2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 218: Transforming a University-Level Experiential Learning Engineering Course into a Comprehensive Pre-College Summer Program (Work in Progress)

Presented at WIP Poster Session: Emerging Research and Practices in Pre-College Engineering Education

Pre-college summer programs can provide K-12 students with valuable experiences that reflect the rigorous environment of higher education. Summer programs focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) allow students to engage with advanced coursework materials at the university level to obtain a better understanding of the STEM field through hands-on practical learning. In addition, summer programs provide a foretaste of university academic life to K-12 students through experiencing instructions at a college campus. In this Work in Progress Study, we present the initial development of a comprehensive pre-college two-week engineering summer program for high school students. The summer program consisted of two main components: project-based learning and student exposure to professional development opportunities.

The experiential learning project was developed and adapted from a lower-division engineering course at a public institution, where students design, build and test an autonomous rover to traverse a course and perform color recognition. The university-level coursework was modified to be suitable for high school students while still emphasizing critical course learning outcomes. Student learning outcomes include developing an understanding of the engineering design process, learning fundamental multidisciplinary technical skills, completing a project in teams, and gaining experience in technical communication. Due to the program being directly adapted from a lower-division experiential learning course, it provided the high school students with a more relevant college coursework-based experience.

In addition, students attended a series of educational and professional development seminars including college preparation, engineering career pathways, research center tours, and demonstrations from members of the university research community and local engineering community. Exposing students to relevant engineering workshops allowed high school students to be motivated and inspired by different learning opportunities and to understand potential applications of their degrees in future careers. We assessed the success of the program implementation through a post-camp survey to all student participants, specifically on student learning outcomes of understanding design and fabrication, as well as the effectiveness of the professional development seminars. Preliminary survey results from the pilot group demonstrated that exposure to the experiential learning project in the program benefited the students’ understanding of engineering, and had a positive impact on their confidence and interest in design and fabrication. Based on the survey results, a path forward is discussed to improve the curriculum for future offerings of the program.

Authors

Nicholas Choi University of California, Irvine [biography]

Nicholas Choi is a master's student in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently studying the impact of experiential learning in an engineering curriculum and the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in an engineering classroom.
Kan Li University of California, Irvine [biography]

Dr. Kan Li is the Associate Director for the International Programs at the UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering. With a strong background in international education and cross-border collaboration, she manages academic operations, student advising, and global partnerships. Dr. Li holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and has over 10 years of experience working with universities in the U.S., China, and beyond. Her expertise lies in building sustainable academic programs, supporting international faculty and students, and creating inclusive, globally engaged learning environments.
Kristin Roher University of California, Irvine [biography]

Kristin Roher is the Director of Academic Innovation at the University of California, Irvine, where she leads curriculum development and instruction for experiential engineering programs. She has extensive experience designing and managing STEM outreach initiatives, international education programs, and undergraduate engineering coursework. Roher holds an M.S. in Information and Computer Science from UCI and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Her work focuses on engineering education, hands-on project development, and student engagement through experiential learning.
Prof. Liang Li Wu University of California, Irvine [biography]

Liang (Lily) Wu is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine. She is also the Faculty Director of International Programs at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Her responsibilities include instruction and curriculum assessment to enhance and support the engineering education at the School of Engineering. Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. degree in Engineering, with a concentration in Materials and Manufacturing Technology, from the University of California, Irvine with primary research focuses on the design, development and integration of microfluidic systems for biomedical applications.

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