Pathway to an Engineering Mindset

STEM and Engineering programs, activities, and curricula fall into a set of categories that represent an education pathway for students to use as they build their engineering skills and mindset. This sequence does not reflect a linear progression of knowledge and skills. Our intent is not to recommend that students do engineering activities before participating in an engineering club or competition. This is more of a framework to think about how students might develop their skills and provide "hand-off" points between categories. 

1. Engineering Activities...

​...are short, hands-on experiences conducted at home or included as part of an afterschool program. They introduce kids to the creative nature of engineering and build confidence in their ability to come up with novel solutions and construct technologies. 

2. Engineering Units...

​​...are conducted as part of afterschool programs. These extended, project-based units devote more time to developing engineering mindsets. They set a meaningful context for the problem, and present engineering as a multi-step process that includes various phases, such as conducting background research, brainstorming ideas, building technologies, and testing/evaluating solutions. 

3. Afterschool Engineering Clubs
Devoted exclusively to engineering, these clubs allow kids to form a community and encourage the engineering mindset by working in teams, persisting through failure, and creating a culture of innovation. 

4. Club-based Engineering Competition Teams 
These engineering clubs meet regularly under the supervision of a leader or instructor who helps prepare the club for some kind of team competition. In the club meetings, kids work together to complete a specific project that will be submitted for judging. 

5. Summer Engineering Camps 

​Multi-day immersion allows for powerful opportunities for kids to build relationships with peers and mentors and to develop science and engineering practices and habits of mind. Students see their own skills developing and begin to self-identify as engineers. 

6. Engineering Competitions 

​Many companies, governmental agencies, and nonprofits have created competitions to drive engagement in STEM. Some of these initiatives are national in scale, with substantial prizes for students. Although students may work in groups to complete their projects, membership in a club is not required. 

7. Mentoring Opportunities...
...connect kids with role models through work with local engineering professionals. Students build their engineering mindset through experience in academic, industrial, or governmental workplaces. In addition, students receive guidance on their career and personal devleopment. 

Additional Resources

Hawai‘i Afterschool Alliance
University of Hawai‘i
1776 University Avenue, ​WA1-102
Honolulu, HI 96822
808-956-6515