Incorporating engineering into high school algebra and trigonometry: An initiative of the Georgia tech student and teacher enhancement partnership (STEP) program

There is a growing awareness among educators that engineering can enhance the K-12 curriculum by providing "real world" scenarios that help develop problem-solving skills in students. This paper presents activities designed to incorporate engineering concepts into high school mathematics education. Three graduate students of Georgia Tech's Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership (STEP) program directly assisted high school mathematics teachers to develop hands-on approaches for algebra and trigonometry classes. These laboratory activities were incorporated into the normal lesson plan. Both the high school students and teachers benefited from using laboratory activities to demonstrate specific principles such as linearity and trigonometric functions.