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

本提案的目的是启动对三个中学生工程夏令营活动如何导致对工程的兴趣发生变化的研究。该提案还探讨了这些学生的工程身份（即学生是否认同自己成为工程师）与追求工程作为大学的主要专业和未来可能的职业生涯之间的联系。中学是学生一生中的一个关键时期，它决定了学生对未来职业选择的思考。重要的是，在这个年龄段的学生有不同的职业机会的准确信息。参加这项研究的中学生参加了三个独立的工程夏令营：（1）工程夏令营介绍，（2）第一代工程夏令营，（3）工程夏令营中的年轻女性。这些营地的内容相同，旨在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开始出现，这些研究存在的范围和结果非常多样化。这项建议填补了一些存在的知识空白，特别是工程夏令营对三个不同人群中学生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，目的是开发一种干预技术，以促进工程专业的包容性。这项混合方法研究的主要目标是回答三个研究问题的三个人群：（1）工程身份和兴趣有多强的工程作为一个主要的大学追求，并作为一个可能的未来职业？(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改变？ (3)参与者焦点小组定性访谈和参与者观察在何种程度上和以何种方式参与解决研究问题#2的营地活动有助于全面了解通过解决研究问题#1的前后调查获得的定量数据？结果将被用来影响干程序在更大的北方内华达州地区，并通过工程外展计划和K-12社区的学院建立联系延伸到内华达州南部和北方加州县。 研究结果还将通过妇女在工程主动网络，女工程师协会，Mentornet，并在美国工程教育协会会议上向工程教育研究人员介绍，达到全国观众。

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.