Professor fo the Practice Duke University, United States
Introduction:: Middle school (Grades 6 – 8) is a critical time for students’ formation of robust engineering identities. The lack of engineering identity is a major contributor to students, especially those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, not pursuing science- or engineering-focused courses, college majors, and careers. The Outreach Design Education (ODE) Program is a set of outreach activities that strives to augment grades 6 -12 students' engineering identity by empowering students with (biomedical) engineering design, a methodical process that biomedical engineers use to identify and solve problems.
Materials and Methods:: The ODE program recently offered our first Design Hackathon for Middle School Students. Invited middle school students were introduced to the biomedical engineering design process with an emphasis on problem identification, brainstorming, and creating low fidelity prototypes. Through mini-lectures about design concepts and hands-on workshops, the participating students uncovered needs and devised solutions. The program culminated with the student participants creating low fidelity prototype solutions to their identified problems and presenting the design efforts to their fellow Hackathon participants. The students also participated in workshops to learn about microcontroller programming using the Arduino and the laser cutter for rapid prototyping.
The Hackathon was evaluated via pre- and post-surveys that were used to measure the impact of the program on students’ engineering identity. A researcher from our assessment team attended the Hackathon and used a semi-structured observation protocol to note the students’ successes and challenges.
Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: RESULTS Demographics The seventeen (17) Hackathon participants were a mix of seventh and eighth graders. We met our demographic goals with nine (9) males and eight (8) females, 67% of the students identified as African American or Black and 27% identified as Latino and/or Hispanic.
Observations Students were generally engaged and remained on task throughout the program. They collaborated to develop their solutions, and there was a fairly equal distribution of work amongst the teams. Students were able to apply the design process to their identified needs, defining problems, creatively devising solutions, building low fidelity prototypes, and sharing their project progress via short presentations. It was also observed that students displayed abilities to share information on how to complete tasks or use tools. Students also solved design problems as they arose throughout the program, specifically showing the ability to iterate based on different challenges that arose as they created their prototypes.
The greatest program challenge arose within the Arduino programming workshops. The students’ limited prior programming experience and workshop structure indicate that this facet of the Hackathon requires substantial revision.
Surveys Students completed pre-surveys (n = 15) before the program began and post-surveys (n = 11) after the program. The Hackathon participants generally displayed improvements in the various facets of engineering identity, with greatest gains in self-perception of engineering skills, interest in engineering careers, and knowledge of engineering design. The students also reported increased interest in pursuing engineering courses and majors in college; however, they did not report an overall increase in science curiosity.
CONCLUSIONS The ODE Hackathon successfully provided an early engineering design experience for underrepresented minority students. The students’ positive experience was evident through their level of engagement throughout the program, particularly during the hands-on activities. Student self-reporting indicates improvements in engineering interest and knowledge. While this is an indirect assessment, thinking of oneself as an engineer is an essential part of establishing identity. Through continued improvement, the Hackathon will be a way to support engineering education for young underrepresented students in our community.
