2,861 research outputs found

    Minority Graduates in Engineering Technology: Trends in Choice of Major

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    The paper presents a demographic analysis of college graduates in engineering technology (ET). The paper intends to investigate the graduates’ background, population, and choice of major. Graduates in ET are a much smaller population than those found in other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs. Little publishing exists about who they are and how long it took to pursue their degree while examining other available demographic data. The delineation of this paper does not include computer science and computer technology programs. Several opinions exist about who these students are, where they come from, and what interests them. The paper presents a view of existing data of the most extensive undergraduate ET programs at a Midwestern university. The authors aimed to clarify a number of these opinions and determine if further study is warranted, mainly providing direction and form of that future work. The authors built their conclusions on the processed data results in such categories as basic demographics, gender, ethnicity, program changes, and graduation majors. The authors analyzed the University-provided demographics data as reported by college graduates in ET. The authors established gender and ethnic patterns and then addressed two research questions. The authors used ethnicity as a lens to explore the undergraduate experiences of female and minority graduates in ET. The first research question allowed the authors to establish the proportion of ET graduates\u27 ethnicities and compare it to the proportion of ethnicities in the United States population. The development of a response to the second research question uses ethnicity as a lens, investigating how female ET students navigate and establish their major, while focusing on representation in their respective ethnic groups. Future research can include examining the data for insight into who applies for funding, scholarships, and other means to support themselves while pursuing a degree in technology. The paper provides the readers with the foundational elements to further explore the ET student population and determine what funding or financial needs may encourage more students to pursue a degree in ET. Using this more extensive institutional database will provide a means to further the authors’ understanding of student perception, needs, and those factors that influence their education decisions at a bachelor\u27s degree level. The result of this work will begin to lead educators and administrators in their quest to diversify and increase student populations in ET

    Through the Lens of Latinas: The Influences of an Out-of-School Time STEM Program

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    Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have been the foundation for discovery and technological innovation in the United States. The United States considers STEM education as a national priority to compete in the global economy and protect the nation’s innovation ecosystem. The high demand for careers in STEM fields promotes the importance of STEM education. However, Latinos, as the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, face many challenges in STEM education relating to a lack of progress, degree attainment, and participation in STEM professions. This research aimed to explore the learning experience in an out-of-school (OST) STEM program, called “Girls in STEM”, and how it influenced Latinas’ self-efficacy, interest, and career development. The research focused on a single-case study of a STEM OST program in South Texas and utilized eight embedded cases to explore three research questions. The sample for this study consisted of 41 middle school and high school girls (grades 7 to 12) who had long-term participation experiences in the STEM program. The data for this qualitative study consisted of in-depth interviews, presentations from art-based activities, and visual arts. Followed by the case study design, the researcher purposefully sought in-depth information from embedded “unit of analysis,” which represented eight participants in the study (Yin, 2013, p. 23). Each case presented different aspects to answer research questions. The researcher analyzed interviews and art-based activities from participants through the lens of social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory (Bandura, 2001; Lent et al., 1994). The findings explored Latinas’ learning experiences in an OST STEM program. Participants expressed the program created a beneficial learning environment for them, where they engaged in various activities and interacted with adults in the program. The learning experience, as the starting point of SCCT model, had influences on the development of self-efficacy and the formation of interests. In this study, the integration of different subjects, opportunities for collaborative work and conversational interactions with professionals, are three characteristics of cultivating Latinas’ interest in STEM. Additionally, many girls in this study noticed the stereotypes of women in STEM, and gender bias exists in many STEM fields. Socioeconomic status may limit Latina’s options and affected their career development

    Beyond Blackboards: Engaging Underserved Middle School Students in Engineering

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    Beyond Blackboards is an inquiry-centered, after-school program designed to enhance middle school students’ engagement with engineering through design-based experiences focused on the 21st Century Engineering Challenges. Set within a predominantly lowincome, majority-minority community, our study aims to investigate the impact of Beyond Blackboards on students’ interest in and understanding of engineering, as well as their ability to align their educational and career plans. We compare participants’ and nonparticipants’ questionnaire responses before the implementation and at the end of the program’s first academic year. Statistically significant findings indicate a school-wide increase in students’ interest in engineering careers, supporting a shift in school culture. However, only program participants showed increased enjoyment of design-based strategies, understanding of what engineers do, and awareness of the steps for preparing for an engineering career. These quantitative findings are supported by qualitative evidence from participant focus groups highlighting the importance of mentors in shaping students’ awareness of opportunities within engineering

    Exposing Students to STEM Careers through Hands-on Activities with Drones and Robots

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    Autonomous robots have been used in a variety of ways from collecting specimen in hazardous environments to space exploration. These robots can be found in various manufacturing systems as Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) to transport parts and assemblies throughout the manufacturing system. They have also been used as a vehicle to convey design thinking and other STEM-related concepts in mechanical engineering/mechanical engineering technology, electrical engineering/electrical engineering technology, computer science, and computer engineering. Various outreach events have included robotics based activities that engage students in building and programming autonomous robots for the purpose of achieving a specific task. These events are often found in schools in a form of STEM outreach, career days, robotic competitions, or during residential on-campus programs. This paper focuses on three robotics related sessions conducted during a three-day summer residential program for high school students offered at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia during the summer educational program named ODU BLAST. ODU BLAST is part of a Virginia Space Grant Consortium initiative called Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST), offered at three different universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia

    Improving student attitudes towards STEM education by building self-efficacy through robotics education

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    The United States must grow its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) trained workforce in order to fill the jobs projected to be in demand. One of the ways in which this can be done is to tap into the vast population of minorities and women who are underrepresented in the STEM fields. The United States has been looking for ways to improve STEM participation in these groups for many years now, through outreach, legislation and innovative academic programs. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact that a robotics education enrichment program had on elementary, predominantly Latinx students in an inner-city public school in Orange County, California. The study was framed using self-efficacy theory to build approach behaviors towards STEM fields within these students. Student attitudes were measured using the S-STEM survey. In addition, field notes about the students, as well as notes from community of practice meetings amongst the co-sponsors were analyzed to see the impact of the enrichment program on students. The S-STEM survey had no statistical change between pre- and post-treatment survey results. In addition, the subgroups of GATE students, EL students and female students were too small to analyze individually. However, the qualitative data showed some positive outcomes for most students

    An ROI Comparison of Initiatives Designed to Attract Diverse Students to Technology Careers

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    This study examines two alternative interventions designed to attract diverse students to pursue information technology or, more generally, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers from a Return on Investment (ROI) perspective. More specifically, this study examines the effectiveness and efficiency of single-day and multi-day program formats by comparing students’ propensity to pursue computer information systems and technology related careers. Using an ROI perspective of comparing relative costs to students’ perceived outcomes, our findings suggest that the single-day model is equally effective as the multi-day model at moving students’ propensity to pursue information technology careers, albeit at a lower cost. This suggests that the single day model is a better choice from an ROI perspective and offers the best investment opportunity for choosing which program format to use for future interventions. These findings, while specific to a single comparison of two alternative information technology interventions, are useful as they contribute valuable knowledge and may be applicable to the design and evaluation of other STEM-influencing programs

    Second Annual Report

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    The Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington continues to pick up steam in our second year. We have hosted national policy discussions, collaborated directly with policymakers on open data and other issues, and continue to develop strong, method-based interdisciplinary research.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/techlab/1008/thumbnail.jp
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