Development and Deployment of Traffic Control Game Integration with Traffic Engineering Curriculum for Teaching High School Students Chen-Fu Liao, David B. Glick, Shawn Haag, and Gina Baas lenges in the transportation industry. Significant percentages of babyboomer transportation workforces will be eligible for retirement by the end of this decade, as forecast in 2003 by Young (2). Retirement of the baby-boom generation and competitiveness in high-tech careers for engineering students have resulted in a growing concern that aggressive initiatives are required to provide a competent, well-trained workforce for the transportation profession. In addition, Lipinski and Wilson indicated that most entry-level engineers lack significant exposure to transportation engineering methodologies (3). To address today’s transportation problems and make a difference for tomorrow, not only must current transportation professionals receive continual education and training but more high school students must be motivated to join the transportation workforce or pursue a transportation-related college degree after graduation. The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute at the University of Minnesota has delivered several educational activities such as a seminar series for professional development and continuing education, undergraduate research programs, and online transportation web research modules for high school students as part of its educational initiatives. There is a growing need to extend the current educational outreach program of the ITS Institute with additional focus on high school students. Several online research modules (4), such as traffic safety, topographic mapping, human factors, ramp metering, and the Global Positioning System, have been developed and made available for high school students to learn about transportation and technology issues in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. However, these web modules are seldom used by high school teachers because of lack of commitment. Information regarding the web modules was sent to high school teachers with enthusiastic encouragement to use the modules in their classes, but little information came back to researchers about how the modules were received and used by students and teachers. In addition to the tools developed for high school students, a suite of web-based simulation modules was developed and incorporated into the undergraduate transportation courses at the University of Minnesota. These modules were developed to help college students better understand critical concepts in transportation engineering and student motivation toward transportation engineering and to improve student retention in the field. The Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training (STREET) research project was recently awarded by the National Science Foundation to develop web-based simulation modules, improve instruction in transportation engineering courses, and evaluate their effectiveness (5). The goal is for the STREET project to become the epicenter for
The Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota has delivered several educational activities such as undergraduate research programs and online transportation web research modules for high school classes. The need is growing to extend the current educational outreach effort with additional focus on high school students. A goal is to interest high school students in transportation careers through the integration of educational game modules and curricula in teaching various concepts of intelligent transportation control and management. As part of the education and outreach effort, an interactive web-based traffic control simulation module and a professionally enhanced traffic game were developed and piloted to undergraduate transportation engineering classes and high school summer camps at the University of Minnesota. Several lessons developed for high school science classrooms were based on activities using the traffic control game. A developed curriculum was evaluated through observation of student participation and engagement during five summer camp sessions in 2008 and 2009. At the end of each session, a survey was performed to collect students’ feedback and learning experience from the curriculum and traffic control game. Results from the survey indicated student excitement toward the game and their receptiveness to the traffic engineering curriculum. Students were significantly more aware of traffic engineering issues after participating in the curriculum activities. It is hoped that students will be able to learn from their experience through a simulation environment and use the experience to deepen their understanding of intelligent transportation systems.
Transportation is increasingly recognized as a critical element for the economy and for quality of life (1). The nation’s transportation system affects everyone in many ways in their daily lives. Because of rising gasoline prices, an aging roadway infrastructure, growing interest in reducing one’s carbon footprint, and the growth of traffic congestion in urban areas, it is increasingly urgent to cultivate the existing and next-generation workforce for tackling ongoing chalC.-F. Liao, Minnesota Traffic Observatory, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 500 Pillsbury Drive Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55455. D. B. Glick, David B. Glick and Associates, LLC, 540 Dorland Road South, Maplewood, MN 55119. S. Haag and G. Baas, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 511 Washington Avenue Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Corresponding author: C.-F. Liao,
[email protected]. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2199, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2010, pp. 28–36. DOI: 10.3141/2199-04
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development of simulation-based teaching materials and an active textbook, which provides an interactive learning environment for undergraduate students. This paper intends to enhance the use of technology to extend the outreach effort of ITS education to high school students. It is hoped that by integrating creative problem-solving and hands-on activities, the outreach program will spark the interest of high school students in transportation. For example, through transportation summer camp and other university-sponsored activities related to transportation engineering and technology, students will have the opportunity to experience college life, explore career options in ITS, and improve their academic performance. Students will gain skills in applied science and math, work with their peers on design teams, and meet university and professional staff in various ITS disciplines. The outreach program will provide a stimulating introduction to several modes of transportation through professional presentations, field trips, and hands-on activities.
