GForce STEM Academy
The purpose of GForce STEM Academy is an innovative experiential youth development center. Our objective is to use school/ after school robotics, NGSS practices, STEM Academy enrichment, student’s internship programs, and career development to engage future innovators, engineers, scientist, and their teachers.
Our mission is to enhance the STEM integration of projects in mathematics, physics, computational skills through a hands-on-minds-on approach; in turn are leveraged in subsequent programs in electronics, design, coding, process improvement, data acquisition, and automation technologies; all in a context of active learning methodologies such as project based hands-on problem solving, and case studies; learning are reinforced through partnerships, job shadowing, and internships. Soft skills such as communication (written, verbal, presentation) and teamwork are integral part of our programs.
Enrollment in the program shall be granted without discrimination in regard to sex, race, color, creed, special needs, or political belief, provided the program can meet the needs of the child.
Summer Manufacturing Internship
The team created various videos explaining the project and pitching their ideas.
This program is designed to teach critical STEM-based problem solving skills to both a team of high school students as well as younger-aged students from all over the world. In this 5-week internship, a team of students are tasked with creating a kit of robotic parts that can be acquired for under $55. This ensures that as many schools as possible have access to this educational resource. Everything must be in the kit, including mechanical structures and various electrical components. In addition to that, the team must assemble a manual or instructional videos that explain the basics of programming and robotics to a younger audience. After the team has assembled their kit and confirmed it works as expected, it is field-tested with a group of middle school students, and then manufactured to be used by schools from around the world.
STEM COACH DEVELOPMENT
TEAM BUILDING STRATEGIES
We offer workshops for Technology / Engineering Multi-disciplinary Coaches with an entrepreneurial mindset to enable the team to achieve a specified outcome. Coaches will not only learn how to work with existing team or a cross-functional teams but also how to deal with the advantages and challenges of team-based leadership. In today’s venture capitalist-driven economy, it is a known fact that the key determinant factors of success of any firm are the structure of its teams.
In developing people and teams, students will look at individual development models including coaching, mentoring, motivation theory, and applicable case studies. Team development will be explored through the topics of facilitation, collaboration. Participants will also have the opportunity to assess their personal style of conflict resolution and evaluate with four categories of high performance: 1. Formation, focusing, performance, and levelling. Individual assessment skill metrics tools will be provided to best describe behavior and stage of development.
TEACHER CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
We partner and work alongside the teachers to develop unit based curriculum for their departments and classes. We elaborate on the seven important factors for building a high performance structure: culture, mission/purpose, process, roles, relationships, respect, & reward. The effective leadership engagements are learned on the 5C process: Compassion, Communicate, Cooperate, Courage, and Collaborate, because together everyone achieves more.
Current Projects
Providing consultation services for several K-16 STEM school initiatives, experiential education centers, and administration of special grants; feasibility project support in infusing STEM into all part of the economic disciplines; pioneer NextGen-affordable STEM schools for Urban America; pre-feasibility studies and research on transforming and empowering the third world youth through STEM and project-based entrepreneurial education.
Here is another tool that will help educators seeking new ways to improve STEM results among students.
I'mFlight Simulator
Provides a portable turnkey flight station that rolls into classrooms. Its rugged platform is sized for students and is ideal for visual classroom learning. We can simply roll the edustation® into your STEM classroom, plug it in, press two buttons and you’re ready to fly.
We have found a natural synergy between using flight simulation as a visual learning tool and students understanding of math and science. Designing flight plans to be used in our simulators involves problem solving with geometry, trigonometry, physics, geography, topography, meteorology and astronomy. Our flight simulators are engineered for middle schools, high schools and colleges.
Gforce Flight Club
Starting a Flight Club is the best way to introduce students to flight simulation. Our simulators always attract a crowd of both girls and boys who are excited by the opportunity to fly. Students can fly every airfield in the world in over 50 different aircraft. We supply our Flight Club Manual to train the teachers who will lead the students. Once the initial group of students become “Captains”, they, in turn, train the next group of students, etc.
Flying Makes STEM FunTM (FMSF) is our STEM Lab program. This tool encourages the students to solve complex problems using multiple disciplines. Pulling together math and science to plan flights challenges students to solve problems using many common core strategies.
FMSFTM has been written by teachers who are actual pilots. They have developed lesson plans integrating math and science that are fun and engaging. Teams of students work together to plan and execute flight plans from a basic level through complex flights. edustation® STEM Lab consists of 6 fields of study with 22 1 hour classroom lessons with an accompanying 1 hour lab curriculum. Visits to Cooper can be arranged. http://www.cooper.edu/engineering/summer-stem/projects
