Community partnership design of a maker-related camp for underserved youth: Impacts on youths’ present and future learning trajectories

Abstract

This paper describes the design of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) maker-related activities offered to middle school youth as part of a free, four-week summer camp. The camp was aimed at academically at-risk youth in a rural, tourism-oriented mountain community with significant income disparities. Guided by an educational model focused on enhancing youths’ present and future interests in and visions of STEM and computing fields, camp activities were collaboratively designed by a community partnership comprised of a local camp provider, the local school district, and researchers. Situating design in a community partnership helped highlight and integrate locally relevant resources, careers, and community opportunities. The paper also reports findings from a study examining how the STEM maker camp activities, which leveraged 3D modeling and printing practices, impacted youths’ perceptions of their disciplinary identity, engagement, and their present and future visions of the relevance of these STEM practices to themselves and their communities. The study also explores design tensions that emerged during the camp design process and identified barriers and opportunities that arose from balancing the needs of each partner, the research team’s focus on youth-centered learning, and the overall program goals.