOYoutube.com/Curtin University (February 25, 2016) — Teaching and Learning at Curtin is Fun...Seriously!Tufts Now (March 2, 2016) — People NotesEl Punt Avui (March 7, 2016) — Going Native with Neil StokesInternational Technology and Engineering Educators Association (March 10, 2016) — STEM Connections,

March 2016Boston Business Journal (March 15, 2016) — With Playtime and Toy Scissors, LEGO Education Opens Back Bay HQBoston City TV (March 15, 2016) — LEGO Education Boston Headquarter Ribbon CuttingBostonherald.com (March 16, 2016) — LEGO Education unveils new HQ in Back BayGlobest.com (March 16, 2016) — LEGO Education HQ Now Officially in Boston7 News.com (March 16, 2016) — LEGO to Celebrate its Opening Day in BostonInnovateLI (March 20, 2016) — You Know the Mother of Invention. Here’s the SonEurekAlert! (March 23, 2016) — Tufts Faculty Earn National Awards for Exceptional Potential in Science and Engi-

neeringTuftsNow (March 23, 2016) — Tufts Faculty Earn National Awards for Exceptional Potential in Science and EngineeringThe Tufts Daily (March 31, 2016) — Maker Network Connects Maker Organizations on Campus, Increases Acces-

sibility of MakerspacesTufts News & Events, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering (April 25, 2016) — Soft Ro-

bot ChallengeEl Mundo (April 28, 2016) — Ability-Based Education (La educación basada en las habilidades)White House (May 5, 2016) — Honoring Federally Funded Scientists and Engineers at the Forefront of Research

and DiscoveryNational Science Foundation (www.medium.com) (May 6, 2016) — “Teacher-Scholars” HonoredNational Science Foundation (May 17, 2016) — Investigating STEM Literacies in MakerspacesNational Science Foundation (May 17, 2016) — Student Thinking in Novel EngineeringTufts Innovates (May 23, 2016) — Tufts Announcements/Tufts InnovatesEducation 2.1 (Spring 2016) — Careers in STEM Interview with Brian O’ConnellEurekAlert! (June 1, 2016) — Tufts engineer earns NSF Career Award to study multidimensional data scienceWicked Local Malden (June 3, 2016) — Student Projects Combine Science and ArtCampus Technology (June 6, 2016) — Tufts U to Host LEGO Learning SymposiumDigital Journal (June 6, 2016) — LEGO Learning Symposium Explores New STEAM Teaching Methods for K-12

EducationLEGO Education (June 6, 2016) — LEGO Learning Symposium Explores New STEAM Teaching Methods for K-12

EducationTHE Journal (June 6, 2016) — Tufts U to Host Lego Learning Symposium for K-12 EducatorsLEGO Education (June 25, 2016) — LEGO Education Elementary News June 2016 Newsletter


Press and Publications in FY 2016 Press and Publications in FY 2016

Journal Articles and Book ChaptersDalvi, T., & Wendell, K. B. (2015). Community-Based Engineering. Science and Children, 53 (1).

Milto, E., Wendell, K., Watkins, J., Hammer, D., Spencer, K., Portsmore, M. & Rogers, C. (2016). E l e m e n t a r y School Engineering for Fictional Clients in Children’s Literature. Connecting Science and Engineering Education Practices in Meaningful Ways, L. Annetta & J. Minogue (Eds.).

Conference Papers, Posters, Publications, and WorkshopsAndrews, C. (2016). Failure and Idea Evolution in an Elementary Engineering Workshop. Proceedings of the 123rd American Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition. New Orleans, LA.

Andrews, C. (2016). “Can I See If This Fails?”: Positioning During an Elementary Engineering Design Task. Poster presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Education Research Association. Washington, DC.

Bratzel, B. (2015). Dr. E’s Challenges. Presentation at the 12th Annual World Robot Olympiad Symposium. Doha, Qatar.

Bratzel, B. (2016). Engaging Learners in STEM Education. Presentation at the Global Education Forum at Global Education Supplies and Solutions Conference and Exhibition. Dubai, United Arab Emerites.

Bratzel, B. (2016). Creative STEM Projects Using LEGO Robotics. Presentation at the Moscow International Edu-cation Show. Moscow, Russia.

Dalvi, T., & Wendell, K. (2016). Student and Novice Teacher Learning of Science Ideas and Engineering Practices through Community-Based Engineering. Paper presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Educa-tional Research Association. Washington, DC.

Deitrick, E., Shapiro, R. B., Ahrens, M. P., Fiebrink, R., Lehrman, P. D., & Farooq, S. (2015). Using Distributed Cog-nition Theory to Analyze Collaborative Computer Science Learning. Paper presented at the 11th Annual Interna-tional Computing Education Research Conference. Omaha, NE.