LITERATURE REVIEW Computer games and simulation tools have shown great potential to support teaching and learning. They provide contexts for learning and a framework for collaboration and allow people to explore solutions in a risk-free environment. Aldrich introduced three contents (systems, cyclical, and linear) and three delivery elements (simulation, game, and pedagogy) of an educational simulation system (6). The gaming and simulation technology allows students to drill deep into subject matter, explore various choices, and experience the consequences. For example, the game environment allows people to play with complex variables and to simulate the real-world processes. Chwiff and Barretto offered review of learning styles and how simulation games can be used as complementary activities for teaching the process in operation management (7 ). They concluded that the didactic operation simulation model is an effective instructional technique that allows students to experience what would be experienced in real life. However, not all teachers are used to this type of instructional technique. Greenblat encouraged educators to create interactive exercises that allow students to operate and explore from different perspectives, to participate in self-rewarding learning environments, to reason for themselves, and to consciously evaluate their progress (8). He also provided guidelines for developers of technology-enhanced simulations, including how to design simulation scenarios, develop game and simulation components, run the simulation experience, and manage outcomes. Gee suggested that additional information is needed on how to order and frame problems in simulations (9). For instance, he detailed how gradual increases in the challenge level can motivate students without overwhelming them and how appropriately timing the release of background information can improve understanding and retention. Web-based education and learning curricula have become an attractive and effective way to complement classroom instructions. Web-based learning tools offer the benefit of platform and location independence, and online learning tools bring the traditional classroom laboratory to a student’s computer. Users can virtually access the learning tool anytime and anywhere around the world by using computers with Internet access. Clearly, this approach can be integrated with other distancelearning approaches already in place for teaching transportation technologies. Liao et al. developed a web-based traffic simulation
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framework for teaching transportation concepts in an introductory transportation engineering course (10). Chen and Levinson evaluated the usefulness and efficacy of an educational tool by adopting it into a transportation planning or engineering course and verifying through an experiment conducted in a senior- or graduate-level course on transportation systems analysis (11). Their results indicated that students performed significantly better in learning network development patterns and in developing their ability to identify a relationship of components in transportation systems. Students also learned to establish criteria to evaluate and prioritize solutions in developing decision-making skills and in-depth understanding of the investment decision-making process. Helbing et al. (12) and Treiber (13) developed online freeway traffic models to help people better understand on ramp vehicle merging, lane changing, car following, lane closing, and signal control through online traffic simulation and visualization. Holmes and Spilker developed interactive web-based modules for teaching engineering topics by integrating mathematics into engineering and science topics in the classroom (14). The project focuses on engaging students in guided learning and providing students with a unique experience that is not available in traditional lectures. Kyte is leading an effort to develop, implement, and test a portable training course with which to teach traffic signal timing by using software in the loop simulation (15). The Mobile (Hands-On) Signal Timing Training project aims to provide the skills and competencies needed by transportation engineers, technicians, and university students. There is a significant benefit in the use of simulation to teach material that has been taught through traditional methods in the classroom (16). Shaffer provided an example of a game prototype that demonstrated how the simulation of professional training is both an engaging and an enjoyable activity and a compelling learning experience (17 ). He argued that his approach helps people to learn and better understand science and engineering topics in various disciplines. Jackson and Muckstadt developed a Windows-based transportation game to simulate a regional distribution system (18). They focused on the use of experiential learning techniques in the area of manufacturing and distribution system design. The objective is to cost-effectively manage the routing and scheduling of a fleet of trucks to satisfy customer demand. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point (USMA) has developed a bridge designer that students use to design the least-expensive bridge structure that will pass a simulated load test (19). It offers annual national contests for U.S. students in grades 7 through 12. According to USMA, the purpose of the contest is to provide middle and high school students with a realistic, engaging introduction to engineering. Appropriately implemented incorporation of gaming and simulation in education can motivate students to learn concepts and methodology beyond that used in the gaming activity.
