On the Benefits of Using the Engineering Design Process to Frame Project-based Outreach and to Recruit Secondary Students to STEM Majors and STEM Careers

Jean-Celeste M. Kampe; Douglas E. Oppliger

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Design Cognition III
Tagged Division: Design in Engineering Education
Page Count: 24
Page Numbers: 25.992.1 - 25.992.24
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21749
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21749
Download Count: 554

Paper Authors

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Jean-Celeste M. Kampe Michigan Technological University

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Jean Kampe is currently Department Chair of engineering fundamentals at Michigan Technological University, where she holds an Associate Professorship in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Tech, M.Ch.E. in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, and a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech. She was employed as a Research Engineer for five years at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and she held an Associate Professorship in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, working there for 10 years in first-year engineering education.

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Douglas E. Oppliger Michigan Technological University

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Douglas Oppliger is currently a Senior Lecturer at Michigan Technological University. His work at this post was preceded by eleven years as a K-12 math/science teacher Michigan's public schools. He is a professional Civil Engineer with several years experience working in the marine construction industry. His most recent efforts have focused on using project-based learning to recruit a diverse body of K-12 students to STEM studies beyond high school.

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Abstract

On the Benefits of Using the Engineering Design Process to Frame Project-Based Outreach and to Recruit Secondary Students to STEM Majors and STEM CareersAbstract The pedagogical premise of our outreach program is project-based learning. Althoughthere is some variation in the literature as to what the required elements of an intervention mustbe in order for it to be considered “project-based learning,” (Barron, 1998; Thomas, 2000) thereseem to be some essential aspects (Land and Zembal-Saul, 2003; Blumenfeld, et al., 1991): 1)“use of long-term investigations that emphasize iterative and progressive deepening ofunderstanding”; 2) “solution of a driving question that organizes and defines learning needs”;and 3) “production of a series of artifacts [e.g., reports, presentations, posters] that representunderstanding of the driving question” (Land and Zembal-Saul, 2003). At the heart of project-based learning is the project. In our program, the STEM projects that student teams work on areauthentic and long term, usually spanning multiple academic years. The projects vary from teamto team insofar as what the students are actually working on because the students and theirteacher-coach select the team’s project. A key aspect of the program is that we actively andvisibly (to secondary teachers and students) use the engineering design process to frame projectwork. This makes our program uniquely poised to address many of the issues and obstaclesrelated to promoting STEM awareness and to achieving STEM engagement among secondarystudents. This paper will outline the aspects of engineering design and of our programimplementation that address these issues and obstacles, citing literature to support our viewsregarding the benefits of using the engineering design process, and providing evidence from ourprogram assessment. In particular, we will discuss the following items: 1. An integration of STEM content areas and consequent improvement in science and mathematics education 2. A scaffolding framework for teaching/imparting metacognitive skills 3. An authentic venue for the cyclic practice of convergent and divergent thinking 4. A clear message about the value of diversity 5. A safe avenue to experience failure, to learn from it, and a way to thusly empower underrepresented students to persist in STEM pursuits 6. A vehicle to improve the technological literacy of secondary teachers and students

Citation
Format

Kampe, J. M., & Oppliger, D. E. (2012, June), On the Benefits of Using the Engineering Design Process to Frame Project-based Outreach and to Recruit Secondary Students to STEM Majors and STEM Careers Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21749

TY - CPAPER
AB - On the Benefits of Using the Engineering Design Process to Frame Project-Based Outreach and to Recruit Secondary Students to STEM Majors and STEM CareersAbstract The pedagogical premise of our outreach program is project-based learning. Althoughthere is some variation in the literature as to what the required elements of an intervention mustbe in order for it to be considered “project-based learning,” (Barron, 1998; Thomas, 2000) thereseem to be some essential aspects (Land and Zembal-Saul, 2003; Blumenfeld, et al., 1991): 1)“use of long-term investigations that emphasize iterative and progressive deepening ofunderstanding”; 2) “solution of a driving question that organizes and defines learning needs”;and 3) “production of a series of artifacts [e.g., reports, presentations, posters] that representunderstanding of the driving question” (Land and Zembal-Saul, 2003). At the heart of project-based learning is the project. In our program, the STEM projects that student teams work on areauthentic and long term, usually spanning multiple academic years. The projects vary from teamto team insofar as what the students are actually working on because the students and theirteacher-coach select the team’s project. A key aspect of the program is that we actively andvisibly (to secondary teachers and students) use the engineering design process to frame projectwork. This makes our program uniquely poised to address many of the issues and obstaclesrelated to promoting STEM awareness and to achieving STEM engagement among secondarystudents. This paper will outline the aspects of engineering design and of our programimplementation that address these issues and obstacles, citing literature to support our viewsregarding the benefits of using the engineering design process, and providing evidence from ourprogram assessment. In particular, we will discuss the following items: 1. An integration of STEM content areas and consequent improvement in science and mathematics education 2. A scaffolding framework for teaching/imparting metacognitive skills 3. An authentic venue for the cyclic practice of convergent and divergent thinking 4. A clear message about the value of diversity 5. A safe avenue to experience failure, to learn from it, and a way to thusly empower underrepresented students to persist in STEM pursuits 6. A vehicle to improve the technological literacy of secondary teachers and students
AU - Jean-Celeste M. Kampe
AU - Douglas E. Oppliger
CY - San Antonio, Texas
DA - 2012/06/10
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - On the Benefits of Using the Engineering Design Process to Frame Project-based Outreach and to Recruit Secondary Students to STEM Majors and STEM Careers
UR - https://peer.asee.org/21749
DO - 10.18260/1-2--21749
ER -