TechHive: Team-based, Real-world Engineering Challenges for Teens
- Conference
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2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference
- Location
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Crystal City, Virginia
- Publication Date
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April 29, 2018
- Start Date
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April 29, 2018
- End Date
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May 2, 2018
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and Pre K-12 Education
- Page Count
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15
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--29583
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/29583
- Download Count
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412
Paper Authors
Ardice Hartry University of California, Berkeley
Ardice Hartry is currently an Associate Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California, Berkeley. She has conducted research and evaluation of PreK–16 educational and community-based programs for more than 15 years. At the Hall, she led a statewide study of the current condition of science education in California. In addition, she oversees research on learning experiences designed to engage and support youth from populations traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering disciplines. Much of her work focuses on public participation in science and engineering with transparency and for the purpose of solving problems. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology and a doctorate in political science.
Maia Werner-Avidon MWA Insights
Maia Werner-Avidon served as the primary evaluator for the TechHive project during its initial years. Prior to starting her evaluation firm, MWA Insights, Ms. Werner-Avidon served as a research and evaluation specialist at the Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.) for eight years, where she worked on the TechHive project. Later, she went on to establish the research and evaluation department at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
Sherry Hsi Concord Consortium
Dr. Sherry Hsi is both a learning designer and education researcher with a background in engineering, science education, and the learning sciences. With experience working in museums and schools, she builds and studies innovative technology-enhanced curricula, exhibits, and new media to improve STEM learning and engagement. While at the Lawrence Hall of Science, she co-created the TechHive design program to expand opportunities for apprenticeship learning in engineering with a diversity of youth. Currently at the Concord Consortium, she leads research aimed to improve inquiry-based K-12 science education and design learning using sensor technologies, computationally-enhanced paper-based craft kits, and augmented learning environments.
Ariel J. Ortiz Lawrence Hall of Science
Kathryn Chong Quigley Lawrence Hall of Science
Kathryn Quigley is the director of the Inventor's Learning Lab at Lawrence Hall of Science, which is a space for visitors to explore design thinking and cutting edge technology while solving engineering challenges. In her work with the Inventor's Lab, she also oversees the Hall's teen engineering program TechHive.
Abstract
At the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, youth from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering participate in a fun and inspiring program called TechHive. The Lawrence Hall of Science is the university’s public science center, and includes, among other facilities, a museum with many hands-on exhibits that engage visitors in the practices of engineering. In TechHive, youth work with museum educators to create visitor experiences. Through the 10-week program, participating teens gain access to software, fabrication tools, engineering expertise, peers, and social media to allow self-expression while learning 21st century skills. The program is front-loaded with beginner-friendly workshops in programming and mechatronics. This allows for an uninterrupted design session where participants are encouraged to work in teams to make meaningful design choices. Our user design process asks participants to imagine what would delight young museum visitors in an experience such as a robot petting zoo. Participants discover that programming, engineering and rapid prototyping along with art, creativity, storytelling and humor, are essential skills in the design process. At the end of the program, TechHive teens offer a camp for young museum visitors that emphasizes exhibition over competition, making the camp more inviting to beginners and youth from diverse cultures. The Hall has offered TechHive for almost five years and has recruited and retained girls and youth from populations traditionally underrepresented in engineering. For example, last year, our youth were 50% female and 50% male students. In addition a variety of ethnic backgrounds were represented: 40% Latino or Hispanic; 27% Asian; 15% African-American; 12% White; and 18% other ethnicities. This paper will demonstrate and describe: 1. Recruitment and retention strategies that work; 2. Activities offered to students that help prepare them for college and career pathways to engineering; 3. Future research plans to demonstrate effectiveness of replicable strategies.
Hartry, A., & Werner-Avidon, M., & Hsi, S., & Ortiz, A. J., & Quigley, K. C. (2018, April), TechHive: Team-based, Real-world Engineering Challenges for Teens Paper presented at 2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference, Crystal City, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--29583
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