Microcomputers, Model Rockets, and Race Cars

The Wisconsin School for the Deaf (WSD) has implemented an Industrial Education Orientation Program that presents problem-solving situations to all seventh- and eighth-grade students that require the application of academic skills within a vocational setting. The orientation program was developed to emphasize that vocational classes require the use of the mind as well as the hands. Because the number of students (20-30) and the spread of student academic abilities in each course made it increasingly difficult to give individualized help where needed, WSD began the development of user-friendly microcomputer software that would guide students individually through complex computations that involve model race cars and rockets and would at the same time, free instructors to work with gifted or slower students. This article describes the development process.