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Abstract:
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Minority females continue to be significantly under-represented in collegiate Engineering and Technology programs. A number of universities and secondary school systems are addressing this diversity issue by working closely with interested students during the middle school and high school years. As part of such an initiative, the authors were given the opportunity to develop a summer enrichment program for students from a large urban school system. The students involved were predominantly minority, were all from low socio-economic status households, and the majority were female. The students were selected for the program based on assessed potential for success in Science, Engineering, and Technology programs. However, pre-course testing indicated a shortfall in basic math skills necessary for such careers. Additionally, the students showed a significant lack of self confidence in their abilities to perform in math and science related subjects. This was particularly true among the young women.
The month long program took the approach of connecting real world applications of simple engineering concepts to the basic math necessary to analyze those concepts. The curriculum allowed the students to explore how math relates to their world through principles that they encounter in their everyday lives. After implementing this program across two summers, the results have been very positive. Math scores showed a significant gain when measured by pre- and post-test assessments. Additionally, over two thirds of the students showed an increase in grade point average the following semester. But the most noticeable change was in student attitudes and self confidence, particularly with the young women. An additional assessment was added for the second year and results indicated a positive trend with regards to the students opinions regarding Science and Engineering as careers and their ability to succeed in those careers.
This paper will present both quantitative and qualitative results documenting the improvement in both skills and attitudes. It will also discuss the general approach taken during the development of the course and will give specific examples of subject matter which seemed to connect most strongly with the students. Plans for further research and curriculum modifications will also be discussed.
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