Solving problems through the application of technology is the goal of students in the Pre-Engineering program at Bedford Road Collegiate.

"What we have established here is a class about problem solving," says teacher and program leader Curtis Clements. "Engineering is problem solving so I think the term fits. The focus of the entire program is to solve problems through design and using teamwork and communication.

"One of the important things we do is work as a team because in anything outside of the academic world you are going to be working as a team—whether you are an engineer or in any other career. Being able to collaborate and solve a problem with someone else—and the communication involved in that and the conflict resolution—is going to be an employability skill down the road."

The hub of the program's learning is the Cameco Centre of Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a unique learning environment funded by a generous contribution from Cameco Corp. The centre provides students with the opportunity to experience different areas of technology and solve problems through the use of such things as pneumatics, electrical control, micro controllers, 3-D printing and a CNC (computer numerical control) mill. The students use their skills and the technology to design and document a solution to an authentic engineering challenge at the end of the term.

In addition to the learning lab, the program's partnership with Cameco has paid off in other ways, including a unique field trip that provided 14 students with the opportunity to tour and engage in learning at the company's mine located at Cigar Lake in northern Saskatchewan.

Some students are drawn to the program because of their interest in fields such as programming or robotics, while others take advantage of the opportunity to explore learning beyond the traditional high school subjects. Either way, the challenge the course presents in terms of working together, managing time and resources and co-operating to resolve conflicts is the same for every student.

"What I do like is students leading the charge of their own learning," Clements says. "I want them to complete a certain thing at a certain time but when they surpass that—when a student comes in after school to work on whatever they are doing or they use the knowledge to apply to something else—that's what I get excited about."

More information is available onthe Pre-Engineering program webpage.