Future Uniform Technologies Utilizing Real-world Experiences (FUTURE)
Abstract
Research Problem and Objectives: The importance of STEM advances is more critical now than ever before as the global pace of innovat,ions has accelerated and the STEM job market, especially that within the Department of Defense (DoD), offers incredible future poten,tial. Demand for a STEM workforce continues to outpace the supply of well-trained workers (BLS, 2014; OII, 2016) and it is estimated, that STEM jobs will grow to more than 8 million by 2028 (Fayer et al., 2017). Additionally, the gender an,EM fields are stark. This proposal, ?Future Uniform Technologies Utilizing Real-World Experiences (FUTURE),? will address these dema,nd and disparity issues by developing a curriculum in which middle school students design solutions for the future while gaining cru,cial skills that are known to support interest and success in STEM. This exploratory pilot project will create a new educational exp,erience for Philadelphia students that, once validated, could be delivered to students across the US. Directly addressing the Depart,ment of Navy (DON) STEM workforce need and explicit focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), First Hand?s program population, is comprised primarily of Black and Hispanic students who are (1) chronically underrepresented in STEM and (2) from low-income comm,unities. The key objectives of the FUTURE project are to increase students? STEM engagement and STEM career interests through a nava,l-relevant curriculum focused on e-textiles and wearable technologies. Technical Approaches: The proposed curriculum will be develop,ed and run by the First Hand program, a free out-of school time (OST) STEM youth initiative of the University City Science Center (U,CSC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Philadelphia. Inspired by increasingly present wearable technologies (e.g., Fitbit), students w,ill identify a societal need that wearables or e-textiles could address, and gain the skills necessary to conceptualize and prototyp,e a solution and naval subject-matter experts (SMEs) will serve as mentors to create a truly naval relevant curriculum. More specifi,cally, over a 12-week (24 hour) period, students will learn to code and embed sensors (e.g., proximity, temperature) into textiles a,nd apply this knowledge to prototype their own wearable technology. We aim to directly serve at least 196 8th grade students from so,me of Philadelphia?s most underserved public schools.-Anticipated Outcome: We hypothesize that through participation in the FUTURE c,urriculum, students will display an increased interest in naval STEM careers along with increases in domains linked to interest and, success in STEM careers. Once developed, this curriculum will be viable for future replication and scaling at other Navy affiliated, STEM programs and sites. Finally, the proposed mentorship model will allow students to develop potentially life-long relationships, with their Department of Navy mentors, while the mentors themselves gain comfort and confidence engaging with youth. The UCSC team, will continue to work closely with naval partners to ensure that the proposed milestones and outcomes of this proposal benefit the, student participants while meeting the overarching goal of establishing and maintaining pathways into the wide array of naval STEM, workforce opportunities ? especially for groups historically underrepresented in STEM.-Impact on Department of Defense Capabilities,: The student skills, creative technological applications, and-lasting mentor-mentee relationships developed through the FUTURE proj,ipeline to maintain technological superiority within the DoD STEM workforce.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 08, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212759
Entities
People
- Saul Behar
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University City Science Center