Summer Engineering Academy for First-year Students in STEM: Making the Transition to College Through Coding and Robotics
Okan Caglayan, Sreedevi Ande, Erik Coronado, Max Martinez, Samuel Handowski · 2020
Abstract This Complete Evidence-Based Practice paper describes the Summer Engineering Academy that was designed for first-year freshman and transfer students with a declared Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) major. Graduating high school students from around the world apply to the University for their STEM program. Many of them have yet to fully comprehend the expectations and demands that come along with becoming a first-year student. The Summer Engineering Academy, one-week free camp, provided service to a low-to-moderate income student population and offered creative introductory computer programming exercises with hands-on robotics laboratory experiences. The objectives of the camp were twofold: 1. Address students’ academic readiness and self-efficacy for a rigorous STEM degree. 2. Strengthen incoming freshman students’ skills in communication for effective collaboration and data analytics through coding and hands-on robotics activities. The outcome of the first objective was accomplished by putting the emphasis on time management during their first school year and presenting career options after graduation by the guest speakers from various industries. The outcome of the second objective was achieved by developing and implementing technical solutions to problems in computer programming, hands-on robotics, and presenting the results orally and in a written final report. Specific outcomes in analytical skills were: a. conceptual mastery of basic programming constructs in MATLAB: variables, functions, loops and conditional statements b. understanding of basic robotics using Arduino: sensors, actuators, and artificial intelligence c. moderate understanding of abstraction, computational thinking and development The Summer Engineering Academy 2017 was classified as a success based on the increased number of camp participants compared to last year’s attendees. The survey results, students’ written reports and their project presentations reiterated the students’ strong interest in the camp. The participants were motivated and excited about starting their first year at the university, had a better understanding of the career options in their STEM fields, and attained a basic understanding in computer programming and engineering design.