Learning through Engineering Design and Practice: Using our Human Capital for an Equitable Future

亚利桑那州立大学（ASU）与亚利桑那科学中心、波音公司、英特尔公司、微芯片公司、摩托罗拉公司、盐河项目、亚利桑那州资源教育基金会、亚利桑那州游戏和渔业部门、美国可持续发展教育十年伙伴关系、梅萨公立学校和东谷男孩和女孩俱乐部合作，提供了一个为期三年的课外项目，为7年级、8年级和9年级的96名参与者提供了与IT/ stem相关的学习成果。该项目的目标是让女性和少数族裔青年参与多年的校外技术设计和解决问题的经验，传统上在IT/STEM领域的代表性不足。这些包括暑期实习/实习和在科学中心和工业环境中的大学研究，参与者为具有挑战性的现实世界问题开发具有社会责任感的解决方案。该项目包括与不同导师的认知学徒，练习领导力、团队合作、时间管理、创造力和报告等工作技能的机会，以及使用技术工具收集和分析复杂数据集的机会。参与者模拟沙漠龟的行为，研究和开发缓解城市热岛的设计，建立小规模的可再生能源资源，设计能够在类火星地形上航行的自主探测器，并开发人类在火星上生活的模型栖息地。参与者将与家人一起获得第一手的IT/STEM职业和教育途径知识。除了青年成果之外，与该项目相关的成年人还能更好地为代表性不足的青年的IT/STEM学习体验带来积极影响。评估衡量参与者的内容知识、对IT/STEM科目的态度和兴趣、工作技能以及追求IT/STEM教育和职业道路的意图，以了解参与者的反应、学习、转移和结果。通过这个项目开发的非正式课程，在男孩和女孩俱乐部和亚利桑那科学中心的青少年中进行实地测试，将在项目网站上提供。

Arizona State University (ASU) in collaboration with Arizona Science Center, Boeing, Intel, Microchip, Motorola, Salt River Project, AZ Foundation for Resource Education, AZ Game & Fish Department, US Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, Mesa Public Schools, and Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, offer a three-year extracurricular project resulting in IT/STEM-related learning outcomes for 96 participants in grades 7, 8, and 9. The project targets and engages female and minority youth traditionally under-represented in IT/STEM fields in multi-year out-of-school technological design and problem solving experiences. These include summer internships/externships and university research in the science center and industrial settings where participants develop socially responsible solutions for challenging real world problems. The program includes cognitive apprenticeships with diverse mentors, opportunities to practice workplace skills such as leadership, teamwork, time management, creativity and reporting, and use of technological tools to gather and analyze complex data sets. Participants simulate desert tortoise behaviors, research and develop designs to mitigate the urban heat island, build small-scale renewable energy resources, design autonomous rovers capable of navigating Mars-like terrain, and develop a model habitat for humans to live on Mars. Together with their families participants gain first-hand knowledge of IT/STEM career and educational pathways.In addition to youth outcomes, the adults associated with this project are better prepared to positively influence IT/STEM learning experiences for under-represented youth. The evaluation measures participant content knowledge, attitudes and interest in IT/STEM subjects, workplace skills and intentions to pursue IT/STEM educational and career pathways to understand participant reactions, learning, transfer and results. Informal curricula developed through this project, field-tested with youth at Boys & Girls Clubs and youth at Arizona Science Center will be available on the project website.