Lessons for High School Students: 2008 Implementation and Evaluation Report

The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute at the University of Minnesota is developing materials for high school students in an effort to increase their awareness of transportation-related issues and careers. Five lesson plans were developed in early July 2008 and piloted during three of the four weeks of Exploring Careers in Engineering & Physical Science (ECEPS), a summer camp experience for high school students that is a program of the Institute of Technology Center for Educational Programs (ITCEP) at the University of Minnesota. Lesson plans were continuously modified during the summer camps based on feedback from surveys that were administered to students. The modifications were needed to help improve the lesson plans for future high school classroom use.

In addition, the lesson plans were piloted at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, MN in October 2008. The lesson plans will be piloted at two additional high schools in the next several months; Anoka-Hennepin Secondary School in Anoka, MN and Maplewood High School in Maplewood, MN. The lesson plans were also presented at the Minnesota Science and Math Teachers Association in October 2008 to gain interest from teachers. Feedback from survey results and discussions with teachers, will allow for the implementation of new curriculum enhancements and designs for future transportation lessons.