High School PROJECT ENGINEERING is an innovative approach to improving the scientific and technological literacy of secondary school students. It is designed to motivate students through involvement in the solution of actual engineering problems. Students work in teams on realistic and relevant problems. The process begins with an instruction phase in which an engineer, either in person or on videotape, provides background information. Next the students embark on a design phase, in which many aspects of engineering are explored and applied to the particular problem. The teams work within the constraints of project contracts, developing leadership and cooperative team skills as well as knowledge of engineering concepts and practices. Each project produces a design document, a project scrap book, and a finished product or process. Begun with NSF support in 1984, PROJECT ENGINEERING has developed five videotape programs, a student engineering handbook, a teacher's guide, and various other resources. With the current grant the Project will produce twelve additional videotapes, revise and improve the other materials, test the method at additional sites, and complete the mechanism for disseminating the method nationally.
