ITEEA Announces Elementary STEM Council Grand Design Challenge Winning Team
RESTON, VA., FEBRUARY 1, 2023 – ITEEA’s Elementary STEM Council is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Grand Design Challenge. The NAE Grand Challenges were designed to cause students and educators to think about solutions and challenges affecting all our lives. In 2022, elementary students from around the world worked in small design teams to develop or modify a product or device that will assist children with limited mobility to fold their laundry. This year’s submissions impressed the judges with the elementary students’ use of the engineering design loop, testing of products, refining of products, and serious consideration of external factors.
Carol McElroy’s class is a Center-based Emotional Support Class in Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 at the Mulberry Street School. The class, including: Nick, David, Emma, Sandy, Kassie, Jeremiah, and Josiah worked with support from their STEM teacher, Ms. Fellows, to complete their project. This year was the class’s first year participating in a formal STEM class, so they have been focusing on the Engineering Design Process, teamwork, and Growth Mindset. This challenge was a perfect way to practice those skills in a fun and engaging way! Program staff were so proud of the growth they saw in the students in these and many other areas throughout the time working on this challenge! The team won a one-year I-STEM Education Group Membership, one free hotel night in Minneapolis for he 2023 ITEEA conference, and a spot in ITEEA’s 2023 STEM Showcase.
Council President, Dr. Cathrine Maiorca, shared, "On behalf of the Elementary STEM Council, congratulations to Ms. McElroy, Ms. Fellows, and their students for winning this year’s challenge. Although all the submissions offered creative designs, the team from the Mulberry Street School developed an outstanding video to demonstrate their product. They developed an innovative, low-cost machine to fold laundry for individuals with limited mobility. We hope everyone who participated this year will consider participating in the 2023 Grand Design Challenge, which will be announced soon.
The 2023 Grand Design Challenge will be announced in late spring. Submissions are due December 15, 2023. Questions can be directed to Michael Daugherty, mkd03@uark.edu, Virginia Jones, vjones@iteea.org, or Thomas Roberts, otrober@bgsu.edu.
Learn more about ITEEA's Elementary STEM Council at https://www.iteea.org/the-elementary-stem-council