Promoting STEM to Middle School Girls through Coding and Fashion

Abstract—Informal education approaches such as science camps have been used to promote interest in STEM fields for pre- college students. This paper presents the evaluation of outcomes of a computing outreach initiative targeting middle school aged girls from populations currently underrepresented in STEM. A fashion and retail themed code camp was offered free of charge through a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission and was assessed to be highly successful with respect to student and parent satisfaction. Assessment for changes in attitudes toward STEM and coding also showed positive changes.

Keywords—coding camps, STEM, middle school education, STEM education, workforce preparation, career preparation

I. INTRODUCTION

DesignHER Code Camps were created to intrigue middle school aged girls with technology focused career opportunities in the familiar and engaging world of retail and fashion. The retail and fashion industry was chosen to highlight because, while many middle school aged girls may be keenly interested in fashion and clothes, the researchers believe fewer would view fashion careers as being related to or requiring knowledge and study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The camps were envisioned as tuition-free, fun summer experiences with the purpose of drawing girls from populations underrepresented in STEM fields toward STEM preparation. The camp curriculum was developed to showcase coding and programming applications related to retail and fashion, fields to which, based on the authors’ experience, many female middle schoolers seem to be already drawn through interest and accessibility.

Technology is embedded in all aspects of the retail and fashion industry, from online ordering and marketing, to inventory control and human resource operations. Professionals in this field need to be knowledgeable in STEM applications as well as the retail and fashion field. Modern mechanisms of fashion and retail are information technology dependent and employment demands for technology workers to drive the industry’s operations are high. The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) online publication Stores, in their cover story “What’s in store for 2018?” reported the biggest impacts emerging for that year. Almost every impact presented was dependent on coding- driven technologies. Coding dependent impacts presented included augmented reality, artificial intelligence, voice user interface empowered by natural language processing, cybersecurity monitoring, and Internet of Things [1]. It was also reported in a NRF blog post that retail openings for computer science graduates numbered roughly 5000 in 2017, which would constitute the retail sector hiring 15% of all computer science graduates in that year should all the positions be filled [2]. The great need for STEM workers in retail and fashion supports the choice of the industry for the camp focus.

The University of Houston, aided through a grant from Texas Workforce Commission, provided DesignHER Code Camp experiences for a few more than 130 middle school aged girls during the summer of 2019. Each camp engaged students in hands-on coding and career experiences that provided challenging and innovative concepts in computational thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills, while fostering an interest in computer coding and programming. Workforce readiness and career preparation was encouraged by exposing the girls to careers with a focus on retail and fashion, which are typical areas of interest during the middle school years and are areas that require STEM skills. As designed by faculty at the University of Houston, the DesignHER Code Camp served two primary goals.

1. Goal: Increase the interest of middle school girls in coding and programming.
2. Goal: Provide hands-on experiences in summer camps that include challenging and innovative concepts and experiences in computational thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills, and simultaneously foster an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) related careers.

The purpose of this paper is to present the University of Houston’s experience in offering a fashion themed code camp. It outlines how such a camp can be conducted. In addition, evaluation results for impact on the participants are presented. The authors hope the paper suggests a model for future camp experiences that might be offered to promote STEM to pre- college students.

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Demand for STEM Skills

Dynamic growth of STEM related jobs continues to create demand for job-ready workers [3]. Skills for job-readiness include STEM knowledge as well as communication, critical thinking, and collaboration skills [4,5]. The need for STEM skills in the workplace spans all industries today. As industries turn to artificial intelligence and data science in support of decision-making processes, all remain or become industries in need of STEM workers, especially in areas related to computer and information science and coding. Employers across all industries struggle to find enough skilled workers in STEM fields [6], thus, attracting young women who are underrepresented in STEM work is important.

Seeking a solution to supply future demand for STEM workers, Fields recommended camps utilizing an informal science education approach as a means to increase enthusiasm and interest towards science education [7]. The suggestion is consistent with the position of the National Science Teachers Association that summer science camps can be valuable for promoting STEM to youth by emphasizing creativity and enrichment, developing intellectual curiosity and sharing it as modeled by appropriate and appealing camp mentors, and exploring science careers through interaction with role models from the professional community [8].