APPROACH Agrawal and Dill stated the importance of understanding how civil engineering students choose their specialization (20). It is important to make high school students more aware of intelligent transportation engineering before they make decisions about their future profession. The goal is a curriculum that through gaming and interactive simulation will gain students’ interest, increase their awareness of engineering and transportation careers, and explain certain fundamental concepts of transportation engineering. A 2008 traffic engineering
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curriculum for high school classrooms (21) uses an earlier version of an online traffic control module, called MyTrafficKontrol (22). The curriculum was developed to meet Minnesota’s academic standards, for example, grades 9 through 12 history and nature of science. The traffic control game was incorporated into the activities of the high school curriculum to teach the concepts of signal timing, control, and coordination. An enhanced version of the traffic control game Gridlock Buster (23) was recently developed through Web Courseworks. The Gridlock Buster game was introduced at a summer camp in 2009 to help high school students better understand traffic management concepts and to raise awareness of challenges in traffic signal operation and control. After exploring and playing the game, students in groups developed hypotheses and conducted controlled experiments by using the MyTrafficKontrol simulation module. Students should learn from their experience with the traffic control curriculum and use the experience to deepen their understanding of traffic engineering.
Traffic Control Game The MyTrafficKontrol simulation module, shown in Figure 1, was developed with Java technology. Users can select network size, average vehicle speed, and traffic demand in the settings screen, as displayed in Figure 2. This traffic control module helps students better understand the concepts of traffic signal control, including delay, queue, signal coordination, and fixed time control, and to explore strategies in a risk-free simulation environment. Students can choose preferred levels of complexity by selecting traffic input demand, vehicle traveling speed, and network size. Two control types, mouse click and fixed time, are available. The mouseclick option allows users to play the traffic control game by clicking on the intersections to change the traffic signal to allow traffic movement in the other direction. The fixed-time option allows users to simulate the traffic network by clicking on the intersections to specify the signal offset of an intersection and green splits in each approach. A simple performance index based on the delay and number of vehicle stops in the network was created. The score is accumulated based on the number of vehicles that pass through the traffic network. The Gridlock Buster game, shown in Figures 3 and 4, developed with Adobe Flash technology, was based on features and ideas from the MyTrafficKontrol module. The game uses a story to render the context of traffic control assignment for prospective engineering students. Players can experience several levels of challenges by exercising manual or fixed-time signal control strategies to optimize traffic throughput, vehicle queue length, and delays.
(a) FIGURE 2
Traffic simulation settings.
FIGURE 1 Graphical user interface of traffic control simulation module.
Curriculum Design David Glick and his associates, who specialize in high school curriculum development, developed a traffic engineering curriculum by incorporating traffic control games in the exercises. Six lessons were developed, as shown in Table 1 (24). Each lesson has from two to four activities that teach traffic engineering by using the traffic control game. Each activity usually takes between 15 and 20 min and can be spread across several days, depending on teachers and their regular class schedules. For example, 2 days may be needed for Lesson 5, Traffic Counting, to allow time for student experimentation. The lessons emphasize application of the scientific method to traffic control situations, and they increase in complexity as the students progress through the lessons. Initially, the lessons direct students to explore manual and fixed-time control of traffic signals. By using the graphing feature of the simulation, students come to recognize the benefits of automated control systems for establishing consistent traffic patterns. As students increase their awareness of the challenges of traffic control, they also become adept at manipulating the various controls that the game provides. Ultimately, the students design and conduct their own experiment by using the basic scientific method of hypothesis, experimental design, observations,
(b)
Liao, Glick, Haag, and Baas
FIGURE 3
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Gridlock Buster traffic game.
