Board 130: Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High: Preliminary Findings Regarding Learning Outcomes for Underrepresented Students (Work in Progress, Diversity)
- Conference
- Location
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Salt Lake City, Utah
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2018
- Start Date
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June 23, 2018
- End Date
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July 27, 2018
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Pre-College Engineering Education
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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14
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--29919
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/29919
- Download Count
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425
Paper Authors
Alissa Ruth Arizona State University
Alissa Ruth is cultural anthropologist at Arizona State University. Her portfolio of funded research includes testing innovative approaches to supporting minority/first generation students’ transition from high-school to community colleges and universities.
Tameka Spence Arizona State University
Tameka Spence is an education researcher at Arizona State University. Her scholarly interests include minority access and mobility in higher education, along with interests in colorblind ideology and the ways in which race is used as political space in the 21st century.
Joseph V. Hackman Arizona State University
Joseph Hackman is a PhD candidate studying cultural anthropology at Arizona State University. His research focuses on social and material determinants of well-being in global contexts, with an emphasis on the effects of different forms of wealth on child growth, development, and parental investments in education.
Jennifer Velez M.Ed. Arizona State University
In 2013, Velez joined the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering as a Program Coordinator Senior with the K-12 Engineering Education and Outreach team. Since then, Velez has managed such programs as FIRST LEGO League Robotics, MESA, and the National Summer Transportation Institute. She currently coordinates EPICS High (Engineering Projects in Community Service) to engage high school and middle school students in human-centered engineering projects in their communities. Through this program, Velez works to build partnerships with school districts, industry, and non-profits to bring STEM programming to underserved communities across the state. Before joining ASU, Velez spent seven years as an elementary educator at a STEM focus school. She currently holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
Hope Parker Arizona State University
Hope Parker is Associate Director for Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering PreK-14 Engineering Education and Outreach at Arizona State University. She and her team work to bring awareness, enthusiasm, interest, opportunity and understanding of engineering and social entrepreneurship to students. In 2017, the team served roughly 16,000 PreK through community college students in a variety of yearlong programs, events and teacher trainings. Hope serves on the PCEE board as Member at Large as well as assisted with the 2017 PCEE K12 conference. Hope has worked in education for more than 15 years including elementary and post-secondary settings. Prior to her current role, she served as Assistant Director of Graduate Business Student Services at the W. P. Carey School of Business where she oversaw the Full-time MBA program. Before relocating to Arizona she taught pre-K through sixth grade and also as a high school athletics coach.
Hope has a Master of Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Arizona State University and Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood Education from Montana State University. She held several positions on the Graduate Business Student Services Association board concluding her tenure as the chair. Hope’s passion is to help children change their lives and impact the world around them through meaningful, real world education.
Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh Arizona State University
Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh is Assistant Dean of Engineering Education at Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He is Tooker Professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, & Energy. His research interests include educational research methods, communication of research, and k-16+ engineering education. Ganesh’s research is largely focused on studying the impact of k-12 and undergraduate curricula, and teaching-learning processes in both the formal and informal settings. He is also studying entry and persistence in engineering of first generation, women, and under-represented ethnic minorities.
Abstract
Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High utilizes human-centered design processes to teach high school students how to develop solutions to real-world problems within their communities. The goals of EPICS High are to utilize both principles from engineering and social entrepreneurship to engage high and middle school students as problem-solvers and spark interest in STEM careers. Recently, the Cisco corporate advised fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, granted Arizona State University funds to expand EPICS High to underrepresented students and study the student outcomes from participation in this innovative program.
In this exploratory study we combined qualitative methods—in person observations and informal interviews—along with pre and post surveys with high school students, to answer the questions: What skills do students gain and how does their mindset about engineering entrepreneurship develop through participation in EPICS High?
Research took place in Title I schools (meaning they have a high number of students from low-income families) as well as non-Title I schools. Our preliminary results show that students made gains in the following areas: their attitudes toward engineering; ability to improve upon existing ideas; incorporating stakeholders; overcoming obstacles; social responsibility; and appreciation of multiple perspectives when solving engineering problems. While males have better baseline scores for most measures, females tend to have the most growth in many of these areas. We conclude that these initial measures show positive outcomes for students participating in EPICS High, and provide questions for further research.
Ruth, A., & Spence, T., & Hackman, J. V., & Velez, J., & Parker, H., & Ganesh, T. G. (2018, June), Board 130: Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High: Preliminary Findings Regarding Learning Outcomes for Underrepresented Students (Work in Progress, Diversity) Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29919
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