RWU Students Ignite Curiosity of Young Learners with Wind Energy and Engineering Design
Now in its sixth year, KidWind pairs RWU Education and Engineering students with fourth graders to explore renewable energy through dynamic classroom experiences.
BRISTOL, R.I. – With the roar of spinning turbines and cheers of excitement, local fourth graders gaze up in awe as their homemade wind turbines begin to generate power. It’s a moment of victory, where the effort of engineering meets the thrill of discovery. At that moment, ĐÓ°ÉĘÓƵ University students have given these young minds a glimpse into a future where science, engineering, and innovation come to life.
This enthusiasm is the result of KidWind, a partnership between RWU and the Bristol-Warren Regional School District (BWRSD), where 176 fourth graders and 11 teachers from four local elementary schools came together to explore wind energy and engineering design. Throughout the spring semester, RWU Education and Engineering majors work alongside the entire BWRSD fourth-grade class to teach them lessons on sustainable energy and guide them in designing and building their own wind turbines.
The initiative started in 2019, when RWU Associate Professor of Engineering Maija Benitz and Professor of Science Education Li-Ling Yang saw an opportunity for RWU to help fill a gap in the local school district and give students of both disciplines a revolutionary experiential learning opportunity.
“KidWind brings together Engineering and Education majors in a powerful interdisciplinary collaboration, allowing them to design engaging, hands-on lessons for fourth graders in the Bristol-Warren Regional School District,” Yang said. “By making topics like wind energy and the engineering design process both accessible and exciting, the program ignites curiosity in young learners while helping RWU students build real-world skills in teaching and communication.”
Taking the Lead in Mentorship
This year, 22 students in Yang’s Teaching Inquiry Science in the Elementary School class and 16 students in Benitz’s Wind Turbine Design course developed lessons and guided fourth graders as they designed, built, and tested wind turbines using recycled materials, embracing a BWRSD sustainability initiative and RWU’s core value of sustainability.
“Connecting young students with college mentors offers a chance for a unique connection,” said Marie Puzzo, a fourth-grade teacher at Rockwell Elementary School in Bristol. “The fourth graders are intrigued by the RWU students’ classes and how they learn, which leads them to envision their own futures; some even say they want to be education or engineering students one day. KidWind activities spark genuine curiosity and problem-solving while reinforcing the teamwork and communication skills we focus on throughout the year.”
Now in its sixth year, the KidWind program continues to flourish, supported by partners such as the SouthCoast Community Foundation Grant, the Rhode Island Foundation Strategic Initiative Grant, and TPI Composites of Warren, R.I. The program has created a lasting impact on both local students and RWU participants across the East Bay, thanks in part to the partnerships that make it possible.
These partnerships also support a team of seven research assistants – five Education majors and two Engineering majors – who are instrumental in delivering the program and measuring its impact.
“Our research assistants are essential to the success of the project, taking the lead on logistics, coordinating with community partners, and refining lesson plans,” Benitz said. “In the process, they gain practical skills that extend far beyond the classroom.”
Among them is head research assistant Stephanie Rioux ’23, an Elementary Education graduate who has been involved with KidWind since 2022. A fifth-grade educator at Webster Avenue Elementary School in Providence, Rioux brings both expertise and mentorship to the team, guiding her peers while helping to shape the program’s continued evolution.
“I have experienced firsthand how KidWind builds confidence, collaboration, and science teaching skills. It’s incredibly fulfilling to now help others grow in those same ways,” Rioux said. “I hope RWU students leave this project motivated to continue outreach and STEM teaching, and that the fourth graders walk away believing they can take on real-world challenges, because KidWind shows them that they can.”
One of the research assistants, Alexa Davignon, a senior Elementary Education major from West Haven, Conn., is conducting an Honors Capstone project exploring the relationship between students’ self-efficacy levels and their proficiency in science and engineering through the KidWind project. A presenter at this year’s Student Academic Showcase and Honors, she sees her research as both a foundation for her future in education and “a crucial step toward providing students with instruction that best prepares them for the world ahead.”
“My involvement with KidWind has profoundly shaped my development as an educator,” Davignon said. “It showed me that even complex STEM concepts can be made accessible to young learners when teachers believe in their students’ potential and create developmentally appropriate challenges. KidWind shifted my perspective from limiting what students can understand to seeking creative ways to help them engage with any subject, and that mindset will stay with me throughout my teaching career.”
The impact of KidWind on aspiring educators is clear in the path Rioux has taken since graduation. From leading STEM lessons to building community connections, the skills she gained now shape the way she teaches and engages her own students.
“Because of my work on KidWind, I’ve felt more confident bringing STEM project-based experiences into my own classroom,” she said. “Developing a full STEM unit gave me the skills to replicate that process independently, while building my communication skills helped me connect with organizations beyond my district to create new opportunities for my students. KidWind also showed me the value of community engagement, inspiring me to involve my students’ families in meaningful ways throughout our learning.”
Gaining Skills for Career Success
In today’s rapidly evolving world, the ability to collaborate across disciplines is an essential skill. Through the KidWind project, students from different academic backgrounds are learning to work together and gaining the tools to succeed in their future careers.
“Working with Education majors through KidWind has helped me become more intentional about how I communicate engineering concepts, especially to people without a technical background,” said Bradley King, a senior Mechanical Engineering major and Mathematics minor from Berkley, Mass. “Our interdisciplinary team taught me how to view engineering through a student’s perspective, which strengthened both my communication and collaboration skills. As the only engineer on my team, this was a valuable experience that I know will prepare me for working on diverse teams throughout my career.”
For Maile Wargacki, a sophomore Elementary Education major and STEAM Education minor from Troy, N.Y., KidWind has been an opportunity to develop crucial classroom skills.
“Working with KidWind has taught me the importance of designing interactive, hands-on lessons that keep students engaged and help them build understanding through discovery,” said Wargacki. “Connecting complex ideas like wind energy to students’ everyday lives, like the wind turbines they see around Rhode Island, makes the learning more meaningful. This experience has helped me develop lesson plans that are not only effective, but also fun and impactful, preparing me for my future classroom.”