ENGR 102 for high school: An Introduction to Engineering, AP type course taught in high schools by high school teachers

In fall 2008, twenty-one students from Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona participated in a University of Arizona pilot program and were enrolled in a course called ENGR 102 HS. This introductory engineering course offers students three units of credit towards an engineering degree. Since the initial pilot, 1218 high school students have enrolled and received college credit for the course. With a nearly identical core curriculum as the semester long, on campus version of ENGR 102, the high school program runs for a full school year and thus provides the increased contact time and teacher assistance many high school students require. Extra classroom time in the high school program allows students to participate in service learning projects, online modules and teacher designed, hands-on projects. High school teachers that are selected to teach ENGR 102 HS tend to have engineering backgrounds; however, many of the most successful teachers in the program teach math or science at their high school and succeed due to a personal enthusiasm for the topic. A week long teacher training workshop is held each summer to prepare new teachers to deliver the core curriculum. Returning teachers attend an annual three day training to share ideas, mentor new teachers, receive new classroom content and to strengthen the dynamic ENGR 102 HS community of engineering educators. Seed funding for ENGR 102 HS program development and logistical sustainability was provided during the first four years of the program. Now in its sixth year, ENGR 102 HS operates primarily on tuition dollars and has programs operating in two states, 29 diverse high schools, within 15 different school districts and 30 teachers deliver the course to over 450 students. 301 of the 450 students in the 2013-14 cohort took ENGR 102 HS for University of Arizona credit. This paper will discuss ENGR 102 HS program history, core curriculum, spin-off research and development, keys to success, teacher training and program logistics.