Using the Engineering Design Process to Increase Interest in STEM Areas: Case of a Video Game Creation Camp

Abstract

Latin American children and youth often lose interest in learning science, on the other hand, future jobs will require professionals with skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. Therefore, it is necessary to create spaces for boys and girls to develop skills and competencies required for future employment. The present case study proposes an informal STEM learning program, through the implementation of a camp, in such a way as to provide evidence that exposing children to a video game creation workshop, having as a methodology the engineering design process (EDP) and the Scratch platform as a tool, will positively impact in the children interest's in STEM areas. Four camps were implemented, distributed in five lessons of two hours each, aimed at 60 children from 11 to 13 years of age. The authors present a methodology to measure the effectiveness of the camps through two surveys conducted with the participants before and after the camps, which made it possible to measure learning and interest in STEM areas. Camps increased motivation toward engineering and science careers by 13 % of participants, increased interest in mathematics by 23% of participants, also, increased learning about how to create a video game by 43 % of participants and the number of participants who know about the engineering design process increased by 50%.