The TADS (Teachers at Dassault Systèmes) program, established in 2013, is part of a corporate engagement commitment to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The three main goals of the program are to Educate Teachers by providing first-hand knowledge about STEM careers, to Educate Students by enabling teachers to create learning modules for the classroom, and to Educate Communities by increasing awareness of Dassault Systèmes within the local public school communities. During a 6-week internship at SIMULIA, TADS teachers create curriculum modules that can be used in their classrooms and shared with other teachers. David Duke, SIMULIA R&D QA Manager, managed the 2017 TADS program and worked with William Tejada, the Pre-Engineering teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Rhode Island.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m going into my second year of teaching with the Providence Public Schools system. I graduated from Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA) in the Dominican Republic with an Associate’s Degree in Industrial Engineering. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Rhode Island and I’m currently in my second year of completing a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering at the same school. Before I became a high school teacher, I managed the engineering academy and the engineering talent development programs at URI.

As a first-year high school Pre-Engineering teacher at Mount Pleasant High School I helped develop our Pre-Engineering Academy, which has been running for three years and this year we have implemented changes to align the program with our commitment to preparing linguistically and culturally diverse students for the global workforce. By modifying a curriculum developed by faculty in engineering, we created a translanguaging classroom where the full linguistic repertoire of students, teachers and their communities is leveraged to engage in the Engineering Design Process (EDP).

Why were you interested in becoming a TADS teacher?

Aside from becoming a partner through Dassault Systèmes Education Partner Program (EPP) and having access to certification, training materials, curricula and eLearning systems for the latest versions of Solidworks, I want to learn more about the company’s simulation programs and labs to be able to bring some of these tools back to the classroom. Also, to have the opportunity to learn what other teachers were doing in the pre-Engineering classroom setting.

Describe your project and how you chose it.

The purpose of the project was to immerse students in the Engineering Design Process in order to solve a crucial world problem through Engineering and Critical Thinking. Students immersed themselves in a Deeper Learning environment by researching the social and environmental issues that occur in many parts of the world. The project required the students to create a working Stirling Engine from mostly recycled materials. The use of this type of engine provides a solution to the lack of fuels available in many locations in order to operate an internal combustion engine. As a result of the completion of the engine, students produced the power necessary to run a small motor that could assist in the process of moving and purifying water.

What do you hope your students learn from this project?

As global energy demands increase, fuel costs rise, and the threat of CO2 induced global climate change looms, the worldwide pursuit of more efficient engines has never been greater. The allure of the Stirling Engine lies in that it is an external combustion engine, which means that it can be driven by nearly any heat source, e.g., biodiesel, biomass, solar energy, and alcohol-based fuels, without any modification to the engine. This inquiry activity gives students the opportunity to build and make operational a Stirling Engine utilizing recycled materials. These engines are built with flexibility in mind so students have the opportunity to easily modify the design for purposes that can be selected by the teacher, but preferably by the students (highest RPM’s, most power, greatest efficiency, etc.). This activity requires that students put into practice ideas from physics, chemistry, mathematics, design, and construction, just to name a few.

What did you learn from this project?

I learned that this process (of teacher collaboration) translates teamwork into a teacher-owned enterprise, which is the highest leverage strategy for school improvement. Teaming helps create strategies for increasing academic rigor while having the support of the people at Dassault Systèmes.

What would you say the value of simulation is?

The value of simulation is that it can be used to provide a deeper learning environment for students. The use of simulated activities in education is widely becoming recognized as an important tool in schools. Educational simulations offer several benefits, including:

• Simulations are often cheaper to create than their real life counterparts. Installing flight simulation software is cheaper than buying a practice jet for each school.
• They are easier to construct.
• Simulations remove the element of danger from the situation. For example, you can “interact” with a Bengal tiger in a simulation quite safely.

Any final thoughts on your time here at Dassault Systèmes?

What a ride it has been during these 6 weeks at Dassault Systèmes TADS 2017 Summer Program! Outstanding work is being done, creating opportunities for teachers to bump heads and create products accessible to students, learn from each other’s experience, see what we do in our schools, see the different teaching environment and challenges we are presented with and how we can overcome them. It’s been an awesome experience as a second year teacher, where professional growth, teamwork and social impacts were promoted. Let’s continue Engine(ering) A Solution!

This article will be published in the November 2017 issue of SIMULIA Community News magazine.