Enhancing access and fostering Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) using Civil Engineering materials applications for special learning disabilities middle school students

For the past fifteen years, the United States has been faced with a steady decline in the number of students who are interested in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). According to the study [1] of the four million high school sophomores in 1977, only 750,000 indicated an interest in science and engineering. This number further declined to 340,000 college freshmen who declared science or engineering as a major in 1980, and only 206,000 baccalaureate science and engineering degrees were awarded in 1984. Of these, only 46,000 received Master degrees in 1986 and approximately 9,700 Ph.D. degrees were granted. The picture is even bleaker for new college entrants in the next millennium. To increase the pool of students interested in STEM careers, it is important to develop programs capable of tackling disparities in STEM education and to provide a means of alleviating these problems. The purpose of this paper is to describe, summarize the findings and assess the first year summer and Saturday academic year STEM workshop programs for special learning disabilities (SLD) and typical middle school students. Exciting hands-on activities based on the Society of Automotive Engineers\´ "A World in Motion", smart balloon, civil materials, and information communication technology are designed to spark and capture the interests of participants in the STEM fields. In this paper the Civil Engineering curricula and hands-on activities presented at the workshops will illustrate aspects of inclusive technology and engineering classroom education that will help the students succeed. Data obtained from the participants and their parents via various surveys were used in the analysis.