April 25, 2025 – Enhancing Engineering Retention with the “Fun with Engineering Box”

Join CREATE and presenter Khalid Tantawi, Professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga for an engaging webinar exploring an innovative approach to improving student retention in Engineering and Engineering Technology programs. With dropout rates as high as 50% in these majors, educators are seeking effective strategies to keep students engaged. This presentation introduces the “Fun with Engineering Box,” a hands-on tool designed to bridge theoretical concepts with real-world applications through a Systems Approach.

In the Systems Approach methodology, the learning process is a closed loop that starts with a hands-on real world application followed by theory and the loop finally closes back by connecting theory to the real world application.  

In this Fun with Engineering Box, students learn the fundamentals of electricity and magnetism through fun Hands-on experiments with two primary objectives in mind: Simplicity and Real World Application.

Learn how the Fun with Engineering Box is used for both student recruitment and science demonstrations.  The box features simple electrical circuits that showcase everyday applications, from basic solar-powered DC motors and automatic night lights to advanced concepts like electromagnetic wave propagation and the science behind polarized glasses in 3D movies with the “world’s simplest wireless transmitter receiver”. These interactive activities make complex engineering principles accessible and spark curiosity among high school and college students.

Discover how connecting theory to applications reduces math anxiety—a key factor in engineering dropout rates—by offering visual, intuitive explanations. Research shows this approach significantly improves retention by making learning engaging and relatable.
Key Takeaways:

• Understand the Systems Approach and its role in engineering education.
• Explore hands-on activities with the Fun with Engineering Box for recruitment and teaching.
• Learn how visual learning reduces math anxiety and boosts student retention.

Don’t miss this opportunity to discover a transformative tool for engineering education!

This is part of the CREATE Innovation series and lasts approximately 30 minutes.