B. Benefits and Effects of Camps

Fields’ recommendation to use informal education approaches such as camps [7] is supported by research. For example, Foster and Shiel-Rolle found through a pilot study that low cost science camps are feasible solutions to bring relevant science focused information to students and that the STEM camps had positive impacts on science literacy and career goals related to science subjects [9]. Research reviewed revealed multiple and varied positive impacts of summer STEM camps.

Attitudinal changes in student participants was a positive outcome from some camp research. For example, Ouyang and Hayden examined the attitudes of middle school Hispanic students toward science and technology following a STEM camp for 7th and 8th graders, and found positive outcomes [10]. Fifth and six grade students benefited attitudinally in a study conducted by Bathgate, Schunn and Correnti [11]. Attitudinal factors showing improvement among participants included understanding the value of science (appreciation), excitement in learning about science (curiosity), recognition of the role they themselves can play in ‘doing’ science (identity), confidence in their own ability to do science (self-efficacy), developing sufficient interest in science to motivate learning it (motivation), and the ability to remain focused even when facing obstacles (persistence). Two hundred and fifty-two fifth grade and sixth grade students participated in the study, and a key finding was that students’ motivation is an important factor for camp success. Dalbotten et al. measured success from student participation in secondary level astronomy camps over four years [12]. The researchers measured seven factors: see, quantify, describe, tinker, grow, relate, and understand. They observed a significant amount of growth in a multi-factor attitudinal construct termed self-directedness for camp participants who attended consistently for four years. Studies such as these demonstrate that camp experiences can change student attitudes.

Results from a number of STEM camp studies focused more on content outcomes with respect to the questions (1) did the participants learn STEM concepts and (2) is the content viable for learning by younger students. A study already mentioned found improvements in science literacy concepts among participants [9].To address the need to increase student interest in computer engineering, Clark and Pais conducted a Scratch (programming) summer camp for elementary level children [13]. Small group activities were developed and used to teach programming with the block-based Scratch programming ‘language’. Camp teachers enthusiastically affirmed the possibility of teaching elementary children programming concepts through Scratch. Hammak, Ivey, Utley and High’s research concluded that students gained improved understanding about engineering subjects after the STEM camp they conducted [14].

Another aspect of the literature focused on elements and practices that were proven effective for camp success. Fields found that peer relations and peer interactions contributed toward a positive camp environment for an astronomy focused camp [7]. In addition, the researcher found that students felt empowered when they autonomously used the equipment and technology. Further, learning from peers and seeing and experiencing how to use learned concepts and knowledge in other contexts emerged as important factors for camp success. Collaboration between engineers and K12 teachers in building and delivering camp content was identified as an important success factor for science camps and this finding endorsed the importance of partnerships between teachers and engineers or other practitioners in designing and delivering camp content [14]. Ouyang & Hayden concluded that camp teachers were an important element of success, noting that “with proper support, science teachers can become advocates for both computing concepts and technology related careers” (p. 233) [15]. Research by Elam, Donham, and Solomon concluded that collaborative activities and interaction with career professionals was the most valuable to participants [16]. Another study by Yildirim and Türk captured some specific teacher perspectives about STEM camp success including the following observations [17].

• Camp assignments should have a real-life orientation.
• Camp teachers should be competent in the STEM content knowledge that is the focus of the camp.
• Camp teachers should demonstrate an understanding of pedagogical principles and practices, integration knowledge, and 21st century skill knowledge.
• Content must be age appropriate.
• Camp teachers must be able to establish positive relationships with the students.
• Time and classroom management skills are of high importance.

Some of the research indicated areas in need of further study. Fields concluded that further investigation is needed to understand the impact of a short-term science camp on youths’ long-term identification with and possible pursuit of a career in STEM [7].

