2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Informal learning environments are among a number of ways to build learning experiences for students outside of the classroom. They can create opportunities for students to engage and develop an interest in computer science and engineering outside the classroom. Creating more opportunities supports the growing need for a future workforce with students who have skills in computational thinking, engineering design, and programming. While informal programs are impactful in building skills and knowledge in students, they often experience attrition upon the conclusion of grant funding. This cycle limits the lasting success of a program. The Goldberg Gator Engineering Explorers (GGEE) program aims to develop sustainable methods to extend the impact of the program and create self-sustaining programs.

The GGEE Summer Program continues to provide these experiences to underrepresented middle school students to support the K-12 computer science pipeline by offering free summer programs for beginners in programming, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). Students learn to work with various types of software and hardware to create simple programs using advanced machine-learning models.

After a successful 2022 pilot year, reaching 100 students in 6 school districts through 8 camp sessions, the summer programs returned in 2023 and expanded to host over 22 sessions in 8 school districts across the state. The programs hosted nearly 320 rising 6th through 10th-grade students in either an introductory programming session or an advanced AI and ML session.

A single donor funded all the summer programs during the pilot year in 2022. Since this method was not a sustainable way to bring the program to more students over time, the GGEE program team investigated ways to make the program sustainable and lasting.

This paper provides an evaluation of the different ways to expand and host more programs across the state sustainably by looking at the following areas: 1) methods to recruit interested schools and districts, 2) increase program ownership by schools and districts, 3) engage cost-sharing partnerships, 4) recruit students to participate in programs, 5) research and program assessment, and 6) providing multiple opportunities for students to return to the program.

Informal learning environments allow students to explore new concepts, develop new skills, apply classroom understanding, and collaborate with other students across their schools and districts. This paper compares the GGEE program across its first two years of implementation by expanding on the six points above. The findings presented in this paper are anticipated to assist existing and future informal learning programs to develop sustainable opportunities for students.