Engineering Design for Secondary Education

Abstract

Many high school students are unaware of engineering as a possible career path partly because secondary schools offer an array of science courses, but not engineering. Curricular material that centers around hands-on activities related to engineering experimentation and design provides the opportunity for schools to offer an engineering design course. In this paper, the experiences of developing the curricular material, providing in-service training for teachers of science, mathematics, and technology, and having the program adopted by a public school system are discussed. Teachers who complete the in-service training are better able to discuss real-world applications of the principles of science and mathematics. Students who complete the engineering design class are more technologically literate citizens. The benefits of engineering design education and steps that can be taken in other states to introduce engineering into a public school system are discussed.