III. CAMP DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The College of Technology at the University of Houston secured grant funding from a state agency to support offering a retail and fashion focused code camp. The use of fashion as a link to interest in STEM fields, while a novel approach, was also used by Ogle, Hyllegard, Rambo-Hernandez, and Park [18].

In partnership with the Houston Independent School District and charter schools in Houston lower income areas, the grant enabled provision of three week-long academic DesignHER Code Camps for girls in sixth through eighth grades, especially seeking to serve students from low-income families and minority students underrepresented in STEM fields, and including youth in foster care as well as students with disabilities.

Three consecutive weeks of camp for students entering grades 6 through 8 were conducted, with each week focused on girls in one of the three particular grade levels. Activities focused on coding and computational thinking related to fashion and retail. Among the vast array of areas requiring STEM skills, retail fashion careers that require coding and programming skills had the spotlight in support of increasing demand for information technology and computer science graduates in that industry [1,2]. The authors’ personal experience indicated that many middle school girls are interested in fashion and clothes, yet, fewer understand how the industry relates to STEM careers. Campers gained exposure to opportunities to develop and apply coding knowledge to careers related to something they already love.

Camp activities created to foster interest in STEM careers in retail included individualized coding activities, group activities with a fashion theme, casual interaction with women employed in STEM jobs, field trips to retail and fashion related venues, and interaction with camp counselors who were young women poised to enter the STEM workforce, some of whom were pursuing majors in retail, computer information systems, and computer science. Workforce readiness and career preparation were encouraged by exposing the students to careers within areas of interest during the middle school years and that require STEM skills.

A first-day activity for each camp week was a video that highlighted national award-winning STEM projects completed by youth. The purpose was to inspire campers to believe that they, too, can excel in STEM projects by seeing peer-group aged individuals who had done so.

For coding activity and instruction, hands-on experiences from Google sponsored CS First — Fashion and Design Curriculum [19] and from Hour of Code [20] were selected. DesignHER project investigators chose the Fashion and Design curriculum from CS First because (1) the content area was on target with the camp purpose and (2) a complete curriculum was provided that included video instruction, hands-on  activities, and even marketing materials. Further, the CS First material had been thoroughly tested and improved based on feedback from camps and classrooms nationwide (possibly, worldwide). The instructional staff field-tested the CS First curriculum in advance and found it very easy to follow and found that the assignments would engage middle school age girls. Hour of Code activities were selected to fill in other camp laboratory hours with hands-on activities based, usually, on apps built by supporters of the Hour of Code project to illustrate and reinforce a focused concept or construct related to coding and/or, more broadly, to computational thinking.

Camp staff tested and selected Hour of Code activities and incorporated these as needed to fill in hour-long time blocks between other activities. Each camp week focused on a different student grade-level, so more Hour of Code activities were planned (and needed) for rising eighth graders than sixth graders. Camp staff had outside prior knowledge of several online code teaching tools with a free level of use such as Codecademy (https://www.codecademy.com) and CodePen (https://codepen.io) that proved to be useful to supplement the planned coding activities as needed.

A number of planned activities took the campers outside of the computer lab to other areas of campus to show them some of college life. On-campus activities included in each week-long camp were a campus wide scavenger hunt, time spent with technology professors, and a 3D printing demonstration (to highlight broader STEM areas also poised to have an impact on retail [1,2]). The goal of these on-campus activities was to encourage campers to visualize their future selves as individuals pursuing higher education by attending college.

Group activities were planned in order to promote bonding among campers and between campers and camp counselors and teachers. While many of these activities were planned, a fashion show where student groups designed and created garments from toilet paper was a highlight.

