2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Evaluation of High School Semiconductor and Microelectronics Summer Program (Evaluation)

Presented at Krusty's Creations: Robotics and Electronics in Springfield STEAM, Hey Hey!

This paper presents an overall evaluation of the READI High School Semiconductor Summer Program, which aims to cultivate semiconductor awareness and interest among high school students. In response to the imperative for a skilled workforce in this industry, where semiconductor research, design, and fabrication occur, a large mid-western university and a local community college co-developed and implemented the first version of a 2-week summer program for local high school rising juniors and seniors. This initiative strives to increase students' knowledge of, awareness of, and interest in semiconductors by introducing them to the associated technology, manufacturing, applications, and careers within this ecosystem.

In particular, the program engaged fifty-three high school students from six regional counties in hands-on activities in electronics and manufacturing, visits to local companies using semiconductors in their production lines, tours of local higher education fabrication and experimental lab facilities, and designing and prototyping various microelectronic systems. The program and participant experience were evaluated based on understanding students’ change in their sense of belonging and self-efficacy, career aspiration, and knowledge and skills associated with the semiconductor ecosystem. Data collection involved pre-post survey results, students’ daily evaluations of the program activities and reflections, and focus group responses.

The analysis, employing inductive coding of responses and related pairs analysis on pre- and post-survey sections, revealed positive outcomes. These findings indicate that participants' knowledge of semiconductors and sense of belonging in the semiconductor ecosystem improved, and there was an increase in participant awareness of semiconductor career paths. While acknowledging the program's success in meeting its objectives, participants offered valuable insights for refining the program's curricular design in future iterations. These results increase awareness of an emerging field in the community, potentially serving as a model for precollege engineering summer programs associated with workforce development initiatives across different industries in the country.

Authors

Shauna Adams Purdue University [biography]

Shauna is currently a PhD student in Engineering Education at Purdue University. She previously worked for 10 years as a Systems Surety Engineer and 15 years as a coordinator/advisor of various pre-college engineering programs. Shauna earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and her MS in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. Her interest includes understanding the resources and supports provided to volunteers in precollege community-based engineering programs especialy programs for underrepresented groups in engineering, with a specific focus on Black/African American youth. Shauna is engaged in Purdue’s Engineering Education Graduate Student Association and Black Graduate Student Association.
Mr. Cristian Eduardo Vargas P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7979-3901 Purdue University [biography]

Cristan Vargas-Ordonez is a Colombian Ph.D. Candidate and Research Assistant in Engineering Education at Purdue University. He has a Master's in Education from the University of Los Andes, a Master's in Science, Technology, and Society from the National University of Quilmes, and a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of America.
Dr. Morgan M Hynes Purdue University [biography]

Dr. Morgan Hynes is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University and Director of the FACE Lab research group at Purdue. In his research, Hynes explores the use of engineering to integrate academic subjects in K-12 cla
Dr. Kerrie A Douglas http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2693-5272 Purdue University [biography]

Dr. Douglas is an Associate Professor in the Purdue School of Engineering Education. Her research is focused on improving methods of assessment in engineering learning environments and supporting engineering students.
Prof. Peter Bermel http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7140-0667 Purdue University [biography]

DR. PETER BERMEL is an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. His research focuses on improving the performance of photovoltaic, thermophotovoltaic, and nonlinear systems using the principles of nanophotonics. Key
Dr. David R. Ely Ivy Tech Community College, Indianapolis [biography]

Dr. David R. Ely is the Engineering Program Chair at Ivy Tech Community College Lafayette since 2013. He enjoys teaching engineering students at Ivy Tech and advising them on the different engineering career paths that best match their interests and skill
Hayley Joy Grisez

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