Through NASCAR, Clemson curriculum drives science into the classroom

Published: March 9, 2011

Donna Gunderson, left, of Clemson's mathematical sciences department helps Florida teachers Sue Gleason and Phil Ransbottom test the effect of release height on the speed of a model car while surrounded by working race cars in Daytona's image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON, S.C. — Where most NASCAR fans see race cars rocketing around a track at nearly 200 miles per hour, Dot Moss sees Newton's First Law of Motion.

The challenge for Moss, director of Clemson University's "Math Out of the Box" program for schools, is to get more people to see the sport her way: as a creative method for teaching math and science principles to young people.

Her solution is "Driving SCIENCE," an intensive four-day program for middle school teachers that had its debut just before the 2011 Daytona 500.

Developed at Clemson with a grant from the DuPont Motorsports, the program offered two dozen teachers from six schools in and around Daytona Beach a chance to get a practical view of the science and math they teach.

"We're providing the teachers with lots of ideas to take back to their classrooms — practical everyday ideas that will help them involve more students in discussions," Moss said. "The idea is to allow students to see how these subjects are applied every day in their lives and to help them become more aware of the careers they can enjoy because of them — careers including motorsports."

Scientific theory hasn't changed a lot since Sir Isaac Newton's apple, but that apple didn't weigh 3,400 pounds nor travel nearly 200 miles per hour. The curriculum Moss created infuses science teaching with all the action and excitement of a modern NASCAR race.

"Race teams depend on science and technology to help their drivers gain every bit of speed possible on the race track," said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood, who helped sponsor the program. "The teachers in Driving SCIENCE can take what they learned in the classroom and see it applied in person on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway."

The idea is part of a nationwide effort to improve classroom instruction in what educators call "STEM" — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The federal government last fall renewed its commitment to improving STEM education, which it considers essential to providing a work force for an increasingly technology-based economy.

The initial Driving SCIENCE course was a a four-day professional development institute sponsored by Daytona International Speedway, DuPont Motorsports and Hands-On Science Partnership. Moss led the teachers' sessions, which included analysis of speed; understanding force, energy and motion; experimenting with "mouse trap" cars; and studying safety principles on major super speedways.

The course concluded with a day at the races, allowing the teachers to see STEM in action at the Gatorade Duel, two 150-mile qualifying races to determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.

"We all win when we help develop a work force that has an understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, including local communities, businesses like DuPont, the United States and the world," said DuPont Motorsports Manager Larry Deas.  "Linking the Daytona International Speedway with STEM professional development allows teachers and students alike to see the many career opportunities available to them in racing and in business."

Moss hopes to expand the program to other NASCAR tracks to reach science and math teachers around the country.

"We develop unique professional development in math, science and literacy to meet specific needs," Moss said. "Shortly after we held the first Math Out of the Box Institutes here at Clemson, we started receiving requests for workshops from schools wanting to improve student achievement.

"Driving SCIENCE provides best practices in STEM instruction in a very novel way. It allows them, for instance, to take an engineering design problem — such as designing a wall that will prevent a model car from bouncing back into the track — and then go out to the real track and see how it is constructed," she said. "These are methods and models that educators can take back with them and use to reach students in a very practical way."

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