Deitrick, E., Shapiro, R. B., & Gravel, B. (2016). How Do We Assess Equity in Programming Pairs? Paper presented at the 12th Annual International Conference of the Learning Sciences. Nanyang Technological University, Singa-pore.

Dini, V. (2016). Teachers’ Disciplinary Engagement in an Online Professional Development Course. Proceedings of the 89th Annual International Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Baltimore, MD.

Johnson, A., Wendell, K., & Watkins, J. (2016). Dimensions of Experienced Responsive Teaching in Engineering. Honorable mention for best paper, Pre-College Engineering Education Division. Proceedings of the 123rd Amer-ican Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition. New Orleans, LA.

Johnson, A., Willner-Giwerc, S., & Grogan, P. (2016). Developing a Systems Engineering Activity for Middle School Students Using LEGO Robotics. Proceedings of the 123rd American Society of Engineering Education Confer-ence and Exposition. New Orleans, LA.

Johnson, A., Rogers, C., Lehrman, P., & Tobin, R. (2016). Interdisciplinary Peer Learning in the Science and Engi-neering of Music. Poster presented at the 29th Tufts University-Wide Teaching Conference. Medford, MA.

Publications and Presentations by CEEO Authors McCormick, M., & Watkins, J. (2016). Dynamic Engagements in “Open-Problem” Engineering Design. Presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Washington, DC.

Portsmore, M. (2016). Novel Engineering: An Integrated Approach to Teaching Engineering and Literacy. Work-shop presented at the 123rd American Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition. New Orle-ans, LA.

Rogers, C., Hammer, D., Portsmore, M., Milto, E., Watkins, J., Johnson, A., & Bratzel, B. (2016). The Dimensions of Solution Diversity in Novel Engineering: An Integrated Approach to Teaching Engineering and Literacy. Poster presented at the National Science Foundation Discovery Research K-12 Principal Investigator Meeting. Washing-ton, DC.

Swenson, J., Danahy, E., & Messner, W. (2015). Initial Investigation into Engineering Students Problem Solving within Controls. Paper presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Frontiers in Education Conference. El Paso, TX.

Strawhacker, A. L., Sullivan, A. A., & Portsmore, M. (2016). Billund Builds Music: An Engineering Education.Initiative in Danish Kindergartens. Paper presented at the 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Integrated STEM Education Conference. Princeton, NJ.

Swenson, J., Wendell, K., & Dalvi, T. (2015). Introducing Engineering and Making to Urban Pre-Service Teachers through Community-Based Projects. Poster presented at FabLearn 2015 Conference on Creativity and Fabrica-tion in Education. Palo Alto, CA.

Wendell, K., Swenson, J., & Dalvi, T. (2016). Learning Engineering and Teaching Engineering: Comparing the En-gineering Epistemologies of Two Novice Teachers with Distinct Pedagogies of Design. Proceedings of the 123rd American Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition. New Orleans, LA.

Wendell, K., Watkins, J., & Johnson, A. (2016). Noticing, Assessing, and Responding to Students’ Engineering: Exploring a Responsive Teaching Approach to Engineering Design. Proceedings of the 123rd American Society of Engineering Education Conference and Exposition. New Orleans, LA.

Wendell, K., Wright, C., & Paugh, P. (2016). Exploring Ways to Help Urban Elementary Students Meet the Language and Literacy Demands of Collaborative Engineering Design. Paper presented at the National Association of Re-search in Science Teaching. Baltimore, MD.

Panels and PresentationsBratzel, B. (2016). Engaging Learners Using LEGO Robotics. Presentation at the LEGO GESS Dinner, Global Education Supplies and Solutions Confer-ence and Exhibition. Dubai, United Arab Emerites.

Bratzel, B. (2016). Open-Ended STEM Projects Using LEGO Robotics. Presen-tation at Moscow State Pedagogical University. Moscow, Russia.

Johnson, A. (2016). Panel member, STEM/Education: An Exploration of Cur-rent Programs at All Levels in Massachusetts State and Corporate Support Ini-tiatives. The New England Chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International Robotica 2016 Conference. Devens, MA.