Some activities each week focused on STEM and coding related careers and broadening the students’ ability to see themselves in a STEM or a coding related career. Women employed in STEM fields were recruited to serve as role models and they were scheduled to interact with campers during lunch sessions. In addition, two field trips focused on the information technology behind retail were scheduled each week where students interacted with professionals at their places of employment, which were retail locations of both Target and Buckle. Students observed retail use of digital devices used to control inventory, an online ordering system, and an employee scheduling system. Professionals spoke to the importance of these technologies to retailers and the need for workers who understand the use and the development of such technologies that depend heavily on the coding that underlies the function. Posters were created and used to highlight the contributions of women in STEM careers. These were used for a day of camp each week that was themed as “Women Who Work”.

In order to offer a successful camp that also met all organizational requirements for working with youth to assure their safety and privacy, much consideration had to be given to camp logistics during the semester prior to offering the camp. Consideration spanned the concern areas of safety and health, meals and snacks, safe and within-budget bus transportation to and from campus to two field trip locations each week, safe and within-budget bus transportation to and from the original partner schools to camp each day (which was deemed necessary for this effort since it targeted lower socio-economic populations who may be challenged by transportation need), faculty and staff hiring and assignment, campus physical arrangements on the UH campus such as computer labs with software needed for the activities, logins for the computers for the student guests, computer security with respect to online vulnerabilities for youth, and the processes for reaching out to the community to recruit campers, certify their eligibility, and enroll them in camp.

To promote the camps to the targeted demographic population, meetings were held with the principals of four original partner schools and one social services agency in the Third Ward area in Houston. The Third Ward area lies in close proximity to the University of Houston where the camp would be hosted, and it offers ample opportunity to serve students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields and traditionally underserved by developmental STEM camps. To encourage greater participation of girls in foster care, a social service agency was added to the school partners. Each partner school or agency recruited camp participants and distributed and collected applications from individuals.

As the original application due date approached, the recruitment and outreach effort expanded to include more schools in the Houston Independent School District. Outreach to these additional partners was designed to increase enrollment from the desired demographic; but transportation to and from camp would not be able to be provided for any girl attending from outside the Third Ward. In two cases, camp faculty were invited to parent meetings at public schools to discuss and promote the camps. The recruitment effort was successful and camp enrollment was closed at 132 campers. Additional qualified sixth and seventh grade student applicants were placed on wait lists for the first two camp weeks.

IV. CAMP ASSESSMENT AND RESULTS

The eligible population served consisted of female middle school students who completed the fifth grade by the first day of camp but who had not yet completed the eighth grade by the last day of camp. The population was divided into same-grade cohorts (rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders) with each week of camp serving a single grade-based cohort. Documentation for each participant regarding grade level completed was reviewed after the application deadline and verified prior to notification of student acceptance.

Program assessment was accomplished using several measurement instruments and techniques. These were pre- and post-camp student questionnaires, camper and parent written comments, and post-camp focus groups with camp staff and faculty. Camper pre- and post-camp data were collected via a 66-item questionnaire completed by the campers during the morning of the first camp day prior to any coding activities and mid-day of the last camp day. The survey instrument was adapted from the “Middle School Attitudes toward STEM” instrument developed and validated by a team of researchers with the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation [21].

Both camper and parent comments were abundant. Some comments were formally solicited and some were unsolicited. Unsolicited comments from parents were most often received in response to informational emails sent by the camp director to keep parents and families informed of the camp’s progress and next-day activities. Campers provided comments on an open- access physical poster available on site which was dedicated and made available to them for the specific purpose of providing feedback of any sort. Finally, all project staff, including the instructional staff and the principle investigator for the grant engaged in a focus group discussion at the conclusion of the project.

Pre-camp and post-camp assessment results provide evidence of the success of the DesignHER code camp project. The findings represent camper and parent perceptions of value attributed to and satisfaction with camp elements and activities.

