2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Microelectronic and semiconductor manufacturing is being heavily invested in by the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and China. However, these careers are new to western countries and the majority of jobs are currently dominated by Asia. Many young people in the United States have had little or no opportunity to consider the integral role microelectronics plays in our lives, nor the various career paths related to microelectronics. Therefore, students need a space to learn about the societal impact of microelectronics and consider relevant careers of interest. The purpose of this work is to explore how students conceptualize microelectronics and its’ meaning for engineering and society before and after completing an integrated STEM unit embedded with microelectronics contexts. Curriculum units were implemented in middle and high schools that participated in the project. Changes in students’ understanding of relevant information is measured through pre- and post-assessments that included four open-ended questions related to their understanding of how microelectronics are important for society. The increasing prevalence of microelectronics and semiconductors in everyday life necessitates early exposure to these topics and relevant careers. Implementing integrated STEM curriculum embedded with microelectronics content will increase student awareness and knowledge. This study shows promising preliminary results for an increase in student awareness of and interest in the field of microelectronics and the results for the career interest provided insight into how students thought about microelectronics in the field. This unit will serve as an example for how microelectronics content can be embedded into existing K-12 curriculum as the US continues to invest heavily in this industry.