Adventure Engineering: A Creativity-Based, Design-Centered Approach to Secondary School & Introductory Level Undergraduate Education

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There is a clear need to attract, engage and retain the most creative, talented and intelligent young scholars for careers in engineering, however, a closer look at the baptism of students into engineering education reveals major problems. The lack of formal engineering presence in primary and secondary school education coupled with high freshman attrition in college reveals that many bright students are not realizing engineering careers. Adventure Engineering provides a framework wherein all disciplines of engineering are incorporated into design solutions to adventure-based scenarios and obstacles. Adventure Engineering is proposed to immerse future teachers of primary- and secondary-levels of education with undergraduate students in the broad arena of multidisciplinary engineering through exciting, carefully developed, engineering challenges. By fostering a motivating, non-threatening, teamwork-based environment, Adventure Engineering aims to attract and retain quality students to engineering, including women and minorities. This proof-of-concept proposal involves Adventure Engineering development by a working group of College of Engineering and College of Education faculty, with special participation from the NSF-funded Oklahoma Teacher Enhancement Center. A series of adventure obstacles requiring multidisciplinary engineering solutions through the application of science and mathematical principles are carefully threaded into existing secondary school and undergraduate freshman level curriculum. Development involves the synergism of engineering, education, and secondary school faculty and students. Preservice secondary school teachers will be trained to adopt Adventure Engineering. To explore its effectiveness on students, Adventure Engineering is implemented and assessed in both secondary school and undergraduate education during the proof-of-concept phase.