2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Evaluating SPARK: Outcomes of a summer STEM program for middle school girls

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 9

The study evaluates SPARK, a residential summer outreach program hosted at the University of Connecticut, designed to foster middle school girls’ interest in and intent to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers, as well as their confidence in STEM skills. The program engages participants entering grades 7–10 in one or more of three independent, week-long sessions, each featuring experiential, hands-on activities and project-based challenges that introduce diverse engineering concepts and disciplines.

Using a mixed-methods, repeated-measures survey design with embedded qualitative data, the evaluation examined outcomes for the 2024 cohort. Forty-two participants completed both pre- and post-program surveys assessing attitudes toward engineering, an engineering career, and self-efficacy in engineering design and in presenting design projects. The post-program survey also included closed- and open-ended items capturing participants’ perceived growth in self-efficacy in STEM skills and motivation.

Quantitative analyses indicated significant positive gains from pre- to post-program across several targeted constructs, while thematic analysis of open-ended responses provided corroborating insights into the role of hands-on engagement and project-based challenges in enhancing self-efficacy in STEM skills.

Overall, the findings suggest that structured experiential learning activities within this program are associated with gains in both the affective and cognitive dimensions of pre-college STEM education, while also offering insights for the design and improvement of similar outreach initiatives.

Authors

Dr. Andri Christodoulidou University of Connecticut [biography]

Dr. Andri Christodoulidou is an Assistant Research Professor in the University of Connecticut College of Engineering. She holds an MPhil in Educational Research Methods and a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, UK. Her doctoral research at Cambridge was funded by the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through a competitive proposal-based grant.

Dr. Christodoulidou has presented her research at major peer-reviewed international conferences, including the British Educational Research Association (BERA), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), and Cambridge’s own “Kaleidoscope” research conference.

In her previous role as Director of Impact Assessment at UConn’s Vergnano Institute, she developed evaluation methodologies to assess the outcomes of diverse educational outreach programs.

Currently, she is a member of the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT) research team that designs and leads studies examining the impact of K–12 and college-level outreach initiatives aimed at promoting interest in naval STEM fields. She is also a core faculty member in the PhD Program in Engineering Education at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Zeynep G Akdemir-Beveridge http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4352-239X University of Connecticut [biography]

Dr. Zeynep G Akdemir-Beveridge completed her undergraduate and master's studies at Bogazici University, Turkey and she received her PhD degree in the specialization of Curriculum and Instruction at Purdue University. She had a chance to work with engineers at Purdue's School of Engineering Education during her doctorate studies. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut. Her first year of postdoctoral work has focused on developing an engineering creativity assessment tool (ECAT). Currently, she is developing curriculum and working on several research projects in the context of STEM and engineering education at UConn's Naval Science and Technology Program. Additionally, Dr. Akdemir-Beveridge enjoys finding ways to teach complex science and engineering topics in simple, conceptual ways at the K-12 level and to non-academic audiences.
Dr. Stephany Santos University of Connecticut [biography]

Stephany Santos is a Ph.D candidate in biomedical engineering at the University of Connecticut. In addition to her research in biomechanics, she is currently an advisor of the Engineering Ambassadors outreach group.
Dr. Alexandra Hain University of Connecticut [biography]

Dr. Lexi Hain is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and has served as the Director of the UConn Navy STEM Education Program since 2021. She received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a focus in Structural Engineering from UConn in May 2019. Dr. Hain’s work emphasizes workforce development through innovative educational programming, interdisciplinary collaboration, and hands-on research engagement. She has led initiatives designed to recruit, retain, and prepare students for careers in naval engineering, skilled trades, and related technical fields, fostering sustainable talent pipelines in support of Department of Defense priorities. In addition to her education leadership, her research focuses on novel construction materials, including ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), and innovative inspection and repair techniques for civil infrastructure. She has served as principal investigator (PI) on projects supported by the Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, Connecticut Department of Transportation, and industry partners, integrating technical research with educational and workforce development objectives.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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