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Science & Technology MESA Day

February 23, 2013

Project ASCENCION

Oxnard College’s Title V STEM grant

Evaluation Report – 7/17/2013

Submitted to

Dr. Cynthia Herrera

Title V STEM Director, Project ASCENCION

Prepared by

Myley Dang

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Project “ASCENSION” Oxnard College, in cooperation with California State University

Channel Islands (CSUCI), University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), Oxnard School

District (OSD), and Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) set as one of its goals to

continue to establish an early readiness awareness framework for STEM degrees among

Hispanic students.

Under Project “ASCENSION,” a one-day event took place at the University of California, Santa

Barbara (UCSB), called Science and Technology MESA Day (S&T MESA Day). This event

served middle school and high school students and their parents in the Oxnard School District

and Oxnard Union High School District. Aiming to increase students’ interest and motivation in

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, the event exposed

students to science through project-based STEM activities, workshops, and competitions.

During these project-based activities, workshops, and competitions, students experienced aspects

of the design process, including developing initial project designs, testing them using problem

solving and critical thinking, and subsequently revising their initial project designs—all of which

are skills desired in STEM disciplines. Also, students learned about preparation for attendance at

4-year colleges and universities; in particular, how to apply for institutions of higher education

and for financial aid.

Concentrating on both event implementation and improvement, the S&T MESA Day was

evaluated using surveys. Student and staff and volunteer survey responses were assessed in this

report. Results indicated that the students, staff, and volunteers tended to respond favorably to

all components of the event. Also, the students, staff, and volunteers made some comments on

how to improve the event, including having more workshops and better organization.

Additionally, the evaluator provided other recommendations on how to improve the

implementation of the event, data collection, and reporting for future events and programs.

Executive Summary

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Under Oxnard College’s Title V STEM grant (“Project ASCENCION”), a one-day STEM and

college readiness event was held at UCSB on February 23, 2013. Prior to participating in S&T

MESA Day, students were already affiliated with the MESA program. The S&T MESA Day is

one of many events hosted by the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA)

Program. MESA’s mission statement is as follows: “To create opportunities for educationally

disadvantaged students, especially those from groups with low participation rates in college, to

prepare for and enter professions requiring degrees in engineering and other mathematics-based

scientific fields.” Through their MESA advisors, students and their parents were offered the

opportunity of participating in the S&T MESA Day.

PARTICIPANTS

Students from participating Oxnard schools attended the S&T MESA Day. Students from the

following middle schools attended: Frank Intermediate School, Fremont Intermediate School,

Haydock Intermediate School. Students from the following high schools also attended S&T

MESA Day: Channel Islands High School, Hueneme High School, Oxnard High School, and

Pacifica High School. Some parents of these students also attended the S&T MESA Day.

EVENT DESCRIPTION

EVENT MISSION

S&T MESA Day brought underrepresented, first-generation college-bound students and their

families to UCSB for a day full of hands-on STEM activities, workshops, and competitions that

aimed to generate interest in STEM fields. Students were also exposed to speakers and college

preparation workshops that emphasized the importance of going to college and attaining a

college degree.

Background

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EVENT GOALS

Centered at UCSB, the S&T MESA Day was facilitated by the MESA Assistant Director, Phyllis

Brady. This event intended to achieve the following three goals:

1. Students experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through project-

based workshops, activities, and competitions.

2. Students and parents learn about applying for college and for financial aid.

3. Students increase their interest in and motivation to learn more about STEM topics and

higher education.

STEM WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES

STEM workshops followed the engineering design process and the learning of the students was

fostered by their ability to test and revise their initial project designs. The S&T MESA Day

included the following STEM workshops and activities:

1. Build Your Own Battery-Powered Car! 10. Marshmallow Catapults

2. Build Your Own Speaker 11. Marine REEF Tour

3. Build a Solar Powered Car 12. Planet Hunting

4. How to Get Into College 13. Reaction in a Bag

5. Do you have Night Vision? 14. Space Slime

6. Design your own Aircraft! 15. Scratch Programming

7. Electric Motor 16. Tinfoil Boats

8. Household Chemistry 17. UCSB Research Lab Tours

9. Kelp Beads

The workshops are described in further detail in the program in Appendix A.

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MESA COMPETITIONS

Throughout the academic year, students work on STEM projects and receive guidance from their

MESA. Students bring their final projects to compete at S&T MESA Day. The competitions

were divided among middle schools and high schools. The MESA competitions held at the S&T

MESA Day included the following:

Middle School Competitions:

High School Competitions:

Prosthetic Arm Oral Presentations Prosthetic Arm Oral Presentations

Prosthetic Arm Academic Display Prosthetic Arm Academic Display

Prosthetic Arm Performance Tasks Prosthetic Arm Performance Tasks

Prosthetic Arm Testing Prosthetic Arm Testing (Completion)

Mousetrap Car - Distance Mousetrap Car Accuracy

Stick Together (Bridge Testing) Civil Structures (Bridge Testing)

Wright Stuff Glider Wright Stuff Glider

EggXpress Drop EggXpress Drop

Speak Up Speak Easy

Model Science - The Eye Model Science - Human Brain

Robotics Challenge: Sumo Robotics Challenge

Robotics Challenge: Tug-o-War

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PROTOCOL

This evaluation will provide information to help to improve this event in future years. Thus, this

evaluation is a formative process evaluation – formative in the sense that the evaluation is being

conducted for the purpose of program improvement and process in the sense that the evaluation

will examine the event’s implementation, but not the effectiveness of the event.

