Abstract:

Digital transformation brings new opportunities and job needs in companies. In fact, many market studies and surveys show that there are numerous tech positions left vacant due to unskilled applicants. Despite this, STEM university studies are in little demand by students. To reduce this gap, it is necessary to motivate young students to train in these knowledge and technological skills that are so important in the present and the future.

The current COVID pandemic has highlighted the real possibility of changing the traditional educational methodology to an online modality. This new paradigm is a challenge in most disciplines, particularly those related to STEM knowledge due to the high presence of complex and practical content. Thus, simulation tools have become a key element to integrate classroom and laboratory practices, and to put theoretical knowledge into practice, even in an online context. In addition, the simulation tools allow the rapid implementation of mathematical and engineering concepts, testing different alternatives and testing hypotheses in a controlled and safe environment.

In this work we present an online proposal to put STEM subjects into practice and thus motivate the student in high schools to study these technological subjects. Specifically, a real project is developed that introduces the student to the discipline of control engineering. Students must study and design a flow and temperature control system, applying specific knowledge such as mathematics, physics and electronics in a comprehensive way to achieve the main objective of the project. The project is divided into several tasks: description of the problem, its modeling in mathematical terms, selection and simulation of the sensors and actuators, together with signal conditioning and, finally, design and implementation of the regulator. The main advantage of this proposal is that it is a real system that every student knows how to solve with empirical and intuitive knowledge. It could be, for example, regulating the temperature and flow of water in a shower.

To maximize the didactic impact of the proposal, the educational project is developed based on a set of contents, competences, objectives and an evaluation procedure that is described in the article.

The competencies to be achieved during the project are:
• How to use simulation tools.
• Design and implementation of simple electrical circuits for signal conditioning, that is, how to amplify a signal or how to change the range of units.
• Design and implementation of simple power circuits, i.e., why is a power source necessary and how to drive sensors and actuators.
• Design the control of the process
• Finally, they must verify the behavior of the process with disturbances.

In this way, the student faces real problems using the knowledge they already have. They apply common sense and then learn how to implement these actions in a mathematical and engineering way.

Keywords:

Control engineering, STEM, practice, motivation.