Delivering K-12 Invention and Entrepreneurship to Rural Areas: Programming, Teacher Experiences, and Student Outcomes in a Partner Hub

Sunni Haag Newton; Roxanne A. Moore; Meltem Alemdar; Timothy Cone

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: ENT Division Technical Session: Creativity and Innovation
Tagged Division: Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--34378
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/34378
Download Count: 433

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Paper Authors

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Sunni Haag Newton Georgia Institute of Technology

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Sunni Newton is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). Her research focuses on assessing the implementation and outcomes of educational interventions at the K-12 and collegiate levels. She received her MS and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Georgia Tech.

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Roxanne A. Moore Georgia Institute of Technology

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Roxanne Moore is currently a Senior Research Engineer at Georgia Tech with appointments in the school of Mechanical Engineering and the Center for Education Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Computing (CEISMC). She is involved with engineering education innovations from K-12 up to the collegiate level. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2012.

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Meltem Alemdar Georgia Institute of Technology

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Dr. Meltem Alemdar is Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). Dr. Alemdar has experience evaluating programs that fall under the umbrella of educational evaluation, including K-12 educational curricula, K-12 STEM programs after-school programs, and comprehensive school reform initiatives. Across these evaluations, she has used a variety of evaluation methods, ranging from a multi-level evaluation plan designed to assess program impact to methods such as program monitoring designed to facilitate program improvement. She received her Ph.D. in Research, Measurement and Statistics from the Department of Education Policy at Georgia State University (GSU).

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Timothy Cone Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing

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Abstract

The K12 InVenture Prize program has been creating the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs through invention education since 2013. Its key components include teacher professional development, a semi-structured curriculum, an online platform for students to receive periodic feedback on their inventions, and a culminating state competition event at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

The program is actively trying to reach more rural areas by engaging urban and small-town hubs located within rural counties. A total of 35 schools, 55 teachers, and over 200 students from a new hub were involved in the program during the 2018-2019 school year. We found that the use of a regionally-centered, in-person event catalyzed participation in the region more than any previously attempted recruitment efforts, including offers of financial support and meetings with school leaders.

Surveys were administered to a subset of participating teachers and students in the region, allowing for insights into how participants experienced the program in this setting. Outcomes assessed in the student survey include math interest, science interest, self-efficacy for schoolwork, and creative problem solving. Outcomes assessed in the teacher survey include perceived impact of the program on students, motivation for participating in the program, and self-efficacy for teaching engineering and entrepreneurship. Barriers and supports to the expansion of the program into this area, along with results from the student and teacher surveys, will be presented in this paper. Preliminary findings suggest similar positive experiences among students and teachers as those seen previously in settings located close to the hosting institution, suggesting that creation of hubs with local competitions may be a scalable strategy. This is an important early finding given the potential benefits of extending the rich, contextualized educational experiences engendered by K-12/university partnerships to K-12 institutions that have limited geographical access to major universities.

Citation
Format

Newton, S. H., & Moore, R. A., & Alemdar, M., & Cone, T. (2020, June), Delivering K-12 Invention and Entrepreneurship to Rural Areas: Programming, Teacher Experiences, and Student Outcomes in a Partner Hub Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34378

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The K12 InVenture Prize program has been creating the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs through invention education since 2013. Its key components include teacher professional development, a semi-structured curriculum, an online platform for students to receive periodic feedback on their inventions, and a culminating state competition event at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). 

The program is actively trying to reach more rural areas by engaging urban and small-town hubs located within rural counties. A total of 35 schools, 55 teachers, and over 200 students from a new hub were involved in the program during the 2018-2019 school year.  We found that the use of a regionally-centered, in-person event catalyzed participation in the region more than any previously attempted recruitment efforts, including offers of financial support and meetings with school leaders. 

Surveys were administered to a subset of participating teachers and students in the region, allowing for insights into how participants experienced the program in this setting. Outcomes assessed in the student survey include math interest, science interest, self-efficacy for schoolwork, and creative problem solving. Outcomes assessed in the teacher survey include perceived impact of the program on students, motivation for participating in the program, and self-efficacy for teaching engineering and entrepreneurship. Barriers and supports to the expansion of the program into this area, along with results from the student and teacher surveys, will be presented in this paper.  Preliminary findings suggest similar positive experiences among students and teachers as those seen previously in settings located close to the hosting institution, suggesting that creation of hubs with local competitions may be a scalable strategy. This is an important early finding given the potential benefits of extending the rich, contextualized educational experiences engendered by K-12/university partnerships to K-12 institutions that have limited geographical access to major universities.
AU  - Sunni Haag Newton
AU  - Roxanne A. Moore
AU  - Meltem Alemdar
AU  - Timothy Cone
CY  - Virtual On line 
DA  - 2020/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Delivering K-12 Invention and Entrepreneurship to Rural Areas: Programming, Teacher Experiences, and Student Outcomes in a Partner Hub
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/34378
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--34378
ER  -