Engaging High School Students in University Research
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Engaging High School Students in University Research Kathleen M. Davis1 and Joseph J. Muskin1 1 Center for Nanoscale Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, U.S.A. ABSTRACT The absence of engineering from K-12 curricula and mainstream media often causes students to refer back to historical stereotypes regarding what engineers look like and the type of work they do. Such misconceptions may prevent high school students from pursuing engineering as a field of study and increase the need for engineering educational programs [1]. NanoChallenge is an outreach program that orients high school students to engineering through a oneyear research internship. The program is held at the Center for Nanoscale Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical Manufacturing Systems (Nano-CEMMS) at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. A major focus of the program is to involve students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields and inform them about engineering earlier in their careers. An external program evaluation provides anecdotal information about the students’ experiences and gives feedback to inform program improvement. INTRODUCTION Rather than study engineering, many students elect to pursue fields that they perceive to provide more opportunity to “help people and make the world a better place” [2]. Findings drawn from the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Development also contrast engineering with other fields by looking at students’ entrance into the engineering major. The results show that 93% of students graduating with engineering degrees started college as engineering majors [3]. By contrast, only 50% of students with social science degrees and 60% of students with other science majors, started in their respective fields. Because of this low mobility and narrow entrance into engineering majors, students need more frequent exposure to the field before they graduate from high school and choose college majors [3]. The National Academy of Engineering, through its report “Raising public awareness of engineering,” identifies a deficiency in many outreach programs. It states that “contact between engineers and students is intermittent and temporary, sometimes just once a year” [4]. The Nano-Challenge program provides students with an in-depth and enduring introduction to the field of engineering by engaging students in research alongside engineers. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Since being launched in 2006, the program has annually hosted a group of about six high school juniors from local schools who commit to attending weekly two- to three-hour hour sessions for an entire academic year. Aside from some initial orientation, training and review of
literature, students spend their time in the program conducting research. Because participation in the program often competes with the need for students to have after school jobs, students are compensated for their time and paid a nominal hourly wage. The resea
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