Presentation
Implementation of a STEM Summer Enrichment Program in a Low Income Community
120th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
(2013)
Abstract
Implementation of a STEM Summer Enrichment Program in a Low Income CommunityStudies have shown that that providing adequate social and academic support from early stagesof the education process of a child increases graduation rate in K-12 and affects the number offreshmen entering higher education. With constant inflation and inevitable recessions, the costof living today is higher than ever. It becomes a problem when a student who needs just a littleextra help cannot get it because the teacher has over 40 students, and both parents work, andgood tutors cost too much. This coupled with other social and economic issues, creates a certainpath for failure for students that come from low income households. The number ofunderrepresented and low income students dropping out of school continues to increase yearlyand the graduation rate gap between this group of students and their counterpart continues towiden. With the help of educational institutions, local and national governmental entities and thecommunity this trend can be changed.A summer community outreach program in Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)was implemented in a low income housing community by volunteers from local universities andthe community. The overall purpose of the Community Outreach in STEM program is toestablish relationships with various community centers as well as high schools all around thelocal area in order to provide the help that students need to be successful in high school andcollege. The camp exposes students to engineering through robotics, science through cooking,arts and crafts through hands on activities, leadership skills through sport competitions andvarious other programs. The first phase of the program was launched this summer with thefollowing goals: Provide the tutor for all subjects for students of all ages at all levels Expose young children to the STEM initiative Organize science expos and competitions (ex. Brain Bowl competitions, Mouse trap cars, Bridge building, Egg drop competitions etc.) Hold academic, technical, personal development and professional development seminars to help students of all ages assimilate and adjust to new technologies or new policies regarding any subject that may influence or affect students in any way Plan field trips to help children be exposed to new things and become more open to new ideas and new ways of thinking Invite professionals from various industries to come and speak to the children/college students and give them insight to their current interests and/or proposed majorsThis paper presents the experiences implementing the program, the curriculum development,results of the program and discusses plans for continuous improvement and future expansion
Keywords
- STEM,
- Science Technology Engineering and Math,
- Income,
- Enrichment program,
- Low income
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 23, 2013
Comments
Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2013 American Society for Engineering Education. Article obtained from 120th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
Citation Information
Antonio J. Soares, G. T. Bellarmine, Doreen Kobelo, Rabbani Muhammad, et al.. "Experiences in Developing a Robotics Course for Electronic Engineering Technology" 120th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (2013) source: https://peer.asee.org/19711
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/salman-siddiqui/3/