and conclusion. Students choose independent and dependent variables depending on their abilities to control the quantitative aspects of the simulation. Although numerous traffic engineering terms and concepts are introduced throughout the lessons, the primary goal is to increase student awareness of traffic engineering as a possible career path
FIGURE 4
while enhancing student ability to apply the scientific method to a traffic engineering scenario. This emphasis also exposes students to concepts and problem-solving ideas that comprise several of the benchmarks in science for grades 9 through 12 as stated in the National Science Standards and, in particular, the Minnesota Academic Standards. An addendum (Lesson 6) contains suggestions for
Gridlock Buster traffic game: street network.
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Transportation Research Record 2199
TABLE 1 Lessons Developed for High School Traffic Control Curriculum (24) Lesson
Topic
1 2 3 4 5 6
Introduction to Signal Timing Introduction to Queuing Intersection Signal Analysis Signal Control Parameters Traffic Count Problems in Traffic—Small Group and Independent Study
three independent-study projects featuring problems from the several disciplines.
DEPLOYMENT The curriculum was developed in 2008 and 2009 to be incorporated into Exploring Careers in Engineering and Physical Science (ECEPS), a summer camp experience for high school students and part of the Institute of Technology Center for Education Program (ITCEP). ITCEP is one of 23 Institute of Technology (IT) research centers at the University of Minnesota that encompasses engineering, mathematics, and the physical sciences. In addition to summer camps, the lesson plans were piloted at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 2008. The lesson plans were also presented at the Minnesota Science and Math Teachers Association in October 2008 to gain interest from teachers. Feedback from survey results and discussions with teachers will allow for the implementation of new curriculum enhancements and designs for future transportation lessons.
The objective of the ECEPS summer camp is to engage students in demonstrations, lectures, tours, and lab experiences that will make math, science, and engineering come alive as viable careers. Campus tours with IT students, panel discussions and informal lunches with career advisors and faculty, and presentations by IT staff will help high school students to experience campus life, learn more about academic programs, and explore potential careers. In July 2008, a total of 70 high school students participated in the pilot program in three groups. The first group consisted of 23 female students, the second group consisted of 17 male and seven female students, and the third group consisted of 23 female students. Four lesson modules were introduced to the three groups to evaluate each curriculum plan. Lessons 1 and 3 were taught to the first group, Lessons 1 and 2 were taught to the second group, and Lessons 1 and 4 were taught to the third group. Student participation and engagement were observed during the three separate summer camp sessions. Students were very engaged and energized by the game. Students were assessed to collect feedback of the curriculum and the traffic control game. The student comments were positive, and many felt they learned a great deal about traffic engineering. In July 2009, the traffic control lesson was taught in two ECEPS sessions. The first group consisted of 25 high school girls, and the second group consisted of 16 boys and eight girls. Student grade levels (10 through 12) among participants in both 2008 and 2009 are displayed in Figure 5. After a brief introduction to ITS technologies and ongoing research activities at the University of Minnesota, students were given 30 to 40 min to play and explore the Gridlock Buster game by following the online instructions from a virtual mentor. The goal of the game is to get the highest score on each level by changing intersection signals to maintain maximum traffic throughput and minimum vehicle delay. Gridlock Buster provides a good introduction to the concepts of traffic control and management. In both sessions, many students were able to finish all eight levels of the game within the time provided. Gridlock Buster prepares stu-
45.0% 41.4% 38.8%
40.0%
38.8% 32.9%
35.0%
2008 All Groups, 17 Males and 53 Females
30.0% 25.7%
22.4%
25.0% 20.0%
2009 All Groups, 16 Males and 33 Females
15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Grade-10 FIGURE 5
Grade-11
Grade-level distribution of ECEPS summer camp participants.