Post-camp survey summary data are presented in Table 1. The data show that most campers felt they both learned from and enjoyed their DesignHER Code Camp experiences. In fact, by collapsing the “agree” and “strongly agree” response categories the following positive results are evident:

• 100% of 8th graders reported that they learned from the coding activities.
• Similarly, 94.8% (6th grade) and 95.6% (7th grade) of participants learned from the coding activities.
• 97.5% (6th grade), 93.3% (7th grade), and 95.2% (8th grade) of participants enjoyed the camp experience.
• 89.8% (6th grade), 88.9% (7th grade), and 80% (8th grade) of participants learned from the field trips.
• 87.2% (6th grade), 88.9% (7th grade), and 85% (8th grade) of participants learned from the group activities.
• 89.7% (6th grade), 93.4% (7th grade), and 82.5% (8th grade) of participants learned from meeting the experts (role model professional women employed in STEM).

Table 1. Response Distribution (%) by Camp Experience Item and Grade Level

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The evidence shows that the DesignHER Code Camp was highly successful in providing an enjoyable and productive learning experience for the girls.

Post-camp and pre-camp assessment data show attitudinal positions of camp participants with respect to the activity of coding and the importance of coding in the workplace. The collected data and the analysis reveals a strictly positive change in attitudinal position with respect to the activity of coding for the majority of camp participants. For example, post-camp and pre-camp assessment data indicate that the girls feel sure of themselves when doing coding. At the conclusion of each camp week, campers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I am sure of myself when I do coding.” The expression of agreement with the statement was at the levels of 87% (6th grade), 77% (7th grade), and 73% (8th grade). These numbers represent a successful impact by the DesignHER camp to the extent that they are positive changes across grade levels in the range of 8% to 44% over pre-camp assessment based on the same item.

Similarly, pre- and post-camp assessment data showing attitudinal positions of camp participants with respect to consideration of coding as a career and its importance in the workplace showed similar strictly positive changes across grade levels. Notably, a substantial number of the campers reported that they would consider a career in coding. Camp participants agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I would consider a career in coding” at the rates of 41% of 6th graders, 53% of 7th graders, and 48% of 8th graders. The post-camp assessment summary of responses to the item represents a positive change in the range of from 15% to 18% for attitudinal position on this construct.

For all of the statements in Table 2, student responses indicated positive change in post- over pre-camp survey responses with respect to confidence in coding ability, interest in coding, and awareness of career connection to coding.

Table 2. Response Distribution (%) by Item/Combined Grade Levels

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Both unsolicited and solicited comments regarding the camp experience were collected and compiled. Unsolicited, parents sent email messages to the camp director to share the camp success stories their girls were sharing at home. Much like the mother who said, “My daughter had never coded before, and now she wants a career in coding”, family comments focused on coding and general growth as well as specific experiences of the camps. The success stories of the camps are shared in the words of the campers and their families in Table 3 Parent Comments – Unsolicited and Table 4 Student Comments – Solicited.

Table 3 – Parent Comments – Unsolicited

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Tabe 4. Student Comments – Solicited

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At the conclusion of the three camp weeks the faculty and staff participated in a focus group session to evaluate camp strengths and weaknesses. The focus group assessment yielded overwhelmingly positive results. The DesignHER camp faculty and staff found the positive, fast-paced, productive environments of the camps to be energizing and very rewarding.

Items reported as most positive by the faculty and staff included:

• Individual interactions – among campers, mentors, and staff
• Exposure to a variety of careers – STEM and others
• Connections between coding and fashion and retail as well as other careers
• Combination of coding and retailing
• Connections to parents via the director’s emails and campers’ comments
• Making new friends with campers from other schools
• No division among girls
• Flexibility with planning – a “can do” attitude
• Field trips – both leaders and campers learned that coding is pervasive across industries, including the retailers they visited. Retail coding applications became a “stepping-stone” to seeing coding uses in other fields.

Items reported as needing improvement or deletion by the faculty and staff included:

• Registration process – an electronic registration process was discussed as desirable.
• Application and promotion materials need to be in Spanish as well as English.
• Bus transportation from partner schools to and from campus for camp (not for field trips) was discussed as not critical.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, the results of the pre- and post-camp assessments, the summarization and analysis of camper and parent comments, and the feedback from the post-camp staff and faculty focus group collectively illustrate the substantial success of the DesignHER Code Camp in providing fun developmental learning experiences for the group of middle school girls served.

