AbstractIn this paper, we report ethnicity trends in student participation and experience in high school science and engineering fairs (science fairs). Science fair participation showed significant ethnic diversity. For survey students, the approximate distribution was Asian-32%; Black-11%; Hispanic-20%; White-33%; Other-3%. Black students made up only 4.5% of the students who participated in science fairs beyond the school-only level, whereas students from other ethnic groups were more equally represented. The lower percentage of Black students resulted from a combination of lower science fair participation and lower percentage of students advancing to science fairs beyond the school-only level. Students who advanced to science fairs beyond the school-only level frequently received help from scientists, coaching for the interview, and were not required to participate in science fair. Black students received the least help from scientists and were most likely to be required to do science fair. They also were most likely to receive no help from parents, teachers, or scientists. Asian and Hispanic students (63.8% and 56.8%) indicated greater interest in careers in science and engineering (S&E) compared to Black and White students (43.7% & 50.7%). The most important experiences that correlated with students indicating that science fair increased their interests in S&E were getting help from the internet and/or books and magazines; getting help fine tuning the report; and overcoming obstacles by doing more background research, making a timeline, and perseverance. Black students did not report a positive effect of any of these strategies but experienced time pressure as more of an obstacle than did other students. Our findings identify a wide range of student experiences associated with positive science fair outcomes that could be enhanced for all students but especially Black students. More involvement of scientists in helping science fair students would be particularly valuable.
Board # 125 : MAKER: Smart Lighting Module for Teaching High School Science and Engineering Students about Programmable Logic Controllers