Research Initiation: The impact of engineering summer camps on middle school students' interest and identity

研究启动：工程夏令营对中学生兴趣和认同的影响

• 批准号: 1738141
• 负责人: Indira Chatterjee
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1738141&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiation; impact; engineering; summer

The objective of this proposal is to initiate research on how activities in three engineering summer camps for middle school students lead to a change in interest in engineering. This proposal also explores how engineering identity (i.e. whether students identify themselves as becoming engineers) of these students is linked to the pursuit of engineering as a major in college and as a possible future career. Middle school is a critical time in a student's life that frames student thinking about future career choices. It is important that at this age students have accurate information about different career opportunities. The middle school students participating in this study are enrolled in three separate engineering summer camps: (1) Introduction to engineering summer camp, (2) First-generation engineering summer camp, and (3) Young women in engineering summer camp. The camps are identical in content and are designed with the goal of increasing the understanding of different fields of engineering and engineering careers. Research on interest and identity related to engineering is just beginning to emerge and those studies that exist are very diverse in scope and results. This proposal fills some of the gaps in knowledge that exist, specifically on the impact of engineering summer camps on the identity and interest development of middle school students from three separate populations. The project also identifies which camp activities are most impactful on identity and interest in engineering with the goal of developing an intervention technique for inclusiveness in the engineering profession. The main objective of this mixed methods research study is answering three research questions for the three populations: (1) How strongly are engineering identity and interest linked to the pursuit of engineering as a major in college and as a possible future career? (2) Which specific activities in the summer camps lead to a change in identity and interest in engineering? (3) To what extent and in what ways do the qualitative participant focus group interviews and observations of participants engaged in camp activities addressing research question #2 contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the quantitative data obtained via pre- and post-surveys addressing research question #1? The results will be used to impact STEM Programs in the greater Northern Nevada region and extending to counties in Southern Nevada and Northern California through the established contacts of the College of Engineering outreach programs and K-12 community. Results will also reach national audiences via the Women in Engineering ProActive Network, the Society of Women Engineers, Mentornet, and presentations to engineering education researchers at American Society of Engineering Education conferences.

本提案的目的是开始研究三个中学生工程夏令营的活动如何导致对工程兴趣的变化。该提案还探讨了这些学生的工程身份（即学生是否认为自己将成为工程师）如何与工程作为大学专业和未来可能的职业联系起来。中学是学生人生的关键时期，是学生思考未来职业选择的时期。重要的是，在这个年龄段的学生有关于不同职业机会的准确信息。参与本研究的中学生分别参加三个独立的工程夏令营：(1)工程入门夏令营，(2)第一代工程夏令营，(3)女青年工程夏令营。营地的内容相同，设计的目的是增加对工程和工程职业不同领域的理解。与工程相关的兴趣和身份的研究才刚刚兴起，这些研究在范围和结果上都非常多样化。这一建议填补了存在的一些知识空白，特别是工程夏令营对来自三个不同群体的中学生的身份和兴趣发展的影响。该项目还确定了哪些营地活动对工程的身份和兴趣最有影响，目标是开发一种干预技术，以促进工程专业的包容性。这种混合方法研究的主要目的是回答三个研究问题：(1)工程身份和兴趣与工程作为大学专业和未来可能的职业的追求有多紧密联系？(2)夏令营中的哪些具体活动导致了对工程的认同和兴趣的变化？(3)定性参与者焦点小组访谈和参与解决研究问题#2的营地活动的参与者的观察，在多大程度上和以何种方式，有助于全面理解通过解决研究问题#1的前后调查获得的定量数据？研究结果将用于影响大北内华达地区的STEM项目，并通过工程学院外展项目和K-12社区的既定联系扩展到南内华达和北加州的县。研究结果还将通过工程主动网络中的女性、女性工程师协会、Mentornet以及在美国工程教育学会会议上向工程教育研究人员发表的报告，向全国观众介绍。

项目成果

Progress on a mixed methods research project studying interest and identity of participants engaged in engineering camp activities: methods and preliminary results

研究参与工程营活动的参与者的兴趣和身份的混合方法研究项目的进展：方法和初步结果

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: ASEE 2019 Conference & Exposition Proceedings
• 作者: Chatterjee, I.;Robinson, T.;Kirn, A.;Amos, J.R.
• 通讯作者: Amos, J.R.

Influencing Student Engineering Interest and Identity: A Study Investigating the Effect of Engineering Summer Camps on Middle and High School Students (Work in Progress)

影响学生工程兴趣和认同：工程夏令营对中学生和高中生影响的研究（正在进行中）

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: ASEE 2019 Conference & Exposition Proceedings
• 作者: Robinson, T.;Kirn, A.;Amos, J.R.;Chatterjee, I.
• 通讯作者: Chatterjee, I.

The effect of engineering summer camps on middle school students interest and identity

工程夏令营对中学生兴趣和认同的影响

• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings
• 作者: Chatterjee, I;Kirn, A;Amos, J
• 通讯作者: Amos, J