Recruiting via Creation of STEM Solutions to Societal Problems

The literature is replete with studies that share many reasons why students, particularly women and minorities, choose specific fields of study. Among the top of these reasons is a desire to help people/society to make a (positive) difference in the world. The Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists (TECHFIT) project uses this approach to teach teams of middle school teachers how a combination of STEM skills can enable them to envision, design, and implement technology-supported fitness games to increase physical activity. The teachers, in turn, manage and deliver an afterschool program at their schools to teach their students how to combine STEM skills and use supplied technology to innovate exergames. The paper and presentation will share details about the content of the TECHFIT program as well as share a sampling of the exergames created by teacher teams and student teams. Anecdotal feedback that describes TECHFIT’s impact on both groups will be shared as well.