Discipline: Science and Mathematics Education
Subcategory: Education
Session: 1
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Caleb J. Taylor - Virginia State University
Co-Author(s): Marcus House, Virginia State University, VA; Alexis Riley, Virginia State University, VA, Elijah Crawford, Virginia State University, VA, Bradford Parsons, Virginia State University, VA; Erick D. Kindred, Virginia State University, VA
One main problem that many students run into is that, when they arrive at college, they are unprepared for the challenges of the core engineering coursework. They are also not mentally ready for what it takes to be an engineer. To combat this issue of students not being qualified for STEM at the university level, a 6-week engineering camp was held for 6-9 grade students dedicated to strengthening them in areas that they would need for college. The goal during the STEAM 2019 Summer Camp was to enlighten students about engineering design processes. By doing so, students will subconsciously be preparing themselves for a STEM major. The Camp was organized into four hour-long classes of web design, circuit analysis, 3D modeling, and 3D printing. A final project combined everything the students learned about the engineering design process. The Analysis Phase provided the problem statements for the various projects. The Design and Implementation Phases allowed the students to express their creativity through hands-on projects. The Verification and Validation Phase encouraged testing and debugging to verify their designs. Most of the time, their designs were incorrect, so they would have to go back and reevaluate and refactor their designs. By the end of the camp every student was able to make a webpage that they were proud of and presented it to their parents, as well as various Virginia State University engineering professors. Through the STEAM 2019 Summer Camp, the students actively used and learned about the engineering design process. The goal was not only for them to complete the camp but to also prepare themselves for problems that they might face in STEM. In subsequent camps, data will be collected to see how the introduction of the Engineering Design Process affects their thinking and behavior by tracking their GPA and monitoring their academic and career paths. Projects like these can further the development of young engineers and ensure that they will be prepared for college. Future development on this project will focus on extending lessons-learned about the Engineering Design Process from previous years into future camps. Reference: Benedict M. Uzochukwu, Coray Davis, Ben U. Nwoke, (2016). Towards a Sustainable Engineering Entrepreneurship Education. American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) 123rd Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 26-29.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): Dr. Benedict Uzochukwu; Dr. Heng Li; Department of Energy
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Benedict Uzochukwu, buzochukwu@vsu.edu
Role: I taught the four hour classes at the camp which taught the engineering design process. From this data and future years, we will be able to monitor GPA and future career paths of the participants.