Using Drones to Attract K-12 Students Towards Construction: A Pilot Study of Middle School Students attitudes, Perceptions, and Interests
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abstract
Drones continue to support the growth of the construction industry; however, activities that use drones for K-12 education are still minimal and exploratory. Particularly, no studies have explored the use of drone technologies to attract students towards construction disciplines. The contribution of this study centers on better understanding how drones can be relied upon to create interest and motivation in K-12 students by showcasing the construction domain to the next generation of the workforce. This study investigated the attitudes and interests towards construction of eleven middle school students enrolled in a Summer Youth Camp at the Michigan Technological University. During this study, a construction-centric drone education activity was designed and implemented during a 3-hour long session within a large lab space. Students completed an adapted version of the S-STEM Survey before and after participating in the activity. Although differences in the survey scores for attitudes towards STEM subjects and interests in construction careers were noticed, no significant changes were observed by the educational activity. Ultimately, this study recommends the use of drones in K-12 activities and purposes exploring how students can be attracted to the construction disciplines as future research.
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Proceedings of 59th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference
