PATHWAY CONNECTION

The Electric Vehicle (EV) Rover Lab curriculum was created by Bergen County Technical High School (Paramus) to give its students in a career and technical education (CTE) program or for a traditional high school to introduce the foundational concepts and systems in Electric Vehicles. This series of lessons is intended to expose students who have no prior knowledge of the basic principles and theories of electricity, motors, and other corresponding systems required to operate the simplest EV. The 4-part unit is designed to be taught over several weeks and can be developed to be more complex by including a deeper exploration of the physics content and adding the use of available equipment in school workshops such as micro-processors like Arduino, laser cutters, and 3D printers. These lessons present the core foundational knowledge and should be elaborated on by instructors as they deem appropriate.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) Go-Kart Design Challenge curriculum was created by Bergen Community College to give students in a Vocational-Technical high school or community college industrial design technology course exposure to EVs. Students work in small teams using design principals they learn within the “Engineering Design Loop” to design, build, test, and refine a full-scale EV Go-Kart using a broad set of specifications given to them by their instructor. Instructors can choose between a metal conduit / maker pipe-connect frame, or a 1-inch square tube welded frame based on each school’s access to welding expertise and equipment. This course is intended to expose students who have already shown an interest in mechanical, electromechanical, mechatronics, or automotive service technology to show them that EVs are an especially exciting technology to focus on. The course is designed to be taught over one semester (half year) and may be a follow-up to the EV Rover lab project.