The STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) job field has greatly expanded in the past 20 years. As part of Silicon Valley and the heart of this growth, the school has had a strong reason to include an engineering track in the curriculum.
The school has had a problem with preparing students for engineering in college because of the low number of STEM classes offered previously. Even though AP Physics and AP Calculus give students the skills they need for engineering, it can be a tough for college-bound engineers to transition without the experience of an engineering course geared toward mechanical design.
According to alumnus and former robotics president Stanley Yip mechanical design helped him translate principles into ideas.
“[Mechanical design] enabled me to visualize different components and how they would interact in my head,” Yip said. “This allows me to brainstorm different ways of solving a problem.”
Introduction to Engineering allows students to learn the design process and principles behind engineering. This gives students a leg up when entering college by helping them understand how to use equations and mathematical principles in an applicable design point of view. This is the difference between those who learn engineering as a theory and those who know how to use that in reality.
This same immersion in engineering bolsters a new form of creativity that many students are passionate about but never have had the opportunity to express due the the lack of such a class. With the new Introduction to Engineering class, students are able to express their creativity through innovative 3D virtual models on different designs by utilizing Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to help them draw, mold and sketch their designs.
The class will also help ease the transition to AP STEM electives.
Students who jump into AP Computer Science without these design principles go in to just get knowledge and not build on principles that they could utilize throughout their engineering career.
According to math and introduction to engineering teacher Audrey Warmuth, engineering is something that can be built upon. By learning the basics in engineering a student can acquire knowledge that can follow them throughout their lives.
If students are interested in engineering, then it is in the school’s interest to build a course around it. The school should encompass different parts of engineering to create a wide web of engineering courses that students will be able to take.
For example, the school could start engineering classes in digital electronics or aerospace engineering as these are two of the biggest job fields in the engineering market.
By including an engineering track in the curriculum, the school is doing a better job of exposing students to one of the valley’s most important careers.