Explorations in Engineering

Through Explorations in Engineering, a virtual course designed to help high school students understand the difference between science and engineering, U.Va. Engineering School faculty are answering the call for increased efforts in K-12 engineering education — literally. The distance learning course was developed after the (now former) director of the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School called to request that the Engineering School hold a course for governor's school students throughout Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Nelson and Orange (Va.) counties.

Now expanded to include students from the Fishersville area, Explorations in Engineering is led by professors James Groves, the School's assistant dean for research and outreach, and Dana Elzey, associate professor of materials science and engineering and head of the Engineering School's Engineering in Context program.

Explorations in Engineering students, who complete the course as a supplement to their high school curricula and for college credit, participate in two class sessions each week: one online using the Blackboard course management system and one through a special audio-graphics package. The former allows students to independently work through learning objectives and multi-media assignments. The latter allows students to talk to each other and Groves or Elzey over the Internet while observing the professor's computer desktop on their own monitors. Throughout the semester, the students also complete team projects, which culminate in final presentations held on U.Va.'s Grounds.

Groves explains that through this virtual course, he hopes to help the students recognize engineering as an educational and career opportunity, identify the areas of engineering in which they are most interested, and generally become more familiar with the field and its opportunities.

"Let´s say a student is interested in studying mechanical engineering," he says. "As an assignment, I´ll ask that student to identify the schools that offer mechanical engineering degrees and then search local job openings for mechanical engineers."

Through this and other interactive assignments, Groves says, "The students come away with a much better feel for what engineering is all about."

Through Explorations in Engineering and other innovative K-12 initiatives, the U.Va. Engineering School is reaching out to high school students throughout the region in order to introduce them to engineering, a field to which they might not otherwise be exposed before stepping foot on a college campus. By bringing engineering to gifted students throughout the Charlottesville, Va., and neighboring areas, Explorations in Engineering is giving high school students a chance to get to know the vast field of engineering and what it has to offer. Since the program´s inception, at least three of its students have gone on to apply and be accepted to the U.Va. Engineering School.