Engaging children in the engineering design process during out of school time program

This phenomenological pilot case study aims to explore the learning experiences of 33 children (ages 10-14) using the Engineering Design Process during a week-long summer STEM camp program. Observations and interviews with the participants and high school student mentors and volunteers revealed trends of collaboration, students using their voice, and confidence with applying the Engineering Design Process along with science engineering practices (SEPs) to building towers. Findings unveiled the benefits of the experience in building the children’s confidence, sense of engagement, engineering content knowledge and career readiness in the STEM.