MSU Toy Adaptation Program (TAP)

Dr. Jean Mohammadi-Aragh collaborated with The Ohio State University to create a project that not only benefits children with special needs, but that also is used to retain Electrical and Computer Engineering students. MSU Toy Adaptation Program (TAP) sessions are an example of real-word, community-driven projects, which have been shown to increase students’, especially women’s, persistence in engineering. MSU TAP is an alternative way to provide engineering experiences that can increase students’ societal and professional awareness, ultimately supporting their motivation to persist in engineering. This project was created through sessions, different from previously employed experiences that tend to be semester-long, or multi-semester projects. With Ohio State providing start-up funding for toys and supplies, the MSU TAP started in Fall 2017, with the creation of an honors section of the Introduction to ECE course.

Children with a physical or developmental disability may not have the ability to use interactive toys to help them learn basic concepts such as cause and effect. Interactive toys can be modified electronically to create an alternative way for special needs children to use the toy. While maintaining the original toy functionality, MSU ECE students add a female jack to the existing circuit. The jack allows for the addition of an interchangeable specialty switch that is chosen by the child’s therapist or caregiver. Finished modified toys are donated to: PediaTrust in Columbus, MS, directly to families, or used at the T.K. Martin Center at Mississippi State University.

The MSU TAP experience creates an opportunity to teach concepts such as reverse engineering (e.g., deconstructing an object to duplicate or enhance its function), universal design (e.g., designing to enhance accessibility), the use of basic hand tools (e.g., use of screwdrivers, files, drills), and engineering technical skills (e.g., soldering, circuitry). While engineering students are taking introductory courses such as calculus and chemistry, the toy adaptation experience shows students an application of their engineering knowledge that has a direct benefit to their community, which is beneficial in retaining underrepresented students.

Another benefit of MSU TAP is that engineering students are creating and providing children with special needs the opportunity to interactively play and develop valuable life skills despite any physical, developmental, financial, or other limitations they face. The learning benefits of adapting toys are two-fold: the child can learn through play, and the engineering student can apply their problem-solving and technical skills to a real-world engineering design problem to make a positive societal difference.

By the end of Fall 2018, MSU TAP’s third semester, 25 students will have participated resulting in nearly 60 adapted toys. MSU TAP is exploring opportunities to expand the learning opportunity to other engineering students, either through courses (e.g., full section of ECE course, new FYE course) or informal settings (e.g., professional society activities.) The goal is to recruit additional students to participate in MSU TAP through the MSU chapters of Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Women in Aerospace, and IEEE Women in Engineering.