The project is guided by three goals: (1) iteratively design a set of concrete and interactive MR activities addressing key cybersecurity concepts (e.g., steganography, phishing, and firewalls) with teacher and student input throughout the design process; (2) increase student knowledge of key cybersecurity concepts, understanding of the importance of cybersecurity, and interest in cybersecurity careers; and (3) produce a set of design principles for MR activities in computing.

This project is a synthesis study to investigate the effectiveness of informal STEM and ICT programs to maximize impact and broaden participation of youth participants in STEM pathways. We focus on two research questions: (1) How and to what extent do informal, out-of-school time (OST) STEM and ICT learning experiences impact K-12 participants’ awareness, interest, and engagement in STEM majors and STEM careers?

Digital Storytelling with children in urban emergent communities, this project aims to create protocols that children can use to document, share, and showcase the rich mathematical knowledge that exists in their own families and communities.

This project is a multiyear study of the impact of an enrichment program that the US National Science Foundation (NSF) managed in the 1990s. The Young Scholars Program (YSP) involved around 18,000 7th–12th grade students and 600 separate grants between 1989 and 1996. The purpose of YSP was to introduce high-achieving middle and secondary school students to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields to encourage their entry into those fields and thus increase the size and quality of the nation’s STEM workforce.

We will develop a unique community-based ecosystem for teaching high school students about how the intersection between rapidly developing technologies such as data science and machine learning impact critical healthcare decisions. Students will learn and apply technological skills valued for high-paying jobs within our workforce and proving the importance of diversity.

The major objectives of the UNLV ITEST project are to: 1) enhance secondary female students’ academic self-concept in computing and engineering fields through a constructivist learning environment; 2) enhance secondary female students’ knowledge, skills, and interests in these fields; 3) increase the number of secondary female students’ participation in STEM competitions; 4) investigate the factors that influence female students’ career choices in STEM/ICT fields.

BOAST is an out-of-school time online engineering program to support Baltimore City high school students develop concrete goals of becoming engineers by supporting foundational math skills and math self-efficacy through hands-on design and application.

The Role Models in Elementary Engineering Education has been studying the interactions between elementary students and outreach ambassadors (undergraduate engineering students) in informal outreach setting.  The project used surveys, interviews and classroom video recordings to expand our understandings about how engineering outreach is enacted and how students' perceive that experience.  The findings to date have expanded knowledge about what matters to students and the role they see ambassadors filling.  The project has produced new survey instruments as well as tools that

The goal of this project is to investigate best ways to prepare the youth to confront future science and engineering problems. A team of educational researchers, science teachers, and scientists investigate the design of educational digital environments to promote engagement, interest, and learning in computation and science. Middle school aged learners are presented with science problems inspired by real-world challenges that are hard to solve and particularly suited to computational solutions with creative thinking skills.

The project engages high school students in exploring science-based climate scenarios and co-creating an interactive digital narrative. Project research investigates outcomes related to the project goal to improve STEM career aspirations among Latinx teens.