Increasing diversity in engineering: A K-6 summer outreach program for Dyslexic children

Abstract

It has long been recognized that the advancement of engineering and science requires the participation and contributions of a diverse group of well-trained professionals. Outreach activities designed to increase diversity often focus on drawing more women and minorities to these fields. Far fewer interventions have been developed with the purpose of attracting students with disabilities to these fields. This paper describes a pilot implementation of a summer intervention in engineering and science that was completed in a kindergarten through sixth grade camp: The Rocky Mountain Camp for Dyslexic Kids. All participating students were diagnosed with dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies (borderline dyslexia). Forty-two students attended this five-week camp, with the primary purpose of improving their reading skills. The camp consisted of a four-hour morning segment in which the students received one-on-one reading instruction, one-on-one reading oral practice, writing instruction and a hands-on science or art unit. The science units were designed to use active learning techniques, which are known to be effective across various subpopulations including children with disabilities. This paper addresses the reason for targeting dyslexic students for a science and engineering intervention and the design, development and implementation of this one-week science unit in 2012. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.