1. 8 www.stthomas.edu/engineering
B
rynn Kasper is part of a team of students, including Brett
Gunderson, Emma Koller and Brynn’s brother, Noah, who
present engineering concepts to students in the afterschool
STEM club at the Metro Deaf School in St. Paul. Now in its
second year, the program has evolved from a four-session
lesson on creative circuits to a longer series on different disciplines
in engineering. The creative circuits series consisted of cumulative,
two-hour lessons that covered topics like squishy circuits, e-textiles
and snap-on LED bracelets. This year’s sessions are independent of
one another, allowing children who miss a session to still effectively
participate in the sessions they attend. Sessions cover topics such as
civil engineering, aerospace engineering, software and computer
engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical
engineering and material science.
“There is a different activity for each session,” Brynn explained. During
the civil engineering unit, children had to create structures from
toothpicks and gumdrops so that their constructions could hold
weight. The aerospace unit allowed the children to create paper
airplanes as well as paper rockets that blew off of straws.
A Hands-On Approach
Senior Brynn Kasper creates engineering curriculum
using sign language for the Metro Deaf School
By Kate Norlander ’07 M.B.C.

2. St. Thomas Engineer 2015 9
“Engineeringisacrucialpartoftheworldaroundus.
Itissoimportanttohelpasmanypeople–youngand
old–understandhowtheworldworks.”
– Professor AnnMarie Thomas
Brynn’s road to her involvement with this project started at home.
Two of her grandparents, both deaf, worked at the Minnesota State
Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, Minn. Her mother taught American
Sign Language at a high school. When she got to St. Thomas, Brynn
was fluent in ASL and tested out of the foreign language requirement.
She didn’t want to let her signing skills get rusty, so she decided to
pursue a minor in ASL though St. Catherine University. As a part of
her classwork, she was required to volunteer for 15 hours in the
community, which lead her to devote time at Metro Deaf School
playing with the children.
When Brynn applied to work as a research assistant in Professor
AnnMarie Thomas’ Playful Learning Lab, they explored how to use
her major and minor together. “As we discussed her interests and
background in ASL, I asked Brynn if she would be willing to collaborate
on a way to bring engineering programs to local deaf students,” Thomas
said. The students worked with Thomas to develop a curriculum. Last
fall, Thomas and the three students presented a paper on their initial
curriculum, “Creative Circuits With Deaf Students,” at the American
Society for Engineering Education’s North Midwest Section conference.
Brynn’s work with the students at Metro Deaf School has added new
terms to her knowledge of ASL. As she prepares to work with students,
Brynn studies signs for engineering terms on YouTube and other sites
on the Internet. Also, Brynn noted that a lot of the work with the
kids is visual, allowing the team to use pictures, such as the shapes of
buildings, to communicate with students. “We have posters for each
of the different disciplines,” Brynn said.
Thomas is proud of what Brynn and her teammates are accomplishing.
“Engineering is a crucial part of the world around us. It is so important
to help as many people – young and old – understand how the world
works,” she said. “Through programs like this, our students serve as
mentors, teachers and role models to children who may not otherwise
have opportunities to meet engineers and participate in engineering
projects. This is exactly the sort of project that makes St. Thomas such
a special place. Our students are incredibly well-rounded and committed
to making the world a better place.” ■