Engineering

Girls-Only & ​All-Gender Course - both sections at capacity; Prerequisite - Successful completion of one year of high school laboratory science or permission from the administration; Fall semester or Full-year course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Engineers create things. They are the designers of the modern world. The works they create drive society forward. This course will introduce students to many engineering disciplines including civil, architectural, mechanical, electrical, aerospace, computer, chemical, and biomedical engineering. Students will learn the engineering design process used by practicing engineers, create engineering drawings, conduct a variety of hands-on projects, and consider the ethical issues within the field of engineering. Students will develop an array of specific skills by applying the engineering design process to a specific problem, demonstrating originality and resourcefulness in their work, reflecting critically to improve creative efforts in problem solving, and viewing success as a cyclical process. 
WHAT STUDENTS SAY

"Unlike any other course, I have never been more efficient on time and creativity than in this one. My teacher's positive and encouraging words and attitude pushed me to do even greater things!"

“I saw myself grow this semester when I actively started to study and research topics we were learning in class on my own time because I genuinely was interested and enjoyed what we were learning; I haven't really had that happen in any of my other classes.”

“I plan on studying some branch of engineering in college. Taking this course positively influenced my perspective of engineering and has made me more interested in engineering.”​

WHAT STUDENTS DO
Learning is an active process at One Schoolhouse. Students design, create and apply. And, they engage with classmates and connect with their teachers through discussions, video conferences, and projects. Specifically, in this class students will:
  • Set goals that drive their learning. Students reflect regularly on their growth, and meet on video chat with their online teacher to review progress towards their goals.
  • Have choice in how they learn new content and practice new skills. Students are given agency to determine the best ways for them to learn.
  • Apply what they are learning to the real world. Learning is meaningful and connects to concepts outside the classroom.
  • Practice constructive engagement in a diverse and changing world. Students interact with classmates from across the country and around the world.
  • Gain academic maturity. Online learning takes greater discipline and independence than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Teachers support students to build this skill.
MEET A TEACHER FOR THIS COURSE
SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES
Examples of signature activities and projects for this course are:
  • Create a variety of artifacts such as infographics, videos, and drawings that demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the major engineering disciplines. 
  • Engage in hands-on projects such as building a solar-driven car, assembling a Rube Goldberg machine, programming a virtual robot, producing a variety of engineering drawings, and sewing an electrical circuit.​
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SECOND SEMESTER?
Students wishing to pursue an engineering project may enroll in the course for the full year. For students continuing into Semester II, the course shifts into personalized, project-based work, where students engage in deep, sustained inquiry; authentic and iterative research; critical analysis; and rigorous reflection, revision, and assessment as they journey through a self-designed, long-term activism, design, or research project on the topic of their choosing. Guided by a One Schoolhouse teacher, students pursue individual study/self-assessment or collaborative seminar/peer-review. Pathway options from which students choose include:
  • Spring Activism Seminar: In this seminar, students identify a need and create a plan to effect economic, environmental, political, or social change in a target community.  Utilizing a social science approach to research and evaluation, students are guided through the process of planning the deployment of a novel idea and identifying markers of success.  Students may create a strategic plan for a club or non-profit or design an artistic product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Design Seminar:  In this seminar, students design a technological solution to a real-world problem.  Through the engineering design process/scientific method, students gather and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of their model or the accuracy of their hypothesis.  Students may prototype and produce a public product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Research Seminar:  In this seminar, students answer a theoretical or ethical question.  Utilizing the social science/humanities tools for source evaluation, students collect, critique, and evaluate artifacts or primary source documents to explore their thesis.  Students may create a written or multimedia product in this seminar. 
Upon completion of their inquiry-driven project, students will have gained academic maturity and expanded their ability to engage in a diverse and changing world. They will be able to draw and defend conclusions from theoretical underpinnings, contextual background, and mathematical analysis or source evaluation. Finally, they will have created and tested something useful of their own design or will be able to defend a position based on their own research.​
COURSE APPROVAL
This course is approved by the NCAA. 

One Schoolhouse is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges through December 1, 2025; we are an approved online publisher for the University of California. 
Gillian Thomas
she/her/hers
Science Teacher
BS University of California, Santa Cruz