There is a constant need to recruit more students into college engineering programs, as underrepresented students still enter and remain in engineering programs at lower rates, thus impacting the engineering workforce. A large public university implemented a service learning project-based curriculum for engineering undergraduates, Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS). EPICS High is a course that uses service-learning to teach high school students design and engineering while benefitting their local communities as they apply their knowledge and skills in context. In order to assess how students change from participating in EPICS High, an instrument based in Social Career Cognitive Theory was developed to assess change in self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal interest in high school students who participated in the EPICS High program. It was comprised of survey questions and open-ended responses. This paper presents the results from the analysis of two of the open-ended questions after the instrument pilot administration over 2 years across 11 states. We present its findings confident that it will inform other current programs and inspire the formation of new programs for the precollege populations that intend to increase self-efficacy, impact outcome expectations, and trigger personal interest.
Tamecia Jones is an assistant professor in the STEM Education Department at North Carolina State University College of Education with a research focus on K-12 engineering education, assessment, and informal and formal learning environments. She is a grad
Jean Trusedell is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher with extensive experience working with K-12 Educators and students. She is working with the EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) Program at Purdue University to create curriculum that can be used with students throughout the country to integrate best classroom practices with engineering principles. Previously, she was the Science and Technology Coach for MSD of Decatur Township in Indianapolis, IN.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6183-045X
Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
[biography]
William (Bill) Oakes is the Assistant Dean for Experiential Learning, a 150th Anniversary Professor, Director of the EPICS Program, Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University, and a registered professional engineer. He is one of the founding faculty in the School of Engineering Education having courtesy appointments in Mechanical, Environmental and Ecological Engineering and Curriculum and Instruction. He was the first engineer to receive the U.S. Campus Compact Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning and a co-recipient of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering’s Bernard Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education. He is a fellow of NSPE and ASEE and elected to the ASEE Hall of Fame.
http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-4229-6183
Florida International University
[biography]
Monica E. Cardella is the Director of the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED) at Florida International University. She is also a Professor of Engineering and Computing Education in SUCCEED and FIU's STEM Transformation Institute
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