An official website of the United States government
The SUPERCHARGE project (STEM-based University Pathway Encouraging Relationships with Chicago-area High schools in Automation, Robotics, and Green Energy) is an after-school STEM program at four high schools in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district. The project is aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and low-income students in STEM fields. Through hands-on activities, workshops, teacher professional development, and campus visits, the program aims to foster students' STEM identities and awareness of postsecondary pathways, particularly in the areas of renewable energy, robotics, and technology. The program has recently completed its first year of implementation in the high schools. The purpose of this article is to report on the first year of implementation, including challenges and lessons learned. Initial assessments indicate positive student engagement and satisfaction. Lessons learned from the first year include the importance of early program initiation, community relevance, and immersive hands-on activities. Future iterations will aim to further enhance student engagement and broaden participation in STEM fields, contributing to greater diversity and inclusion in the STEM workforce.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2025
Engineering Bright Futures: A College Mentorship Program for Title I Public High Schools
This paper discusses creating and establishing an engineering mentorship program for high school students from Austin Title I public schools supported by NSF grant EEC-2217741. This program aims to provide high school students of underrepresented backgrounds exposure to engineering fields, the necessary support to navigate financial and accessibility obstacles posed by the college application process, and a role model and mentor. Typically, students from lower- income high schools do not receive the resources to be familiar with engineering areas and careers, nor the college application process, so this program aims to address these gaps. The goal is that students who participate in this program feel encouraged and confident to apply to engineering programs, resulting in increased applications and potential enrollment of students from low-income high schools. In this program, student mentors (current undergraduate engineering students) are responsible for helping second-year high school students find an engineering major based on their interests, discussing the college application process at a fundamental level, and connecting the student with various financial and academic resources. Weekly mentoring sessions are held over Zoom during the students’ school day in compliance with school district and university regulations. The program lasted five weeks, covering topics such as an overview of the University of Texas’ engineering program, the different engineering fields and careers, a thorough overview of the application process, and financial aid. This project was evaluated with an anonymous survey administered to the high school students after the completion of the program to gauge engagement, whether they felt the program was beneficial, and interest levels in engineering, all of which helped determine the program's effectiveness.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2217741
- PAR ID:
- 10535978
- Publisher / Repository:
- ASEE Conferences
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Portland, Oregon
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
The SUPERCHARGE project (STEM-based University Pathway Encouraging Relationships with Chicago-area High schools in Automation, Robotics, and Green Energy) is an after-school STEM program at four high schools in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district. The project is aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and low-income students in STEM fields. Through hands-on activities, workshops, teacher professional development, and campus visits, the program aims to foster students' STEM identities and awareness of postsecondary pathways, particularly in the areas of renewable energy, robotics, and technology. The program has recently completed its first year of implementation in the high schools. The purpose of this article is to report on the first year of implementation, including challenges and lessons learned. Initial assessments indicate positive student engagement and satisfaction. Lessons learned from the first year include the importance of early program initiation, community relevance, and immersive hands-on activities. Future iterations will aim to further enhance student engagement and broaden participation in STEM fields, contributing to greater diversity and inclusion in the STEM workforce.more » « less
-
Broadening participation in engineering among underrepresented minority students remains a big challenge for institutions of higher education. Since a large majority of underrepresented students attend community colleges, engineering transfer programs at these community colleges can play an important role in addressing this challenge. However, for most community college engineering programs, developing strategies and programs to increase the number and diversity of students successfully pursuing careers in engineering is especially challenging due to limited expertise, shrinking resources, and continuing budget crises. This paper is a description of how a small engineering transfer program at a Hispanic-Serving community college in California developed effective partnerships with high schools, other institutions of higher education, and industry partners in order to create opportunities for underrepresented community college students to excel in engineering. Developed through these partnerships are programs for high school students, current community college students, and community college engineering faculty. Programs for high school students include a) the Summer Engineering Institute – a two-week residential summer camp for sophomore and junior high school students, and b) the STEM Institute – a three-week program for high school freshmen to explore STEM fields. Academic and support programs for college students include: a) Math Jam – a one-week intensive math placement test review and preparation program; b) a scholarship and mentoring program academically talented and financially needy STEM students; c) a two-week introduction to research program held during the winter break to prepare students for research internships; d) a ten-week summer research internship program; e) Physics Jam – an intensive program to prepare students for success in Physics; f) Embedded Peer Instruction Cohort – a modified Supplemental Instruction program for STEM courses; g) STEM Speaker Series – a weekly presentation by professionals talking about their career and educational paths. Programs for community college STEM faculty and transfer programs include: a) Summer Engineering