Grade-12
Liao, Glick, Haag, and Baas
TABLE 2
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Survey Results, Questions 11, 12, 14
Question
Year
11. How would you rate the difficulty of these activities?
2008 2009
12. How much would you say these activities were fun and interesting to you?
2008 2009
14. Would you enjoy activities like these in your high school science classes?
2008 2009
Response (%) Much Too Easy 7.1 0.0 Not much 10.0 0.0 Yes, definitely 17.1 40.8
dents to develop hypotheses and perform controlled experiments with the MyTrafficKontrol simulation. The simulation module allows students to graph vehicle delay and queue length for system performance analysis.
Survey Results Results from a 2008 survey indicated that several students felt the game was extremely interesting and would like to find a morecomplex traffic control simulator after the game activity. Some students felt it was very interesting to learn about the complexities of designing traffic control, to know the math and science behind traffic engineering, and to learn about all the components that have to be considered to reduce traffic congestion. A few students suggested the need for a more in-depth discussion about traffic simulation calculation and analyzing more-complex scenarios. A few students commented that they were not interested in transportation engineering but that they learned many interesting facts. Some of them felt the traffic engineering curriculum was too long. Overall, 17 students (24%) in 2008 and 15 students (31%) in 2009 indicated that they are now more or much more likely to pursue courses in traffic engineering after participating in these activities. However, 41 students (59%) in 2008 and 25 students (52%) in 2009 responded that these activities did not affect their level of interest in pursuing courses in traffic engineering. In addition, 46 students (66%) in 2008 and 41 students (84%) in 2009 indicated that they will definitely or sometimes enjoy traffic engineering activities in their high school science classes (Table 2, Question 14). Before participating in the activities, 15 students (21%) in 2008 and six students (12%) in 2009 responded that their awareness of traffic engineering issues was high or very high (Table 3, Question 9). After participating in the activities, 64 students (91%) in 2008 and 43 students (88%) students in 2009 felt their awareness of traffic
TABLE 3
Too Easy 30.0 4.1 A little 31.4 12.2 Sometimes 48.6 42.9
About Right 61.4 83.7 Some 45.7 44.9 Not really 28.6 12.2
Too Hard 1.4 12.2 A great deal 10.0 42.9 No, definitely not 4.3 2.0
engineering issues was high or very high (Table 3, Question 15). According to the participants’ self-assessments, the survey results indicated that the traffic control game and curriculum successfully helped 70% of participants in 2008 (76% in 2009) increase their awareness of traffic engineering from low or very low to high or very high. Before participating in the curriculum activities, 64 students (91%) in 2008 and 42 students (86%) in 2009 responded with low or very low awareness of the traffic engineering careers, whereas only six students in 2008 (seven students in 2009) were aware of traffic engineering careers (Table 3, Question 10). Asked about the difficulty of the activities, 26 students (37%) in 2008 felt the activities were easy or much too easy, whereas only two participants (4%) in 2009 felt the activities were too easy. The various levels of Gridlock Buster likely makes the game more challenging. Forty-three students (61%) in 2008 responded that the difficulty is about right, and 41 students (84%) in 2009 felt the difficulty level was manageable (Table 2, Question 11). However, 29 students (41%) in 2008 and only six students (12%) in 2009 felt these activities were definitely or sometimes fun and interesting (Table 2, Question 12). Many encouraging comments were received from the participants specifically about the traffic control game. A complete list of comments from the 2009 summer camp students is displayed in Table 4.
Lessons Learned Educational gaming and simulation tools have been demonstrated to be effective for engaging students in learning and problem solving. However, it is challenging to fit additional curricula to the already busy and full science high school curriculum. Significant commitment is required from teachers and support is needed from external resources. To be attractive to teachers and students, a developed curriculum must meet the state’s academic standards—for example, the
Survey Results, Question 9, 10, 15
Question
Year
Very High (%)
High (%)
Low (%)
Very Low (%)
9. Before participating in these activities, how would you have described your awareness of traffic engineering issues? 10. Before participating in these activities, how would you have described your awareness of traffic engineering careers? 15. After participating in these activities, how would you describe your awareness of traffic engineering issues?
