2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Technology-rich environments have been on the rise in educational settings for the past several decades. Access has been improved because low-cost cutting-edge technologies and technology adoption in public schools and libraries has increased. However, youth from underserved communities are not as comfortable being in these spaces as their more privileged peers. These youth are less likely to feel a sense of belonging and ownership in engineering spaces. One way to increase belonging in engineering and technology-rich environments is to provide pathways of ownership and leadership within the space. In the past, preventing harm to communities and the environment has not been central in engineering educational settings. The engineers of today and tomorrow need to reduce the harm caused by engineering and technology proactively and that mindset can start in the earliest stages of engineering education. Additionally, harm reduction offers real-world applications to engineering problems and can help youth address problems in their own communities.
This paper will discuss the preliminary findings from two middle school afterschool STEM clubs that are implementing youth-led design workshops into their program. Along with the research team and afterschool coordinators, youth leaders design and develop engineering workshops that promote belonging in engineering and center preventing harm (in engineering). In these design and development meetings, youth leaders learn about technologies that are new to them, identify problems in their communities, and work with the team to design each session of the workshop. In sharing ownership of the project, we hope to further the sense of belonging and solve community-based issues. In the full paper and poster-presentation, we will report on the early findings and lessons learned during the implementation of this program.