Board 153: An Immersive Summer Camp Designed for Underrepresented Populations and Its Effectiveness on Increasing Pre-College Awareness and Broadening Participation in Engineering (Evaluation)

Tanja L. Greene; Hansika I. Sirikumara; Binh Q. Tran

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42492
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42492
Download Count: 214

Paper Authors

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Tanja L. Greene E.S. Witchger School of Engineering, Marian University

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Tanja Greene is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and is the Director of Community Outreach for the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering (E.S. WSOE) at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. During her master studies, she investigated the influence of microenvironments on cell-fate processes through the encapsulation of cells within chemically modified, biomimetic hydrogels and was awarded the Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award by the university’s graduate office for her work. After graduating, she continued her research in a tissue engineering/ biomaterials laboratory until accepting a teaching position at Marian University where she currently teaches Physics I, Physics II, Biophysics, and will soon be developing courses related to biomaterials. In addition to teaching, Tanja also plays a large role in the community outreach of the E.S. WSOE through directing events such as the Central Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair and the annual INnovation Through Engineering Residential Summer Camp. Through her efforts, Ms. Greene enjoys creating inclusive environments where students feel supported while exploring STEM related topics. Tanja is also an active member of the prestigious national engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi, where she serves as an advisor for a local university’s chapter. And more recently, she has stepped into the role of co-advisor to launch a new collegiate SWE affiliation on the Marian Campus.

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Hansika I. Sirikumara E.S. Witchger School of Engineering, Marian University Indianapolis, IN

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Hansika Sirikumara, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering at Marian University, E. S. Witchger School of Engineering. She completed her MS and PhD degrees from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her research work is mainly focused on two areas, (a) designing novel materials for electronic and energy applications using ab-initio Density Functional Theory (DFT) which is implemented using Quantum espresso package (b). Designing computational tools for engineering education using Python/Matlab.

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Binh Q. Tran Marian University

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Dr. Binh Q. Tran is the founding dean for the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering at Marian University in Indianapolis. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from U.C. San Diego and San Diego State University, respectively, and received his doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa. His research interests are related to applications of computer, mobile, and information technologies to advance healthy and successful aging in elderly and underserved populations. He has successfully led research projects in the areas of telehealth/mobile health (m-health), home health care technologies, personal health records, and design and development of biomedical instrumentation, including wearable medical devices. He is a recognized biomedical researcher with prior funding from NIH, NSF, FDA, Dept of Commerce, Dept of Education, Dept of Defense, and other organizations. He also serves on grant panels for NIH, NSF, FDA, and the editorial board of several engineering journals. Dean Tran has over 20 years of experience in academic administration, curricular innovation, and service to the engineering profession.

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Abstract

Summer of 2022 the E.S Witchger School of Engineering at Marian University held its first annual residential summer camp for high school students interested in engineering. The planning and implementation of the immersive camp was done with the intention to grow exposure and interest in engineering specifically among minority, low-income pre-college students, as well as in those who are under-enrolled in engineering such as the female population. The camp was designed to expose students to the engineering profession through the framework of three main goals: (1) interactions with industry, (2) technical in-class engineering instruction from university professors, and (3) hands-on, team-based design experiences.

Valuable community relationships improved accessibility to a diverse population of campers for the inaugural event. Enrollment numbers show of all campers, forty percent were female, nearly twenty percent were Hispanic, and nearly fifteen percent were Black/African American. The camp format allowed students to experience life both on and off a college campus while exploring the engineering profession and local cultural activities. During the day, students took part in academic programming, keynote talks, collaborative hands-on design activities created by university faculty and industry partners meant to increase participation, to provide representation, and improve accessibility. Additionally, working in conjunction with leading engineering companies in the local Indianapolis area, students visited off-campus industry locations allowing a firsthand look at practicing engineers solving real-world problems.

Using surveys developed in house, camp participants were assessed both pre- and post-camp on their knowledge of items related to engineering and its career possibilities and to gather feedback on the camp structure and organization. Overall, participants increased their knowledge by more than forty percent each on engineering design concepts and engineering as a career pathway. Most importantly more than eighty percent of campers were satisfied with the camp environment and agreed that they experienced a sense of belonging. This data shows that the creation of an inclusive, immersive residential engineering summer camp is an effective method to expose high school students to the engineering opportunities available to them at the college level and beyond.

Citation
Format

Greene, T. L., & Sirikumara, H. I., & Tran, B. Q. (2023, June), Board 153: An Immersive Summer Camp Designed for Underrepresented Populations and Its Effectiveness on Increasing Pre-College Awareness and Broadening Participation in Engineering (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42492

TY - CPAPER
AB - Summer of 2022 the E.S Witchger School of Engineering at Marian University held its first annual residential summer camp for high school students interested in engineering. The planning and implementation of the immersive camp was done with the intention to grow exposure and interest in engineering specifically among minority, low-income pre-college students, as well as in those who are under-enrolled in engineering such as the female population. The camp was designed to expose students to the engineering profession through the framework of three main goals: (1) interactions with industry, (2) technical in-class engineering instruction from university professors, and (3) hands-on, team-based design experiences.

Valuable community relationships improved accessibility to a diverse population of campers for the inaugural event. Enrollment numbers show of all campers, forty percent were female, nearly twenty percent were Hispanic, and nearly fifteen percent were Black/African American. The camp format allowed students to experience life both on and off a college campus while exploring the engineering profession and local cultural activities. During the day, students took part in academic programming, keynote talks, collaborative hands-on design activities created by university faculty and industry partners meant to increase participation, to provide representation, and improve accessibility. Additionally, working in conjunction with leading engineering companies in the local Indianapolis area, students visited off-campus industry locations allowing a firsthand look at practicing engineers solving real-world problems.

Using surveys developed in house, camp participants were assessed both pre- and post-camp on their knowledge of items related to engineering and its career possibilities and to gather feedback on the camp structure and organization. Overall, participants increased their knowledge by more than forty percent each on engineering design concepts and engineering as a career pathway. Most importantly more than eighty percent of campers were satisfied with the camp environment and agreed that they experienced a sense of belonging. This data shows that the creation of an inclusive, immersive residential engineering summer camp is an effective method to expose high school students to the engineering opportunities available to them at the college level and beyond.
AU - Tanja L. Greene
AU - Hansika I. Sirikumara
AU - Binh Q. Tran
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 153: An Immersive Summer Camp Designed for Underrepresented Populations and Its Effectiveness on Increasing Pre-College Awareness and Broadening Participation in Engineering (Evaluation)
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42492
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42492
ER -