STEM Identity Development: Examining the Effect of Informal Summer Learning Experience on Middle School Students

Abstract This paper examines STEM identity formation in a sample of 35 and 34 middle school students during a three-week summer camp held over two years in a multi year project. Each year new students were selected from the surrounding area to participate. The focus of the camp activities is informal learning of entertainment and hospitality engineering concepts. The Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity Development (DSMRI) was used as the theoretical framework. The authors utilized a longitudinal mixed methods research design to gather study data, aligning quantitative surveys and qualitative reflection activities with the components of the DSMRI. The reflection activities were timed in conjunction with the camp activities to examine the impact of context on student identity formation. Each week provided different learning environments for the middle school students. Week 1 consisted of field trips exposing students to local entertainment and hospitality engineering sites, week 2 provided students with a learning environment similar to an engineering lab course, and week 3 allowed students an opportunity to utilize what they learned in the camp with a project-based learning experience. The results indicate that aspects of the camp involving learning coding increased feelings of hopelessness among campers and decreased feelings of ingenuity. However, project-based learning aspects of the camp were positive, activating feelings such as joy and future interest in engineering. Active learning experiences and connecting the field trips to entertainment and hospitality sites helped students to see themselves as engineers through role play. Students experienced hands-on learning such as learning to use Tinkercad for modelling and creating 3D objects and programming a microcontroller to perform sensor reading while also including output functions. Findings suggest that identity formation may be most positively impacted by hands-on activities that provide students with the opportunity to assess their content knowledge.