City Technology

Collaborators and Partners: James L. Neujahr ( jneujahr@ccny.cuny.edu), Gary Benenson, New York City R&D teachers, PS 5K and 21K, New York City DOE, St Louis County (MN) Department of Education through its Indian Education Program, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

For more than two decades, Prof. Gary Benenson of Mechanical Engineering and Prof. Emeritus James L. Neujahr of Childhood Education have been creating curriculum and professional development materials for elementary science and engineering education. The current project, Physical Science Comes Alive!,is designed to promote integration of engineering, science, math, art and literacy in grades pre-K through 6. Materials have been developed in collaboration with 12 teachers from the NYC DoE, and been pilot- and field-tested in low-income public schools in New York City, Los Angeles and Northern Minnesota.

Funding: National Science Foundation (1992 - 1995; 1997 - 2001; 2001 - 2007; and 2007- 2013), New York State STEM grant (2012 - 2013)

Website: http://www.citytechnology.org/

Publications:

• Benenson, G., Stewart-Dawkins, S., White, G. (in press) Engineering Design of Cars and Gadgets in K-5 as Vehicle for Integrating Math, Science and Literacy.Advances in Engineering Education 3(2), Summer 2012.
• Benenson, G. and Neujahr, J. Designed Environments: Places, Practices and Plans. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.
• Benenson, G. and Neujahr, J.Mapping. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 2002
• Benenson, G. and Neujahr, J.Mechanisms and Other Systems. Portsmouth, NH: .Heinemann 2002.
• Benenson, G. and Neujahr, J.Packaging and Other Structures. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 2002.
• Benenson, G. and Neujahr, J.Signs, Symbols and Codes. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 2002.
• Bolger, M.S., Kobiela, M.A., Weinberg, P.J., Lehrer, R. .Children's mechanistic reasoning about linkages.Cognition and Instruction.30(2), 170–206.