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Assessing The Effectiveness of an Engineering Summer Day Camp

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Conference

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Publication Date

June 26, 2016

Start Date

June 26, 2016

End Date

June 29, 2016

ISBN

978-0-692-68565-5

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering Division: Evaluation: Exploring the Impact of Summer Programs on K-12 Youth (Part 1)

Tagged Division

Pre-College Engineering Education Division

Page Count

17

DOI

10.18260/p.26311

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/26311

Download Count

802

Paper Authors

biography

Alison Haugh Nowariak University of St. Thomas

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Alison Haugh is in the third year of her studies at the University of St. Thomas, Majoring in Elementary Education and STEM Education,while Minoring in Engineering Education. Her undergraduate Playful Learning Lab research is focused on expanding quality engineering education with an eye to under-served populations, including students with disabilities. Alison is the Lead STEPS (Science, Technology and Engineering Preview program) curriculum constructor, lead trainer and lead on-site researcher. Additionally, Alison assists on and leads after-school engineering clubs at schools near the University.

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biography

Olivia Lang University of St. Thomas

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Olivia Lang is a senior at the University of Saint Thomas earning a B.A. in Elementary Education with a focus on STEM, graduating in May of 2016. She is a research assistant for Dr. AnnMarie Thomas's Playful Learning Lab, which encourages children of all ages to embrace playful learning in science and engineering classes. Outside of school, she enjoys coaching a Special Olympics basketball and track team and hiking.

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biography

AnnMarie Polsenberg Thomas University of St. Thomas

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AnnMarie Thomas is a professor in the School of Engineering and the College of Business at the University of St. Thomas where she is the director of the Playful Learning Lab, which focuses on engineering and design education for learners of all ages. AnnMarie is the co-founder, and former director, of the UST Center for Engineering Education.

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Debra Monson University of St. Thomas

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Debbie Monson, Ph.D., is currently a faculty member in Teacher Education at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. Debbie's work in Engineering Education is a result of collaboration with the Center for Engineering Education at St. Thomas and the engineers that run that center. Her interests include educating teachers and preservice teachers so they are able to teach integrated STEM topics to their students and the specific connections to mathematics that integrated lessons provide.

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biography

Deborah Besser P.E. University of St. Thomas

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Dr. Besser, who holds a PhD in education and MS and BS in civil engineering, entered the K-12 education realm designing, implementing and researching K-12 engineering education programs. Currently, she is the director of University of St. Thomas Center for Engineering Education; and she teaches engineering education and engineering courses. Previous experience includes faculty positions in diverse universities where she has taught a variety of coursework ranging from engineering education to structural systems to engineering economy. Prior to teaching, Dr. Besser, a licensed engineer, was a design engineer with HNTB-CA, where she worked on seismic retrofits and new design of high profile transportation structures.

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Abstract

This paper describes a five session summer camp, for rising seventh-grade students, which implemented an engineering design process in basic circuitry and laser cutting projects. This document discusses results from an assessment of the camp’s effectiveness in increasing general engineering knowledge and fostering a more positive feeling toward the field. The 2015 camp targeted females for the first three sessions, and males and females for the last two sessions. This camp was a collaboration between the University of St. Thomas and St. Paul Public Library system. This camp model emphasized hands-on learning experiences featuring lessons on circuitry, computer design, and machining. Data was gathered through formative assessments, where nearly 80% of camp participants filled out pre- and post-surveys inquiring about their individual attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with engineering. For example, 88.5% of students noted either no change or an increase in confidence in their engineering skills from the pre- to post- surveys. The following paper will present the lessons taught at the camp, a detailed demographic of the camp and the results from the participant surveys.

Haugh Nowariak, A., & Lang, O., & Thomas, A. P., & Monson, D., & Besser, D. (2016, June), Assessing The Effectiveness of an Engineering Summer Day Camp Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26311

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2016 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015