Transcript Panel Discussion: Metrology Ambassador Outreach

Developing an Educational Outreach Kit
based on Dimensional Metrology
Speaker:
Hy D. Tran, PhD, PE
Sandia National Laboratories
Monday July 30, 2012
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin
Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
Desired Outcomes
• Participants will be familiar with the contents of the
newly developed dimensional metrology kit for
metrology ambassador activities
• Participants will be familiar with the contents of the
laser interferometer demonstration
• Participants will seek opportunities to use both new
kits in STEM outreach activities, and will add new
materials for use by other metrology ambassadors
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Why a dimensional metrology kit?
• Existing kits in the L&D library have well developed
content, including structure and learning outcomes
aligned with educational content standards
• Existing kits limit number of participants (two students
per kit approaches a practical limit)
• Dimensional metrology is easily related to NCSLI
“Introduction to Metrology” presentation (the Cubit is
a dimensional standard)
– The author is familiar with dimensional metrology
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Challenges and Possible Solutions
• Loss of interest in STEM fields for US students in
middle school and high school
– Hands-on activities to engage and enthuse student
• Teacher interest and involvement
– Links between materials in outreach and state
standards
• Volunteer effort
– Prepared materials, presentations, activities
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Intended audience and goals for outreach
• Easy for metrology ambassadors to use
– Easy for metrology ambassadors to extend!
– Well-articulated outcomes that schools can use
• Target audience is middle school to high school (US
ages 12-18)
– Keep (or increase) students’ interests in STEM fields
– Provide STEM teachers additional resources and ideas
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Development plan
Questions:
• What are “good”
student outcomes?
• What experiences
would help lead to good
outcomes?
• Balance with volunteer
development effort
• Balance with resources
Solutions
• Investigate educational
standards; talk with
teachers; talk with other
volunteers
• Borrow ideas from
metrology ambassadors,
from L&D community, …
• Solicit donations
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Ideas for dimensional metrology ambassador kit
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The dimensional kit
• Target audience: Middle school and up (adjust
content depth depending on time and audience)
• Measurement content: Aligns with NM math and
science standards; also aligns with new US “common
core” math standards
– Analysis of experimental data
– Concepts in traceability and uncertainty
• Can also be used with more “open-ended” questions
• Can weave in “careers in metrology” resources
– Motivate students to learn more about metrology
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Audience participation
• Pass around parts of dimensional kit
• Students would be asked to measure diameter &
length of serialized cylinders.
• Possible concepts:
– Comparison
– Statistical evaluation
– Procedures and communications
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Sample slides for the caliper kit
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Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Describe “metrology”
• Explain what is a
measurement
• Describe repeatability
and accuracy
• Describe mean, variance,
standard deviation
• Apply mean and standard
deviation in evaluating
measurement data
• Describe a histogram,
and plot a histogram
• Relate mathematics and
statistics to a career
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Hands on
• We’re going to do some hands-on exercises
– Divide into teams of 2
• Measuring cylinders: Want both diameter and length
– To use the digital calipers:
• Turn on (press on button); close jaws; press zero button;
select units (inch or mm)
• Measure length and measure diameter (use inch
units. Official policy is to use SI, but for this class
we’ll use inches because I’m contrary)
– legally, worldwide: 1 inch = 0.0254 meter exactly
• One of the team members raise your hand (and keep
it up) when you’re done.
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Discussion
• How did you measure the item?
– How many times did you measure?
– If you measured more than once, was it
on the same points?
– Or different points?
– What plan did you make beforehand?
– If you measured a diameter on a
cylinder more than once, how did you
decide what value to record?
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Student worksheet
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OK, let’s compare!
• Do you want to re-measure your cylinders before we
continue?
• Each team selects the last cylinder you measured,
and report:
– Cylinder number
– Length
– Diameter
• (go to next slide to write down data)
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Interferometer demonstration
• Set up interferometer demo. Play slide
interferometer slide show
• Concepts:
– History of length unit and SI
– Demonstration of Michelson interferometer
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Sample slides for interferometer
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www.MetrologyCareers.com
PRESENTING
the
Objectives
You will learn about
The roots of the metric system
 The definition of the meter
 Albert Michelson’s contribution to optics
 Principles of interferometry
 The geometry of the Michelson interferometer
And you will interact with a working interferometer

NCSL INTERNATIONAL
SERVING THE WORLD OF
MEASUREMENT SINCE 1961
Origins of the metric system

Prior to the French revolution, each region
in France had its own standards
• Different “yard” units for textiles (toise)
• Different “bushel” units for grain
• Different “pint” measures for beer

Idea of rationalizing units from 1670:
Abbé Mouton proposes 1 minute of arc of
the circumference of the earth as the
primary standard of length; decimal
divisions
NCSL INTERNATIONAL
SERVING THE WORLD OF
MEASUREMENT SINCE 1961
The meter in the US



1875: US signs the Convention of the
Meter
1890: US receives K-4 and K-20 (kilogram
standards) and meter 21 and 27
1893: T. C. Mendenhall, Superintendent of
Weights & Measures in the US orders the
adoption of the international prototype
meter and kilogram as US standards.
NCSL INTERNATIONAL
SERVING THE WORLD OF
MEASUREMENT SINCE 1961
Albert A. Michelson





1852-1931
Grew up in Northern California & West Nevada
Appointed to US Naval Academy; returned as an
instructor, then, to Case School of Applied Science,
Clark University, and finally University of Chicago
Did experiments to measure the speed of light, and
also the Michelson-Morley experiment to determine
the speed of travel of earth in the “aether” (1887)
Visited BIPM to set up interferometers for
measuring the meter bars!
NCSL INTERNATIONAL
SERVING THE WORLD OF
MEASUREMENT SINCE 1961
Measuring outcomes
• Questions on student self-assessment of attitudes “before” and “after” (7th,
10th, & 1st year college students): Rate from 1-5
Q1___Before attending the presentations, I can describe what is “metrology”
Q2___Before attending the presentations, I can explain what is a measurement and give an example
Q3___Before attending the presentations, I can describe or explain repeatability and accuracy
Q4___Before attending the presentations, I can relate the use of measurements to society
Q5___Before attending the presentations, I can describe or explain a histogram, and describe or explain
measures of dispersion of data
Q6___Before attending the presentations, I was interested in pursuing a career in a science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics-related field
•
Consultation with statistician; evaluation of changes
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7th grade
Change in Q1
Change in Q2
Change in Q3
Change in Q4
Change in Q5
Change in Q6
Some outcome measurements
Avg changes
2.4
0.7
1.1
1.0
1.4
0.8
10th grade
avg change
3.1
0.7
1.1
1.6
0.0
0.4
1.0
1.0
1.6
1.6
1st year college (small sample size)
avg change
3.2
0.8
12th grade (small sample size)
Q1
avg change
Q2
2.6
Q3
0.9
Q4
0.6
Michelson Q6
0.4
2.7
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0.1
24
Conclusions and path forward
• Dimensional kit, including measuring tools,
measurand, sample presentations, outcome surveys
• Demonstration “Laser Interferometer in a Pizza Box”,
includes sample presentation
• Please check them out from the NCSLI L&D library
• Use the kit and demonstration interferometer as
metrology ambassadors!
• Develop additional presentations!
• Provide feedback to L&D for best practices!
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