What if the same ideas behind folding origami or arranging beads could help students understand engineering concepts?
That’s the question driving a new collaboration between Trevor Jones and the education platform Galactic Polymath. Backed by Jones’ National Science Foundation CAREER award, the partnership is translating his research into free online lessons for middle schoolers.
“Researchers are always asked to make their work more accessible,” said Jones, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. “I wanted to do that in a way that felt authentic, so that students can see how things they’re already doing, like crafting, connect to the bigger engineered world around them.”
Students can see how things they’re already doing, like crafting, connect to the bigger engineered world around them.
Trevor Jones, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
