2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Role of Hands-On Engineering Technology Summer Camps in Attracting Underrepresented High School Students to STEM Majors

Presented at Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 3

Future career choices for high school students are shaped by their knowledge of a profession. According to research, students frequently have preconceived notions about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), which would discourage them from choosing it as a career. And this is a bigger problem among underrepresented minorities. Although the number of Blacks and Hispanics pursuing a career in the tech industry witnessed a significant increase in recent years, their overall percentage continues to be underrepresented in the STEM field. The representation of women in STEM fields varies greatly. Women make up a sizable majority of all employees in health-related fields, but they continue to be underrepresented in fields like engineering, computer science, and other physical sciences. This paper describes the effort and activities of the hands-on summer camp organized by the Division of Engineering Technology at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) to attract high school students from these underrepresented minorities to the STEM fields and especially Engineering. The curriculum of the one-week summer camp included hands-on activities and trivia games to improve their cognitive understanding of the topics as well as boost self-confidence. The activities were tailored around construction, civil, electrical, and electronic engineering subjects. The summer camp included 15 high school minority students (6 females and 9 males) from north and central Florida. To measure the camp's effectiveness, the students had to take two surveys every day (before and after the activities) and determine which activities were the most beneficial. Results indicated a positive impact on the student's understanding of the different STEM topics. These results provided the university with an effective and sustainable recruitment approach of underrepresented minority students to STEM majors.

Authors

Dr. Mohamed Khalafalla http://orcid.org/https://my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-9621-4940 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Mohamed Khalafalla Ahmed is an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology at Florida A&M University. His research focuses on risk analysis, alternative project delivery, and cost estimating for construction and infrastructure projects. Dr. Khalafalla has performed risk analysis and cost estimating related work for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Also, Dr. Khalafalla has worked on concrete research for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Dr. Khalafalla has authored numerous articles, conference proceedings, and technical reports. He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University in 2019 and his Master's from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2015. Dr. Khalafalla is currently a part Master's student (Law) at Northwestern University and is expected to finish it in 2024. Dr. Khalafalla has worked in the construction industry for more than five years in different capacities, including pre-construction and estimating.
Dr. Tejal Udhan Mulay http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3097-3888 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Tejal Mulay is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Electronic Engineering Technology in the Division of Engineering Technology under the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology (SAET) at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU). Dr. Mulay’s primary research area is speech signal processing, including but not limited to acoustic emotion recognition, digital signal processing, autonomous vehicles, and blockchain technology and its applications. She also has authored and co-authored articles in various technical journals and conferences in these areas of education in the engineering field.

Dr. Mulay has been working with minority students in the STEM fields since her graduate school days. She has been assistant director for the REAP summer camps funded by NSF, which aimed towards increasing the participation of minority students in STEM research. She has also been part of the FAMU STEM Day team, assisting with the demonstration and experiment portion of this annual event. She has assisted many undergraduate students in getting internships and scholarships through various programs.

Dr. Mulay received her master's of science degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in India.
Dr. Doreen Kobelo Regalado http://orcid.org/https://0009-0008-9020-6227 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Doreen Kobelo is an Associate Professor at Florida A&M University in School of Architecture, Division of Engineering Technology. Her primary research interest is on traffic operation and safety. Dr. Kobelo is currently working on studying traffic operation and safety in third world countries in particular Africa and how it affects their economy. She also has been working with minorities in the STEM fields and encouraging students to consider STEM related careers. She received her Master and PhD in Civil Engineering from Florida State University with her research focusing on safety analyses of non limited access roadways and interchanges respectively. She received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Dar es Salaam and her major area of concentration was structural and Transportation Engineering.
Dr. Behnam Shadravan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7643-7098 Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Behnam Shadravan is an Associate Professor in the Division of Engineering Technology under the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology (SAET) at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU). He serves as the Program Area Coordinator for the Construction Engineering Technology program. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa, Canada. His background includes engineering, research, and teaching experience in Construction Management, Materials and Methods, and Structural, Civil, and Geotechnical Engineering. His research areas are Structural Resilience, Sustainable Construction Methods and Materials, Sustainable Development, Structural Retrofitting, Damage and Collapse Patterns, Soil Improvement Methods, and engineering education. He has a broad engineering experience in large and small-scale projects, including large dams, bridges, and buildings in different fields of Construction, geotechnical and structural engineering.
Dr. Shadravan will dedicate six hours a week on this project. Besides working on particularly the literature review and the development of the Final Report, and decision-making modeling.
Mr. David Akinsanya Florida A&M University - Florida State University

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