Teaching Sustainability Topics to Attract and Inspire the Next Generation of Civil Engineers

Abstract

Recent natural events such as earthquakes in Japan and storm surge effects in New York have led to the growing interest in sustainable civil engineering. While sustainability topics, such as soil liquefaction and green building design, are typically included within civil engineering programs at the baccalaureate or graduate levels, topics in sustainability can be adapted for secondary school students as well. In addition, efforts to attract quality and diverse students into civil engineering have given rise to engineering camps aimed at secondary school students. This research focuses on the exploration of civil engineering sustainable module topics for secondary school students through the development of content as well as implementation of two case studies. Sustainability module topics are identified and instructional content (lesson objectives, key concepts, activities, experiments, and other pedagogical techniques) are proposed. Two modules are applied at the Bucknell Engineering Summer Camp program, targeting secondary school students. The module topics developed, as well as the case study results, can provide examples for how engineering educators throughout the country can introduce sustainable civil engineering as a way to encourage future civil engineering students.