Financial Statements Financial Statements

Revenue FY 2016 FY 2015Fees $ 137,666 $ 84,829Private Grants $ 303,590 $ 113,980Government Grants $ 98,256 $ 1,401,261Tufts SOE Dean’s Office $ 197,584 $ 193,199ICR Return $ 29,633 $ —Tufts University Funding $ 30,628 $ 3,974Endowment $ 39,917 $ 47,033Gifts $ 104,692 $ 201,850Tuition $ 28,900 $ —Total Revenue $ 975,359 $ 2,046,126In-Kind Support LEGO $ 40,000 $ 30,000 National Instruments $ 9,000 $ 20,000Total Revenue + In-Kind $ 1,024,359 $ 2,096,126

Expenses FY 2016 FY 2015Labor Faculty $ 267,064 $ 258,474 Staff Administrative $ 122,334 $ 155,786 Project Staff $ 245,253 $ 272,458 Post Docs $ 156,044 $ 56,952 Students + tuition/fees $ 564,524 $ 489,438 Teacher Stipends + Consulting $ 136,875 $ 204,431 Total Benefits for Staff, Faculty, + Students $ 183,067 $ 179,131Materials + other $ 220,064 $ 188,413 Travel Domestic $ 61,523 $ 91,369 International $ 88,591 $ 50,062Subcontracts — 6,225F&A $ 441,108 $ 495,477Total Expenses $ 2,486,447 $ 2,448,216

FY 2016 Financials: Overview of Revenue and ExpensesFiscal Year 2016 brought in a few new projects and we saw a few leave as well. One of our faculty members took a job at another university, bringing a number of government grants with him at the end of FY 2015. As shown on the table below, the government grant installments has decreased due to the grants reported on in FY 2015 no longer being part of our funding in FY 2016. We launched our OKEE Certificate Program in FY 2016, so we now receive tuition money. Due to some transition in the Tufts Budget Center, we did not receive any ICR return in FY 2015, so it was received in FY 2016.

FY 2016 Financials: Overview of Revenue and ExpensesThe graphs below represent the revenue brought into the CEEO during FY 2016 broken down by funding source; FY 2016 expenses broken down by funding sources; and the overall FY 2016 expenses breakdown.

26Annual Report FY 2016

Financial StatementsBalance Overview and Total CommitmentsAs we wrap up the FY 2016, the chart “Snapshot of Balances as of June 30, 2015” shows the ending balance of our accounts. We are still mostly funded by government grants starting FY 2016. The “Total Commitments” chart reflects how much money is contracted to us in FY 2017 and FY 2018 according to our yearly budgeted amount from government grants and private grants awarded to the CEEO.


Grant Name Sponsor Status Project Years Total Amount

1 LEGO Education Sponsored Research Agreement LEGO Education Awarded 3 $450,000

2Maker Studios in Schools: Bringing Creativity and Play to the Classroom (ISB)

LEGO Education Awarded 2 $399,981

3 CAREER: Urban Elementary Teacher NSF Awarded 2 $154,072

44-D Curriculum Visualization Tool Design — Design Specification Development

100Kin10 Awarded 1 $31,622

5 Development of a New Class in the Science and Engineering Classroom Tufts University Awarded 1 $29,035

6 A Study of College Students Epistemological Development NSF Pending 5 $1,978,049

7

US Ignite: Collaborative Research: Focus Area 2: Virtual Transport Services for Real-Time Social Camera Applica-tions

NSF Pending 1 $639,887

8

Collaborative Research: Strategies: STOMP as a Program Model for Devel-oping Understanding of Engineering Design and STEM Careers in Youth


9EAGER: MAKER: Investigating Cultur-ally Contextualized Making with the Navajo Nation


10 Examining Science and Engineering Practices in Out-of-School Workshops NSF Declined 3 $897,109

11 Animal-Based Science and Engineering Education NSF Declined 3 $599,788

Grant Applications Submitted in FY 2016Financial Statements Financial Statements

Grant Name Sponsor Status Project Years Total Amount

12RET Site at Tufts University for Under-standing Infrastructure in Civil and Environmental Engineering

NSF Declined 3 $596,185

13EAGER: MAKER: Making to Learn: Self-Directed Learning and Assessment App for Makers

NSF Declined 2 $150,001

14 Assistive Technology Innovations Tufts University Declined 1 $36,348

Grant Applications Submitted in FY 2016

CEEO Supported GrantsCAREER: Probabilistic Nonlinear Structural Identifica-tion for Health Monitoring of Civil Structures Babak Moaveni, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

30Annual Report FY 2016

Thank You to Our DonorsWe would like to thank the following donors for their generous contributions

to the CEEO between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

Corporate and Foundation DonationsCapital of Children Company Fundació Sant Joan de Déu

James S. McDonnell Family Foundation LEGO Education

LEGO Foundation National Instruments

Leila Shakkour, Michael Thorne, and the LLL Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation

PTC, Inc.Move the World Foundation

Alumni and Friends DonationsEthan E. Danahy, Ph.D.

David M. & Ellen Scolnic Mr. Philip C. Strassburger

Thomas L. and Jill M. Pappas

And to our anonymous donors as well!

Donations to CEEO

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