This evaluation measures the event’s implementation through the administration of surveys to

staff, volunteers, and middle school and high school students involved in the MESA program.

The surveys include both closed-ended (i.e., Likert-scale items, multiple choice) and open-ended

response questions and statements. Results from the student and staff and volunteer surveys will

suggest ways in which the event can be subsequently improved in the future, and will offer

evidence of what went well, what did not go well, and reasons behind the perceived successes

and shortcomings of the event. A descriptive analysis of the Likert-scale items will disclose

participants’ overall impressions of the event and specific views towards different components of

the event, as well as their feelings of learning, attitudinal, and anticipated behavioral changes due

to event participation. Open-ended questions and statements elicit responses that can be used for

both implementation and event improvement.

Student, staff, and volunteer responses are analyzed in this report. The survey instruments

administered to the students and staff and volunteers are found in Appendices B and C,

respectively. In addition, a Spanish version of the student survey was distributed during the S&T

MESA Day; however, none of these surveys were returned.

All surveys were in paper form and were completed on the day of the event. Student surveys

were administered on the bus ride home to their schools. MESA advisors and teachers (i.e., staff)

also filled out the staff and volunteer surveys on the bus ride home. University student helpers

(i.e., volunteers) were asked to fill out the staff and volunteer surveys when they signed out of

their volunteering shift.

Evaluation

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ANALYSES AND RESULTS

The following protocol was used in conducting the analyses of both the Student Survey and Staff

and Volunteer Survey:

1. Multiple responses where there is only one required response were coded as “Multiple

Responses”. These responses were not examined in detail as it suggests that these items

were confusing to the students, staff, and volunteers, and therefore their validity should

be questionable. For example, on the student surveys, there is a question asking the level

of English proficiency, with the following responses: (1) English Learner, (2) Fluent

English Proficient, (3) Decline to State/ Don’t Know. If a student marked more than one

response, then that response was coded as “Multiple Responses.”

2. Multiple responses marked on the Likert-scale items were averaged. For instance, if a

respondent marked a 3 and 4 on a Likert-scale item, their response was coded as 3.5.

3. Blank items were removed from the data set and these observations were coded as

missing.

4. Not applicable (N/A) responses were also not analyzed, since the purpose of this

evaluation is to determine students’ perceptions of the event in order to evaluate its

implementation and propose improvements for the future.

STUDENT SURVEYS: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

There were 301 students who completed the survey. Students were asked to report their grade

level, gender, race/ethnicity, English proficiency, and generation status (i.e., first-generation or

second-generation college-bound student). Students had the option to respond “Other” or

“Decline to State/ Don’t Know” if they did not feel inclined to respond to the question.

The demographics of students are listed below in Tables 1 and 2. As displayed in Table 1, the

majority of students who attended the S&T MESA Day were Hispanics, which accounted for

approximately 69% of the student participants. This is important to note since one of the goals of

Project “ASCENSION” is to increase the number of Hispanic students going into STEM fields.

There were about 14% Asian students, 7% with two or more races, and about 4% of students

who declined to state or did not know their race/ethnicity.

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Table 1

Race/Ethnicity of Student Participants

Race/Ethnicity Count Percent

American-Indian/Alaska Native 2 0.7%

Asian 43 14.3%

Black or African American 2 0.7%

Hispanic 208 69.1%

White 5 1.7%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 2 0.7%

Other 6 2.0%

Decline to State/Don't Know 11 3.7%

Two or More Races 20 6.6%

Missing 2 0.7%

Total 301 100.0%

As shown in Table 2, there were more male students than female students that attended the S&T

MESA Day, with 52% males and 45% females, which can be seen in Table 2. Students who did

not fill in a response were coded as “Missing”. There were 2% of students who marked “Other”

and less than 1% who marked “Decline to State/Don’t Know.”

Table 2

Gender of Student Participants

Gender Count Percentage

Male 157 52.2%

Female 136 45.2%

Other 3 1.0%


Missing 3 1.0%

Total 301 100.0%

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Students were also asked to report their grade level, whether they were in grades K-8, 9-11 or 12.

The breakdown of students by grade level is presented in Table 3, where 38% of students were

from middle schools and approximately 60% of students were from high schools. Students who

did not fill in a response were coded as “Missing”.