Teaching Institute – a two-day teaching workshop for community college STEM faculty; b) Joint Engineering Program – a consortium of 28 community college engineering programs all over California to align curriculum, improve teaching effectiveness, improve the engineering transfer process, and strengthen community college engineering transfer programs; c) Creating Alternative Learning Strategies for Transfer Engineering Programs – a collaborative program that aims to increase access to engineering courses for community college students through online instruction and alternative classroom models; and d) California Lower-Division Engineering Articulation Workshop – to align the engineering curriculum. In addition to describing the development and implementation of these programs, the paper will also provide details on how they have contributed to increasing the interest, facilitating the entry, improving the retention and enhancing the success of underrepresented minority students in engineering, as well as contributing to the strengthening of the community college engineering education pipeline.more » « less
-
This Work in Progress (WIP) paper describes the development of a middle school program focused on an integrated STEM architectural engineering design project and exploration of career pathways. The current engineering workforce is increasingly aging, needing new engineering graduates to meet the industry demands. It is crucial to create inclusive educational programs in STEM to expose and connect with youths from diverse backgrounds, especially the demographics that are underrepresented, in STEM career paths. Middle school is a pivotal time for generating students’ awareness of and promoting pathways into STEM careers; however, opportunities to engage in engineering are often lacking or nonexistent, particularly for low-income students. Additionally, low-income students may bring particular experiences and skills from their backgrounds to engineering that may increase the innovation of engineering solutions. These assets are important to recognize and cultivate in young students. The Middle School Architectural Engineering Pilot Program (MSAEPP), drawing from social cognitive career theory and identity-based motivation, is an intervention designed to affect STEM-related content and STEM identities, motivation, and career goals for low-income students using relatable topics within the building industry. The focus on architectural engineering activities is because buildings, and the industry they represent, touch everyone’s lives. The MSAEPP is planned to be implemented through the Talent Search Programs at middle schools in Pennsylvania. The Talent Search Program is one of the Federal TRIO Programs dedicated to assisting high school students in furthering their education. Penn State Talent Search Programs serve 22 schools in 8 impoverished school districts. The pilot program engages middle school students (seventh and eighth grade) in architectural engineering-related lessons and activities, by exploring engineering identities interactions with architectural engineering industry professionals, and by planning potential career pathways in architectural engineering and other STEM careers with Talent Search Counselors. The purpose of this paper is to present the background and process used in this funded NSF project for developing the suite of architectural engineering related lessons and activities and the research plan for answering the research question: How do the combination of meaningful engineering learning, exposure to professional engineers, and career planning, focused on building industry engineering applications, increase identity-based motivation of students from low-income households and marginalized students in pursuing STEM careers? Answering this question will inform future work developing interventions that target similar goals and will validate and expand the identity-based motivation framework. Keywords: middle school, identity, motivation, informal education.more » « less
-
This Work in Progress (WIP) paper describes the development of a middle school program focused on an integrated STEM architectural engineering design project and exploration of career pathways. The current engineering workforce is increasingly aging, needing new engineering graduates to meet the industry demands. It is crucial to create inclusive educational programs in STEM to expose and connect with youths from diverse backgrounds, especially the demographics that are underrepresented, in STEM career paths. Middle school is a pivotal time for generating students’ awareness of and promoting pathways into STEM careers; however, opportunities to engage in engineering are often lacking or nonexistent, particularly for low-income students. Additionally, low-income students may bring particular experiences and skills from their backgrounds to engineering that may increase the innovation of engineering solutions. These assets are important to recognize and cultivate in young students. The Middle School Architectural Engineering Pilot Program (MSAEPP), drawing from social cognitive career theory and identity-based motivation, is an intervention designed to affect STEM related content and STEM identities, motivation, and career goals for low-income students using relatable topics within the building industry. The focus on architectural engineering activities is because buildings, and the industry they represent, touch everyone’s lives. The MSAEPP is planned to be implemented through the Talent Search Programs at middle schools in Pennsylvania. The Talent Search Program is one of the Federal TRIO Programs dedicated to assisting high school students in furthering their education. Penn State Talent Search Programs serve 22 schools in 8 impoverished school districts. The pilot program engages middle school students (seventh and eighth grade) in architectural engineering related lessons and activities, by exploring engineering identities interactions with architectural engineering industry professionals, and by planning potential career pathways in architectural engineering and other STEM careers with Talent Search Counselors. The purpose of this paper is to present the background and process used in this funded NSF project for developing the suite of architectural engineering related lessons and activities and the research plan for answering the research question: How does the combination of meaningful engineering learning, exposure to professional engineers, and career planning, focused on building industry engineering applications, increase identity-based motivation of students from low-income households and marginalized students in pursuing STEM careers? Answering this question will inform future work developing interventions that target similar goals and will validate and expand the identity-based motivation framework. Keywords: middle school, identity, motivation, informal education.more » « less
