Influence of Stem Enrichment Activities on 3rd-5th Grade Students' Engineering Identity

Résumé du livre

This study used a pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design to examine the influence of an integrative STEM enrichment program on 3rd through 5th grade students' identity in engineering. An Engineering Adventures unit was used as a model for integrative STEM education and was delivered through after-school programs at two elementary schools in Georgia. The Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS) was used to assess students' engineering identity formation in the areas of academic identity and engineering career awareness. Findings showed the engineering career subscale scores were significantly higher among students who participated in the after-school STEM enrichment program than those that did not. When a replication round of treatment was administered to the original control group, however, that difference was eliminated. The replication round also showed a lasting effect with the original treatment group after having not been exposed to STEM instruction for a period of time.