2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009
1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.3 12.2
20.0 12.2 8.6 14.3 77.1 75.5
55.7 53.1 61.4 51.0 7.1 10.2
22.9 34.7 30.0 34.7 1.4 0.0
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TABLE 4
Transportation Research Record 2199
Comments by 2009 ECEPS Summer Camp Participants
Student
Comments
1 2 3
The traffic control game was fun and engaging. Although the drivers were overly impatient, I realized how difficult it was to regulate traffic control. The gridlock buster game was fun. No. I think this was a fun activity that made me aware of the skill that needs to take place to conduct traffic. The Gridlock buster game was a lot of fun! Thanks. The game Gridlock Buster was cool and the main guy in the game was funny. I liked the gridlock buster game because it was both fun and challenging. The game gridlock buster was really fun! It was challenging but once you got use to it, it was not as challenging. Overall, I thought the game was a good starter into teaching about traffic engineering. The blockbuster game was a fun way to practice simple traffic engineering and get an idea for how difficult it is. Gridlock game was fun, though a bit frustrating :) The experiment was somewhat predictable depending on what hypothesis you were testing. Maybe suggest some creative hypotheses beforehand so everyone can have fun. Never really knew how important traffic engineering was until today. It was very fun and enjoyable. The Gridlock Buster game was a lot of fun and an interesting way to present the topic. I found the game to be slightly frustrating which may make traffic engineering less appealing. This class was very interesting and opened more doors. Gridlock Buster was a creative way to catch my attention on civil engineering-more specifically traffic. I had fun! Thanks! The Gridlock game was fun and I enjoyed it. I was very confused on the traffic control game it should be explained more (what/how to do things). It would be fun if we could try putting traffic lights or stop signs at intersections or try building different roads to find the best way to keep the delay time down. The activities (especially gridlock game) were very entertaining and taught me a lot about traffic engineering but in fun way! The teacher was a very good speaker and fun to listen to! This was fun and I learned a lot. The simulations were great; they really helped me grasp the complexity of the work traffic engineers have to do. Have a little more direction on the hypothesis activity. Fun and interesting teacher! The activities were fun and stimulating! I learned a lot more about traffic engineering by doing these activities. Thanks! When first giving students this experiment to do the professor could explain what all the variables signify to help students attain a more in-depth understanding of the experiment before proceeding with the activity. Otherwise, the technology was wonderful and the teachers were very kind and enthusiastic. Thank you! Learn about how adding intersections with cars turning left and right affects the traffic flow. (Instead of just having cars go straight.) With the Gridlock game, it became somewhat difficult to understand how the non-manual system worked. I wasn’t sure when to press the arrows to affect how the cars moved. Aside from that, the game is entertaining and gets the desired message/idea out. :) The Gridlock traffic game was too easy to beat and after one beat it the score did not reset when submitted and it did not add properly because 71,341 + 6,456 is definitely not 71,356. Let the time limit be longer than 5 minutes on the simulation. I liked the game! Great course. The lectures should decrease and the number of simulations should increase. You guys have been amazing! Thanks for your time. We really enjoyed it. Have different goals for each level in the game than just gold. Traffic control game (Java on) should support fractional times. I would have liked to have spent more time and had a little more variety with this but in all it was very good.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
grades 9 through 12 history and nature of science standards. The traffic control curriculum was designed with modular class activities that can be divided into multiple sessions and incorporated into existing science curricula. Lesson plans and instructor guidelines were developed for high school teachers with minimal preparation needed for class presentation of lessons. The goal is to inform high school students about intelligent transportation technologies and to encourage them to pursue a college program related to ITS. The potential impact may not be measurable for a few years, and the scope of impact and return on investment is beyond this study. According to the survey results from 119 summer camp participants in the past 2 years, many students have already
decided to pursue careers other than transportation or ITS. This may explain why most students feel the curriculum activities are educational and informative but are not interested in traffic engineering. The implications may indicate a need to extend the transportation outreach effort to middle school or younger students.
