2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research shows that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) summer learning experiences that incorporate empathy can increase students’ sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and agency, yet few examples of a framework in action exist. We share a framework developed by an outreach program at the University of California Berkeley, including the design and implementation of an engineering summer camp, presenting two case studies in which empathy was the cornerstone of the curriculum for two cohorts of middle school students (rising 6th–8th, total N=89) from underrepresented populations in STEM fields who attended a weeklong, day camp in 2024 and 2025.

These high-impact experiences were designed around four guiding principles—[1] build a progression of knowledge, skills, and practices with authentic tools, [2] foster empathy through listening to users and stakeholders, [3] incorporate “thinking on paper” and physical prototypes, and [4] embrace a sense of wonderment and play.

We share our results as two detailed case studies to share best practices, exemplary designs and successful strategies for supporting empathy in STEM learning. Case studies inform practitioners interested in adopting the camp curriculum and/or applying our framework to the future design of engineering education experiences for middle school students:
Case 1: User-Centered Prosthetics (2024) – Participants prototyped and delivered eight unique 3D printed prostheses for an 8 year old end user with a congenital hand difference;
Case 2: Community-Focused Playground Installation (2025) – In partnership with a local non-profit organization, participants designed and fabricated climbing handholds and a mechanical iris for a climbing sculpture built at a city playground.

From a practitioner’s perspective, these case studies provide strong evidence that empathy plays a key role in fostering students’ interest in STEM, changing perceptions of how engineering can have an immediate and positive social impact, and motivating students to pursue additional STEM opportunities. This submission offers a tested resource-rich framework for informal STEM educators, demonstrating how authentic, user-driven, hands-on experiences can cultivate students' sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and agency. We invite practitioners to adapt this framework and guiding principles for their own programs.