Assessing the effectiveness of Saturday Academies in an engineering outreach program

Women in Applied Sciences and Engineering (WISE) Investments is an innovative program that introduces middle school and high school girls to the exciting world of engineering and technology. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, WISE Investments seeks to provide an intervention at both the middle school and high school levels by showing that engineering has real world applications; by demonstrating the problem-solving approach of engineers; by correcting misperceptions; and by providing positive engineering information and role models. Female students in grades 6 through 12 were recruited to commit to a one year program where they enrolled in eight Saturday Academies held once each month during the 1999-2000 school year. They were exposed to engineering through industry tours, mentoring sessions with college female engineering students, and hands-on projects from eight disciplines of engineering. The students were exposed to basic concepts and skills that illustrated engineering as meeting a human need to solve human problems.