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Pennsylvania Transportation Institute reaches out to students and teachers By Robin A. Tallon
The late Dr. Donald A. Streit (center, above), professor of mechanical engineering, shows middle school and high school students the Penn State Power Lion hybrid electric vehicle. Streit is director of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute’s new outreach project titled “Hybrid and Electric Vehicle M3 Education.”	Penn State’s Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (PTI) is bringing hybrid electric vehicle technologies to students at the Bellefonte Area Middle School, Susquehanna Township Middle School and Steelton-Highspire High School.   Students from these three Pennsylvania schools are participating in an outreach project titled “Hybrid and Electric Vehicle M3 Education,” directed by the late Dr. Donald A. Streit, professor of mechanical engineering and director of PTI’s Vehicle Systems and Safety Program. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, Graduate Teaching Fellows in GK-12 Education. By focusing on hybrid electric vehicles, Streit’s research team hopes to increase the students’ understanding of science, math, engineering and technology and increase the number of students pursuing careers in these fields.   Graduate students from the College of Engineering and the Eberly College of Science are interacting directly with seventh-, eighth- and 10th-grade science and technology teachers in the three schools. The main function of the graduate students is to be a resource for the teacher; however, the graduates are also participating directly with the students through classroom lectures and activities. Earlier in the school year, more than 500 students from the three schools were bused to Penn State and given tours of several of the labs affiliated with hybrid electric vehicle technologies.   Each of the participating teachers received $1,000, and each school’s science department received $500 to support the new curriculum. Penn State’s contribution to the school districts totaled $10,500. The teachers used the funds to purchase classroom computers, Web cameras, software, manipulative kits, laboratory equipment and other materials to help them engage their students in learning.   The outreach project also includes a “Science Question of the Week” Web site. Students submit their answers to the posted question. Teachers receive a tally of results for each week. Some teachers are using the activity to award extra credit to students who answer the science questions. Coming soon to the classroom will be Web-based videoconferencing for tutoring purposes.