BOARD # 198: Art and STEM for Student Engagement via Realization of Technology (Work in Progress)

Timothy Brothers; Jacqueline Rohde; Mary Ann Weitnauer; Martta Sareva; Kristen Lyle; Kayla Henderson-Simms

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: WIP Poster Session: Emerging Research and Practices in Pre-College Engineering Education
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Page Count: 9
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55552

Paper Authors

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Timothy Brothers Georgia Institute of Technology

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Prof. Tim Brothers has been a Professor of the Practice with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Georgia Institute of Technology since Fall of 2020 and has focused on explorative learning at both university level and primary school level. Prof. Brothers’ research includes real-time signal processing in the areas of communications, RF signal processing, image processing, and sensor fusion. Prior to joining GaTech, Dr. Brothers worked on research, development, and test of advanced sensor systems for multiple companies since 2007.

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Jacqueline Rohde Georgia Institute of Technology

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Jacqueline (Jacki) Rohde is the Assessment Coordinator in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her interests are in sociocultural norms in engineering and the professional development of engineering students.

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Mary Ann Weitnauer Georgia Institute of Technology

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Mary Ann Weitnauer (formerly Mary Ann Ingram) is currently a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Georgia Tech, where she joined as an assistant professor in 1989. She was a visiting professor at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark during the summers of 2006 to 2008 and at Idaho National Labs in 2010. She held the Georgia Tech ADVANCE Professorship with the College of Engineering from 2006 to 2012, where she was responsible for initiatives to help the female faculty of the college succeed. She was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing from 2009 to 2012. She was the Senior Associate Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering from 2016-2021, where she was responsible for academic operations. Prof. Weitnauer’s research focus is currently split between MIMO wireless communications and sensor-driven, marker-less, interactive and immersive digital art. She leads the Electronic ARTrium laboratory, which she established in 2021.

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Martta Sareva

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Martta Sareva is a visual arts educator at Hope-Hill Elementary School.

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Kristen Lyle

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Kayla Henderson-Simms Georgia Institute of Technology

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Abstract

Early attitudes and beliefs shape the trajectory of students' educational experiences. By expanding young students’ perceptions of engineering, we seek to encourage them to see themselves as possible future engineers. This work presents a collaboration between faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at a large, public, research-intensive university in the Southern United States and teachers at a local metropolitan area elementary school. The elementary school, which qualifies as a Title 1 school, serves students from low-income households and communities that are typically underrepresented in the field of engineering. Given that many students belong to communities that have been historically marginalized in engineering, early intervention through engaging and creative programming could contribute to long-term improvements in equitable access to engineering education. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to develop and evaluate sustainable, age-appropriate classroom activities that show the possibilities of engineering, art, and design.

Now in its fourth year, the collaboration has included a range of activities targeted to elementary school students, k-5 graders. These activities have evolved over time as we use utilize the elementary school as a trial laboratory to understand how best to provide engagement and mentorship to elementary school students within logistical constraints. Activities have included "Girls Who Code," hands-on engineering activities in the elementary school classroom lead by senior design ECE students, and involving elementary students in the creation of an interactive video game by mapping their artwork to game characters. In this paper, we incorporate the perspectives of the faculty instructors, elementary school teachers, and undergraduate students to share their experiences bringing these activities to life and how it has affected their own views of engineering.

We are focusing on engaging early learners since students’ perceptions are formed at a very young age. Focusing efforts on early learners and STEM engagement through creative hands-on activities is the foundation of the strategy for this program. This paper will detail the guiding ideals of the program and discusses the practical challenges of building a sustainable collaboration between a Title 1 elementary school as university faculty members in an engineering department. As with any new program, there have been challenges, including transportation between campuses, integrating the initiative into the existing elementary curriculum, and maintaining long-term engagement with industry professionals.

The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we detail an approach to using art and design to bring engineering practice to life, which differs from stereotypical depictions of the engineering profession that may push students away from seeing themselves as possible future engineers. Second, we share challenges that we have encountered in the process of building this fledgling collaboration, which may be useful to readers who are interested in creating programs in similar contexts. This paper shows some promising directions for engineering engagement in marginalized communities and maps out the future goals of the project.

Citation
Format

Brothers, T., & Rohde, J., & Weitnauer, M. A., & Sareva, M., & Lyle, K., & Henderson-Simms, K. (2025, June), BOARD # 198: Art and STEM for Student Engagement via Realization of Technology (Work in Progress) Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55552

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Early attitudes and beliefs shape the trajectory of students&#39; educational experiences. By expanding young students’ perceptions of engineering, we seek to encourage them to see themselves as possible future engineers. This work presents a collaboration between faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at a large, public, research-intensive university in the Southern United States and teachers at a local metropolitan area elementary school. The elementary school, which qualifies as a Title 1 school, serves students from low-income households and communities that are typically underrepresented in the field of engineering. Given that many students belong to communities that have been historically marginalized in engineering, early intervention through engaging and creative programming could contribute to long-term improvements in equitable access to engineering education. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to develop and evaluate sustainable, age-appropriate classroom activities that show the possibilities of engineering, art, and design. 

Now in its fourth year, the collaboration has included a range of activities targeted to elementary school students, k-5 graders. These activities have evolved over time as we use utilize the elementary school as a trial laboratory to understand how best to provide engagement and mentorship to elementary school students within logistical constraints. Activities have included &quot;Girls Who Code,&quot; hands-on engineering activities in the elementary school classroom lead by senior design ECE students, and involving elementary students in the creation of an interactive video game by mapping their artwork to game characters. In this paper, we incorporate the perspectives of the faculty instructors, elementary school teachers, and undergraduate students to share their experiences bringing these activities to life and how it has affected their own views of engineering.

We are focusing on engaging early learners since students’ perceptions are formed at a very young age. Focusing efforts on early learners and STEM engagement through creative hands-on activities is the foundation of the strategy for this program. This paper will detail the guiding ideals of the program and discusses the practical challenges of building a sustainable collaboration between a Title 1 elementary school as university faculty members in an engineering department. As with any new program, there have been challenges, including transportation between campuses, integrating the initiative into the existing elementary curriculum, and maintaining long-term engagement with industry professionals.

The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we detail an approach to using art and design to bring engineering practice to life, which differs from stereotypical depictions of the engineering profession that may push students away from seeing themselves as possible future engineers. Second, we share challenges that we have encountered in the process of building this fledgling collaboration, which may be useful to readers who are interested in creating programs in similar contexts. This paper shows some promising directions for engineering engagement in marginalized communities and maps out the future goals of the project.

AU  - Timothy Brothers
AU  - Jacqueline Rohde
AU  - Mary Ann Weitnauer
AU  - Martta Sareva
AU  - Kristen Lyle
AU  - Kayla Henderson-Simms
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - BOARD # 198: Art and STEM for Student Engagement via Realization of Technology (Work in Progress)
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/55552
ER  -