• About The Project
• Principal Investigators
• Advisory Committee
• Partners/Contact

About Building SPEED

The United States' global competitiveness is jeopardized because we do not engage enough students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) study to prepare the next generation of STEM researchers and educators or, perhaps more importantly, a scientifically literate public. Shifting national population demographics—the majority of children born in the 21st Century will belong to groups currently underrepresented in STEM—make engaging people from diverse backgrounds even more crucial for the nation's future. We address these issues via a combination of teacher research, development of engaging curricular materials that emphasize the applications of STEM to motorsports, and public science experiences that bring science to the race-going public.

Sponsors

• We thank the National Science Foundation (PHY-0839180) for funding the development of materials to be used in the classroom and with the public.

The Project

Building SPEED has three main components: Developing materials that use motorsports to engage K-12 students and the public in math, science and engineering; disseminating materials to teachers through teacher academies; and bringing motorsports science to the public through science museums and other informal science education venues.

• Materials Development: Building SPEED materials show students how the math and science principles they are learning–the very same principles required by local, state and national science standards–have real-life applications. Motorsports is a perfect laboratory for math and science because you cannot win races without understanding math and science. Our research-based materials, developed using the Understanding By Design principles, also provide teachers with formative assessment to help them evaluate how well their students are learning the topics.
• Improving Student Engagement. Many students lose interest in math and science because they don't see how the topics they are learning relate to them and their interests. A multitude of basic math and science principles can be illustrated with cars. Personalities and the drama of racing take math and science from the pages of textbooks to today's news.
• Career Paths in Math and Science. Racing fans collect 'hero cards', glossy pages that feature drivers and their statistics. To show students how math and science can provide a path to a career in motorsports Building SPEED hero cards feature mini-profiles of people in motorsports industries who use math and science in their jobs. Education levels range from high school to Ph.D., and occupations from working with race teams to university researchers to driving race cars. Building SPEED hero cards feature the full diversity of people in motorsports.
• Teacher Academies. Building SPEED materials will be disseminated through Teacher Academies for middle and high school teachers. Academies are scheduled for Fall 08 in Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; and Dover, Delaware. Subsequent academies will be announced as they are funded.
• Public Science Events. Local science museums provide opportunities for fans to experience exciting hands-on demonstrations and activities. Stations will include information about the advanced materials used in the cars and tracks, opportunities to 'beat the crew chief' by calculating whether your driver can finish the race without running out of gas, and an explanation of why raising a car's center of gravity makes it harder to turn. 

© 2006-2008 Diandra Leslie-Pelecky | Contact Us | Website adapted from a design by Andreas Viklund. The materials on this website are development with the partial support of the National Science Foundation through PHY-0839180. The views and conclusions herein may not represent those of the National Science Foundation.