Evaluation of Summer Camp Recruitment Methods and Campers’ Perceptions of Engineering (Evaluation, Diversity)

Gabriella Coloyan Fleming; Kiersten Elyse Fernandez; Christine Julien; Marialice Mastronardi

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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) Technical Session 11: Summer Camps and more!
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43467
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43467
Download Count: 136

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Paper Authors

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Gabriella Coloyan Fleming University of Texas at Austin orcid.org/0000-0002-6771-8741

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Dr. Gabriella Coloyan Fleming is a research associate in the Center for Equity in Engineering within the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin in 2014 and 2018, respectively. In addition to leading research and practice in the Center for Equity, her research interests include DEI topics in graduate education, faculty hiring, and the pathway to an academic career.

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Kiersten Elyse Fernandez

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Christine Julien University of Texas at Austin orcid.org/0000-0002-4131-4642

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Christine Julien is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads the Mobile and Pervasive Computing research group. She also serves as the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for

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Marialice Mastronardi University of Texas at Austin

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Marialice Mastronardi completed her PhD in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education at University of Texas, Austin. She obtained a
M.S. in Electronic Engineering, Polytechnic of Milan (Italy).

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Abstract

Program leaders put a tremendous amount of thought into how they recruit students for engineering summer camps. Recruitment methods can include information sessions, established partnerships with school districts, and teacher or school counselor nominations of students. This study seeks to assess if the methods used to recruit students have any impact on students’ perceptions of engineering. Two identical week-long summer camps were hosted by University of _____ in the summer of 2022. Camps were entirely free for all campers. A specific goal of the camp was to promote engineering as a career pathway for students from groups that have been historically excluded from STEM majors. Campers were rising 8th and 9th grade students in two cities near University of _____; this age was intentionally identified as students who have sufficient STEM backgrounds to engage in meaningful engineering design challenges, and who are also at a critical inflection point with respect to decisions that put them on a trajectory to study engineering in college. Summer camp topics ranged from additive manufacturing to the chemical properties of water proofing, and students did activities such as constructing a prosthetic limb from recovered materials or designing an electronic dance game pad.

In one camp session, students primarily found out about the camp by being nominated by counselors at their schools, with an intentional focus on recruiting students who might not otherwise be exposed to engineering. In the other camp session, parents signed up campers after hearing about the camp via information sent through the schools. All students who applied were accepted to the camps. Identical pre- and post-camp surveys asked campers questions about their knowledge of what engineers do, their interest in math and science, and what factors are important to them when choosing a career. Survey analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in answers to questions between the groups in the pre-camp surveys, but post-camp surveys show that these differences disappeared after participating in the summer camp. Students whose parents directly enrolled them in the camp had higher pre-camp interest in science and technology; thus, counselor nominations may be a method to recruit students who might not have been interested in engineering had they not attended the camp. Additionally, prior to participating, campers recruited via counselor nominations had a narrower view of what engineers do than the parent-enrolled campers, but after camp the two groups had similar perceptions of what engineers do. The results of this study have implications for how different methods of recruitment can reach students with different levels of interest and knowledge about engineering.

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Fleming, G. C., & Fernandez, K. E., & Julien, C., & Mastronardi, M. (2023, June), Evaluation of Summer Camp Recruitment Methods and Campers’ Perceptions of Engineering (Evaluation, Diversity) Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43467

TY - CPAPER
AB - Program leaders put a tremendous amount of thought into how they recruit students for engineering summer camps. Recruitment methods can include information sessions, established partnerships with school districts, and teacher or school counselor nominations of students. This study seeks to assess if the methods used to recruit students have any impact on students’ perceptions of engineering. Two identical week-long summer camps were hosted by University of _____ in the summer of 2022. Camps were entirely free for all campers. A specific goal of the camp was to promote engineering as a career pathway for students from groups that have been historically excluded from STEM majors. Campers were rising 8th and 9th grade students in two cities near University of _____; this age was intentionally identified as students who have sufficient STEM backgrounds to engage in meaningful engineering design challenges, and who are also at a critical inflection point with respect to decisions that put them on a trajectory to study engineering in college. Summer camp topics ranged from additive manufacturing to the chemical properties of water proofing, and students did activities such as constructing a prosthetic limb from recovered materials or designing an electronic dance game pad.

In one camp session, students primarily found out about the camp by being nominated by counselors at their schools, with an intentional focus on recruiting students who might not otherwise be exposed to engineering. In the other camp session, parents signed up campers after hearing about the camp via information sent through the schools. All students who applied were accepted to the camps. Identical pre- and post-camp surveys asked campers questions about their knowledge of what engineers do, their interest in math and science, and what factors are important to them when choosing a career. Survey analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in answers to questions between the groups in the pre-camp surveys, but post-camp surveys show that these differences disappeared after participating in the summer camp. Students whose parents directly enrolled them in the camp had higher pre-camp interest in science and technology; thus, counselor nominations may be a method to recruit students who might not have been interested in engineering had they not attended the camp. Additionally, prior to participating, campers recruited via counselor nominations had a narrower view of what engineers do than the parent-enrolled campers, but after camp the two groups had similar perceptions of what engineers do. The results of this study have implications for how different methods of recruitment can reach students with different levels of interest and knowledge about engineering.
AU - Gabriella Coloyan Fleming
AU - Kiersten Elyse Fernandez
AU - Christine Julien
AU - Marialice Mastronardi
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Evaluation of Summer Camp Recruitment Methods and Campers’ Perceptions of Engineering (Evaluation, Diversity)
UR - https://peer.asee.org/43467
DO - 10.18260/1-2--43467
ER -