Meet our February 2017 Educator – Tinh Tran
Meet our February 2017 Educator – Tinh Tran
How did you get started in Education?
In college at UCLA I earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Education. Immediately after graduating college I enrolled in the UCI teacher credential program, and got my first teaching job right after that at University High School.
What grades and subjects do you teach?
I have taught engineering and science courses, including chemistry, biology, earth system science, integrated science and engineering design. Currently I am teaching the Introduction to Engineering Design class is for grades 9-12 and the Earth System Science class for grade 9.
What programs are your students involved in and what do they do within these programs?
I am also the founder and director of our school-wide STEM program called UNI_Technology&Engineering (UNITE). In addition to engineering courses, we offer STEM projects for students to work on beyond the school day. This year’s projects include H2AC, Irvine CubeSat, OC Maker Challenge, VEX Robotics, C-STEM Linkbots, UCI Rescue Robotics, and more.
H2AC: Horizon Educational’s Hydrogen Horizon Automotive Challenge, which is being sponsored by Toyota for 20 teams throughout Southern California. Students begin by learning about climate change and the impact of fossil fuels on our climate. Then students learn about each type of renewable energy and perform experiments and collect data to determine the efficiencies and inefficiencies of each one. Once students have the knowledge of each renewable energy, they begin to design and fabricate a hydrogen fuel cell RC car and body. Once they have tested their car’s aerodynamic and fuel efficiency, the students race against other teams in a 4 hour endurance race.
Irvine CubeSat: Assemble, test and launch a nanosatellite into low Earth orbit. Collaboration between 5 different high schools in city of Irvine. Each school responsible for a different subsystem.The nano satellite will be launch from a rocket in Yasny, Russia and is scheduled for Spring of 2017.
OC Maker Challenge: Create, or significantly repurpose, a product that solves a problems or fulfills a need or a want using 3D CAD solid modeling and 3D printed parts.
Robotics projects: Build and program robot to perform tasks at competition events. Each task will differ depending on the competition and the student will have to determine how to best design and create a robot for each task.
Why do you believe STEM education is important for high school students?
STEM education is important for high school students because it prepares them for a world or rapid technological change. This has a huge impact on what jobs and skills that will be in high demand in the future. It’s important for students to be flexible and adapt to learning and using new technology. Livelihoods can depend on it.
