From sports to science: Designing sports products to experience science and engineering

Abstract

Sports can have substantial impact on fostering cognitive and non-cognitive skills in youth leading to higher productivity. Its' potential to integrate within diverse academic subjects make it an ideal choice to attract high school students to grasp the emphasize of STEM fields and careers. In the midst of gradual educational reformations in Qatar, a novel sports driven STEM program was launched to derive the competencies in the secondary students and enhance their STEM literacy and aspirations. Sports, being an intrinsic motivator favored by the Qatari students, instigating active participation and inspiration, is integrated to the innovative learning approach, thereby acknowledging the relevance of science to real world applications. The 248 participants from 15 secondary schools actively engaged in the program comprising sports product based scientific workshops and an engineering design challenge, bridging the gap between science and sports. Results implicating the active involvement of the students, manifesting the quintessential 21st century skills in engineering products, were drawn out from mixed methods. Quantitative statistical analysis of pre-post surveys, review of sports products and the substantiating observations of the facilitators successfully validate the application of diverse dispositions in the program. Student attitudes towards STEM fields and careers, apparently augmented by virtue of the program outcomes is also interpreted from the analysis.