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Many students do not truly encounter engineering education during their school years despite numerous calls to increase focus on engineering-centric knowledge and skills in pre-college education. This study uses a Social Cognitive Career Theory framing to examine the nuanced experiences of pre-college students who learned the engineering design process through multiple, progressively complex project experiences in an introductory engineering course designed for all. Data was collected from 80 students within eight schools across the United States using multiple focus groups. Iterative thematic analysis revealed four themes that collectively depict how design experiences provide an anchor or a comprehensive knowledge base for engineering pathways. The study provides insights into the complex interplay of learning activities and wider educational contexts that influence students’ higher education and career choices. Under-standing the anchors associated with students’ design experiences has the potential to impact future motivation and design of pre-college engineering experiences that can lead to improved student recruitment and retention in higher education 

The delivery mode of education for many high school students changed recently, confining students to attend classes virtually from home. Remote learning can sometimes give students fewer experiential learning opportunities. A focus group discussion was carried out with 35 high school students to explore their perception of their learning environment as it relates to active learning in a remote instruction delivery classroom. Kolb’s experiential learning theory was used to guide this study. The qualitative data gathered were analyzed thematically. Analysis from the data showed that remote learning impacted students’ ability to support each other in project-based learning processes. The effect of remote learning also impacted students' access to peer group resources, materials, and tools needed for effective project-based learning. Results showed that some students preferred working with other students cooperatively on project-based activities while other students preferred working individually on project-based activities. The findings show that team building in high school students continues to be a challenge irrespective of the learning environment, either face-to-face or remote classrooms. Hence, educators have to continue to find ways to strengthen team-work and team building among the students.