DISSEMINATION AND OUTREACH Gridlock Buster was presented at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair at the University of Minnesota to showcase the traffic game and inform the general public about the use of ITS technology to make our road-
Liao, Glick, Haag, and Baas
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ways safer and more efficient. Gridlock Buster was well received by fair attendees. As of October 2009, the Gridlock Buster game had received more than 1.1 million views and 666 hosts. Wicklein and Schell suggested that teacher commitment and administration coordination are key factors for integrating multidisciplinary curricula for high school education (25). Teacher commitment and coordination efforts between high school teachers and the staffs of the Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) and the ITS Institute are critical to the successful deployment of the traffic modules to high school curricula. Substantial effort is needed in planning, coordinating activities, and making adjustments to teaching style. The materials have been prepared and organized to help teachers integrate these modules into their existing science curriculum as much as possible. The goal is to help teachers empower themselves and to integrate the tools and modules to increase students’ motivation and learning. Through a close relationship with several high schools in the Twin Cities metro area, the authors have identified high school teachers who are willing to participate in the program. Other partners, for example, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (DOT), ITS Minnesota, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)–Minnesota, and county and city engineers, will be engaged to help shape the final curriculum. Experience shows that the following performance measures are critical to the success of this transportation education outreach effort:
rooms as part of an ongoing course and thus to increase the number of students enrolling in classes in transportation engineering.
• Partnership with committed high school staff and teachers; • Engagement with students; • Support from city, county, Minnesota DOT, ITS Minnesota, and ITE Minnesota; • Recognition of high school teachers for their efforts in ITS education; • Curriculum and program evaluation and assessment; and • Feedback from teachers and students.
The authors acknowledge the support of the CTS, the ITS Institute, the University of Minnesota Department of Civil Engineering, and ITCEP. The ITS Institute is a federally funded program administrated through the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. The authors thank Stephanie Malinoff for coteaching the traffic curriculum at the ECEPS summer camp in 2008, Linda Preisen for reviewing the game development, and Sarah Gregg for the opportunity to pilot the modules to high school students. The authors also thank CTS staff members and students who participated in testing the Gridlock Buster game and provided feedback.
FUTURE WORK Relationships with a few high school classrooms have been initiated for the testing of the simulation modules and games to ensure they function as intended. Better integration of the curriculum and the Gridlock Buster game is sought so a refined curriculum can be rolled out to local high schools. An evaluation method for teachers with which to observe the curriculum is needed. The transportation engineering curriculum will be further developed and refined for use in a high school classroom setting, including additional lesson plans based on timing and objectives. More summer camps will be used to deliver the traffic engineering curriculum and generate feedback. Teachers will be trained, for example, by partnership with Minnesota DOT or ITS Minnesota, to provide a broader perspective on how transportation professionals tackle ongoing transportation challenges. An additional curriculum with additional topics such as safety, weather, and driver behavior also could be integrated into the high school science or math curriculum.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SUMMARY The ITS Institute at the University of Minnesota had previously delivered educational activities such as the seminar series for professional development and continuing education, undergraduate research programs, and online transportation web research modules for high school students as part of its educational initiatives. There is a growing need to extend the current educational outreach program of the ITS Institute through a focus on high school students. An interactive web-based traffic simulation game was developed to help students better understand traffic signal control and operation. Six lessons, each containing two to four activities, were developed to teach traffic engineering through a traffic control game. Each lesson was designed to be spread across several days, depending on teacher and class schedules. The developed curriculum was used at an engineering and science summer camp for high school students during the summers of 2008 and 2009, and it was evaluated by observation of student participation and engagement during the summer camp sessions. Student learning experiences and feedback about using the curriculum and the traffic control game were collected. The developed materials were prepared and organized to help high school teachers integrate these modules into their existing science curricula to increase student motivation for learning about transportation engineering. The goal is to integrate the curriculum into high school class-
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