INCREASING STUDENT AND SCHOOL INTEREST IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION BY USING A HANDS-ON INQUIRY BASED PROGRAMMING CURRICULUM

摘要

Many high schools nation-wide recognize the need, and are showing interest in engineering education, however, only a small percentage of those schools have been able to fully integrate an engineering component into their curriculum. The reasons for this are: lack of infrastructure, lack of training, lack of appropriate and sustainable curriculum, and lack of student interest. Paradoxically, many schools have maintained or increased the teaching of programming in their schools (Dewar, 2008). Strangely there has been little effort to correlate these two activities. Prensky (2008) stated that one of the stated core skills today's engineer need is: an understanding of computer programming. Coincidently the 2008 - 2009 employment and labor report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the need for engineers with programming experience will be one of the careers with the largest numerical increase and demand. This research outlines: 1) the need for engineering in k-12 environments, 2) analyzes the reasons for which schools have had a difficult time fully integrating engineering into school curriculum, 3) proposes a mixed content and pedagogical approach to teaching engineering and programming based on a hands-on inquiry approach, and 4) outlines additional benefits of using a blended content approach such as this (e.g., improved student mathematical self-efficacy and problem solving skills). The research project is in its second year of implementation. Last year 120 students were introduced into the course, and this year 80 more students are involved in the project. Thus far, the results of the project have shown a strong correlation between student engineering interest, aptitude, programming understanding, and an increased understanding of mathematics.