Activities supported as beneficial to campers were numerous and included field trips to Target and Buckle to see behind-the-scenes technology aspects of retail, a UH campus scavenger hunt, hands-on coding exercises and interactive games, interaction between campers and professional women employed in STEM fields, and the safe camp environment that eliminated competition and comparison of individuals. Benefits accrued to the campers included the girls acquiring an expanded view of STEM careers and in their future role in this field. There were indications that the girls became more self-confident in their coding abilities. Additionally, the girls engaged in an on-campus, university readiness experience to encourage education beyond middle and high school.

Four camp areas presented more challenges than anticipated. One was the enrollment process which proved much more time consuming than expected. More time was required to communicate with school and agency personnel; to respond to questions from schools, agencies, and parents; to distribute and collect applications; to review and process applications; and to communicate with parents regarding incomplete information and individual needs. Another challenge was found in strict organizational and state protocols for contracting for goods and services in support of camp activities. A third problem arose from the success of recruiting campers underrepresented in STEM which included Hispanic students. The need for Spanish language translation was not anticipated. The camps were conducted in English without issue, but many parents spoke only Spanish. Translation was needed for flyers, posters, application materials, and emailed communications. The fourth major challenge was the unexpected fluidity of camp enrollment prior to the first day of camp. A significant number of campers declined the opportunity to attend after accepted for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, wait listed students were admitted and filled those openings.

Early success stories centered on the strong enthusiasm for the DesignHER Code Camps among the camp school and agency partners. One school created a “reveal” event to notify their students of the camp opportunity. An evening was chosen, the principal selected students she knew could benefit and who would likely be honored by inclusion, printed invitations were given to the girls and their parents, the room was decorated with balloons denoting a special event, refreshments were served, and the PI and Camp Director were invited to “reveal” the camp opportunities. It was great promotional event for all who attended. Further,  the University of Houston showed enthusiasm for the DesignHER Code Camps by highlighting the camps in official publications. Retailers were eager to support the camps because of their focus on retail technology and beyond. Commercial retail sponsorship was also exceptional.

The experience shared here illustrates a  successful summer camp designed to increase interest in STEM and STEM careers for middle school girls, especially in the area of coding. It can serve as an example for educators seeking means to encourage and extend interest in STEM skills and careers among various populations.

REFERENCES

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[13] J. Clark, M.P. Rogers, C. Spradling, and J. Pais. “What, no canoes? Lessons learned while hosting a scratch summer camp,” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 28(5), 2013, pp. 204-210.

[14] R. Hammack, T.A. Ivey, J. Utley, and K.A. High. “Effect of an Engineering Camp on Students’ Perceptions of Engineering and Technology,” Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER): Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 2, 2015. https://doi.org/10.7771/2157- 9288.1102

[15] Y. Ouyang and K. Hayden. “A technology infused science summer camp to prepare student leaders in 8th grade classrooms,” Proceedings of the 41st ACM technical symposium on Computer science education, Mar 2010, pp. 229-233.

[16] M.E. Elam, B.L. Donham, and S.R. Solomon. “An Engineering Summer Program for Underrepresented Students from Rural School Districts,” Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research, 13(2), 2012, pp. 35-44.

[17] B. Yildirim and C. Türk. “Opinions of Secondary School Science and Mathematics Teachers on STEM Education,” World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 10(1), 2018, pp. 52-60.

[18] J.P. Ogle, K.H. Hyllegard, K. Rambo-Hernandez, and J. Park. “Building Middle School Girls’ Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, and Interest in Math and Science Through the Integration of Fashion and STEM,” Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 109(4), 2017, pp. 33-40.

[19] CS First Fashion and Design Curriculum. See https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/c/cs-first/en/fashion-and–design/overview.html.

[20] Hour of Code Activities. See https://hourofcode.com/us.

[21] Middle/High School Student Attitudes toward STEM Survey, Wiliam and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Raleigh, NC, 2012. See https://www.fi.ncsu.edu/.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION