Exploring How Family Interactions, Materials, and Youth's Situational Interest Influence Each Other in Engineering Workshops

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: Learner-Driven Experiences in Informal Learning Environments (Table 2)

Abstract

Youths’ interest in informal education settings is influenced by aspects of learning environments such as parental social practices and materials; however, how these aspects interact to impact youth’s interests in STEM has not been fully explored. Using qualitative video-based analysis techniques, we investigate how family interactions and workshop materials influence youth’s situational interest during seven hour-long informal engineering workshops. In this paper we focus on two focal families’ vignettes that exhibit overarching themes. Our results demonstrate that both family interactions and material resources bidirectionally influenced children’s situational interest development in engineering and inventing, through processes like hands-on, joint making and parental facilitation. This analysis contributes to the understanding of how families and materials influence youth’s STEM interests.

Authors

• Lillyanna Faimon, Pennsylvania State University
  Presenting Author

• Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Pennsylvania State University
  Presenting Author