This project will develop a new 4-H Afterschool curriculum called Discovering Technology to be implemented in 7 states potentially reaching 5000 middle school youths and 250 4-H leaders annually. The program would encourage youth in both rural and urban settings to pursue careers in engineering and technology. The project is a partnership of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, the National 4-H Council/4-H Afterschool, North Carolina 4-H and the National Science & Technology Education Partnership (NSTEP).
is an after-school engineering curriculum developed jointly by 4-H and Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. This curriculum was developed as part of a National Science Foundation sponsored program and is utilized in 4-H supported after-school programs across the country. The TechXcite curriculum offers a rich and vibrant exploration of engineering, mathematics, science and technology." Our major goals, as set forth in the grant, were to: Complete a set of engineering centered curricular modules that contain activities that build upon one another leading to a final product that is tested for performance. Develop a TechXcite website that has links for after-school and 4-H professionals to download Instructor Guides and Youth Handouts, parts list spreadsheets, and training videos. Rollout in several states by partnering with state-level 4H programs. Reach over 9000 youth who have utilized the TechXcite curriculum by the end of the grant. Increase the interest of 4-H staff in STEM subjects by engaging them in the hands-on, project-based TechXcite engineering curriculum. Increase the competence of participating youth in engineering. By the end of the grant, all the above goals were successfully met and in some cases exceeded! As a part of the grant, we hired Compass Evaluation and Research, Inc. to perform annual evaluations of the grant as well as a final evaluation at the end of the grant. Their "Summary of Findings," from the report, "Annual and Final Evaluation Summaries," illuminates the impacts this grant has had on the students and teachers involved with the program. The text below is taken from page 4 of that report: Instructors Survey ratings of 4-H TechXcite instructors demonstrate their beliefs that the curriculum and the training they received are of high quality. Respondents’ ratings show that they found the training useful in helping them to facilitate the curriculum and it prepared them for their role as an instructor by improving their teaching techniques and increasing their knowledge about science and engineering knowledge. Instructors also indicated that students learned and demonstrated improved competence in science and engineering. With respect to gender differences, the ratings showed that instructors believed that both male and female youth actively engaged in the TechXcite program. They also indicated that after participating in TechXcite, students showed improved attitudes toward science and engineering, increased confidence in science and engineering, and increased initiative to explore science and engineering topics. Through surveys and focus groups, students also said that they enjoyed the program, would like to do more activities like TechXcite, and wanted to learn even more about science, engineering and/or technology. Students In 2009-12 surveys of California youth participants, approximately 49% said it was definitely true and 80% that it was at least a little bit true that TechXcite made them more interested in a career in science, engineering and/or technology. Approximately 40% of participants indicated they would definitely like a job in science, engineering and/or technology. Students completing the survey also agreed that the doing the TechXcite activities taught them a lot about science, engineering and/or technology (57%) and helped them to understand more about science, engineering and/or technology (53%). During the life of the grant, over 9000 students participated in the program. Eight complete modules - consisting of instructor guides, student guides, instructional videos, and parts lists - were generated and are now available to the public at our web site. Two more modules - consisting of instructor guides, student guides, and parts lists - are also available. This will ensure that the work done for this grant continues to positively impact students and teachers throughout the country.
