Extended Engagement in an Engineering Outreach Program at a Predominately Latinx High School (RTP, Diversity)

Maya Denton; Bryant Chambers; Indu Venu Sabaraya; Navid Saleh; Mary Kirisits

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: PCEE Session 11: Engineering Outreach / Summer Programs
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41182
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/41182
Download Count: 314

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Maya Denton University of Texas at Austin

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Maya Denton is a PhD Candidate in STEM Education and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Center for Engineering Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and her M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from UT-Austin. She previously worked as a chemical engineer for an industrial gas company.

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Prof. Kirisits received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed a postdoctoral position in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. She currently is a Professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Abstract

Outreach efforts often occur during a short period of time, and there have been recent recommendations for longer-term outreach programs to be implemented and studied. Extended outreach programs have the potential to further impact engineering perceptions and STEM confidence and enjoyment, which influence the choice to pursue engineering. To understand the impact of repeated outreach activities, we implemented a four-year engineering outreach program at a predominately Latinx high school, where 29% of the students were low-income. Starting freshman year and continuing through their four years in high school, participants engaged in two STEM activities and three engineering modules in their science classroom. Our research question is as follows:

How did extended engagement during the outreach program impact the students’ (a) perception of engineering? (b) enjoyment of STEM classes/activities? (c) confidence in STEM skills? (d) interest in a STEM career?

We reached 50 students over the course of four years, with six students participating in all five activities/modules. Adapted surveys were implemented at three timepoints during the program to assess engineering perception, confidence in STEM skills, and enjoyment of STEM. We calculated descriptive statistics at the three timepoints for the six participants who completed all activities and compared descriptive statistics at the third timepoint for participants who completed all three engineering modules (n=15) and those who completed only one module (n=10). We also qualitatively analyzed open-ended response questions. Our findings suggest the extended engagement in outreach positively influenced participants’ perceptions of engineering and enjoyment of STEM, with mixed results on STEM confidence. Perceptions of engineering were generally more positive for participants who completed all three engineering modules versus those who completed only one module. Further, the open-ended responses highlight the importance of repeated exposure, as participants indicated they felt safer and more comfortable with the project team over time. Our results highlight the importance of continued engagement with students in outreach and forming partnerships with classrooms, where students can get repeated exposure to engineering and build long-term relationships with STEM role models.

Citation
Format

Denton, M., & Chambers, B., & Sabaraya, I. V., & Saleh, N., & Kirisits, M. (2022, August), Extended Engagement in an Engineering Outreach Program at a Predominately Latinx High School (RTP, Diversity) Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41182

TY - CPAPER
AB - Outreach efforts often occur during a short period of time, and there have been recent recommendations for longer-term outreach programs to be implemented and studied. Extended outreach programs have the potential to further impact engineering perceptions and STEM confidence and enjoyment, which influence the choice to pursue engineering. To understand the impact of repeated outreach activities, we implemented a four-year engineering outreach program at a predominately Latinx high school, where 29% of the students were low-income. Starting freshman year and continuing through their four years in high school, participants engaged in two STEM activities and three engineering modules in their science classroom. Our research question is as follows:

How did extended engagement during the outreach program impact the students’ (a) perception of engineering? (b) enjoyment of STEM classes/activities? (c) confidence in STEM skills? (d) interest in a STEM career?

We reached 50 students over the course of four years, with six students participating in all five activities/modules. Adapted surveys were implemented at three timepoints during the program to assess engineering perception, confidence in STEM skills, and enjoyment of STEM. We calculated descriptive statistics at the three timepoints for the six participants who completed all activities and compared descriptive statistics at the third timepoint for participants who completed all three engineering modules (n=15) and those who completed only one module (n=10). We also qualitatively analyzed open-ended response questions. Our findings suggest the extended engagement in outreach positively influenced participants’ perceptions of engineering and enjoyment of STEM, with mixed results on STEM confidence. Perceptions of engineering were generally more positive for participants who completed all three engineering modules versus those who completed only one module. Further, the open-ended responses highlight the importance of repeated exposure, as participants indicated they felt safer and more comfortable with the project team over time. Our results highlight the importance of continued engagement with students in outreach and forming partnerships with classrooms, where students can get repeated exposure to engineering and build long-term relationships with STEM role models.
AU - Maya Denton
AU - Bryant Chambers
AU - Indu Venu Sabaraya
AU - Navid Saleh
AU - Mary Kirisits
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Extended Engagement in an Engineering Outreach Program at a Predominately Latinx High School (RTP, Diversity)
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/41182
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41182
ER -