Fast Forward-an adventure in engineering for 7th and 8th grade girls

Fast Forward is an exciting program that has been developed at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to address the problems of the disproportionately high number of girls who lose interest in science during middle school and the low number of women who enroll in college prep science and math courses in high school. Fast Forward is an intensive four day immersion into the world of science and technology. Thirty young women attended the pilot program during the summer of 1994. The program included exciting and educational technical sessions in which the primary pedagogical technique was active learning. There were hands on chemistry and physics experiences and in several sessions the students used computers as a tool to solve problems. The cornerstone of Fast Forward was a project that required the young women to design, construct and test a solar powered vehicle. The student response from the pilot program was overwhelmingly positive. The details of the program, the program content, and the results of the assessment are presented.