Table 3

Grade Level of Student Participants

Grade Level Count Percent

Grades K-8 115 38.2%

Grades 9-11 110 36.5%

Grade 12 70 23.3%

Missing 6 2.0%

Total 301 100.0%

Students were also asked to indicate their level of English proficiency. Table 4 shows that there

were about 80% of Fluent English Proficient (FEP) students, 10% English Learners (EL), and

9% of students who declined to state or did not know. This question required one response. Thus,

students who marked multiple responses were coded as “Multiple Responses.”

Table 4

English Proficiency Level of Student Participants

English Proficiency Level Count Percent

English Learner 30 10.0%

Fluent English Proficient 240 79.7%


Multiple Responses 1 0.3%

Missing 4 1.3%

Total 301 100.0%

High school senior students were asked about their plans after high school. The results of this

response are illustrated in Table 5. Among the 70 high school seniors surveyed, 69 students

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responded to this question. Students who marked both “I have applied to a 4-year college or

university” and “I have been accepted to a 4-year college or university” were coded as being

accepted to a 4-year college or university, since the latter implies the former. Students who

marked more than these two responses for this question were coded as “Multiple Responses.”

There were about 21% of students who applied to a four-year college or university and 54% of

students who have been accepted to a four-year college or university. There were about 16% of

student participants who plan to enroll in a community college when they graduate from high

school. Only one student indicated that they do not plan on going to college after high school.

Table 5

Senior Plans after High School

Senior Plans Count Percent

I plan to enroll in Community College 11 15.7%

I have applied to a 4-year college or university 15 21.4%

I have been accepted to a 4-year college or university 38 54.3%

I do not plan on going to college after high school 1 1.4%


Missing 1 1.4%

Total 70 100.0%

Students were also asked about their generation status. Table 6 presents the results of the

students’ generation status. There were about 48% of students who are first-generation college

bound students and 30% are second-generation college bound students. It is unclear why there

are second-generation college bound students, given that one of the enrollment requirements of

MESA is to be a first-generation college bound student. Students who marked multiple responses

were coded as “Multiple Responses.”

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Table 6

Generation Status of Student Participants

Generation Status Count Percent

First generation 144 47.8%

Second generation 91 30.2%



Missing 30 10.0%

Total 301 100.0%

The following section will describe the students’ event perceptions using Likert-scale items.

EVENT PERCEPTIONS: LIKERT-SCALE ITEM RESPONSES FROM STUDENT SURVEY

Using surveys, students were asked to report their attitudes and perceptions toward several

components of the S&T MESA Day, including the organization of the event overall, workshops

(both STEM and college readiness), activities, transit between the workshops, visiting a college

campus, and time with college staff and volunteers.

In addition, students self-reported their anticipated attitudinal and behavioral changes resulting

from participation in the event. For instance, they reported the degree in which the event

increased their interest and awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

(STEM) fields and careers. Students also self-reported the degree in which the event influenced

their academic planning and future plans.

There were 17 items analyzed on a 1-5 Likert scale, with a response of 1 indicating that the

student strongly disagreed with the statement and a response of 5 signifying that the student

strongly agreed with the statement. Also, students had the option to respond not applicable

(N/A) to these statements.

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RESULTS

The survey items were grouped under the following three categories: Overall Program, Students’

Academic Planning, and Students’ Future Plans. These results are displayed in Tables 7, 8, and

9, respectively. Please see Appendix B for the complete Likert-scale statements. N represents

the number of observations (i.e., the number of responses meeting the inclusion criteria - see

protocol above on page 7). Minimum and maximum are the lowest and highest scores,

respectively. The mean is the average of all included responses and the standard deviation shows

the variation in the data.

Table 7 displays the items describing the overall program, where the mean of all of the items

except for one – “It was easy to get to and from the different workshops” - was higher than four.

These findings suggest that students had very positive views of the S&T MESA Day. The

descriptive analyses of the Likert-scale statements indicated that students perceived the S&T

MESA Day was well organized overall and that they enjoyed the activities, workshops, and

visiting a college campus. Also, the findings illustrate that students saw the value of the activities

and workshops and found the information to be helpful. The results also suggest that students

perceived the event increased their interest and awareness of STEM fields and careers. The only

item with a mean below a four was the ease of getting to and from the different workshops.

Some students expressed their perceptions on this item in further detail in the open-ended

comments, where they described their favorite part of the day and ways to improve the event. An

analysis of these open-ended comments will be discussed in the following section.

Table 8 displays the items describing students’ academic planning, where the mean of only one

item was higher than four. This suggests that students agreed they were introduced to the

different STEM majors in college (i.e., the item with a mean above a 4). Three of the four items

had a mean that was less than four, implying that students were not as aware of the A-G course

requirements, how to apply to college and the types of classes required in college. Some possible

explanations for these results may be that these students did not attend the college readiness

workshops or did not interact with college student volunteers to ask about them about college.

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Table 7

Descriptive Statistics for Overall Program

Items Describing the Overall Program N Min Max Mean SD

This S&T MESA Day overall was well organized. 297 1 5 4.14 0.83

This S&T MESA Day made me more interested in math,

engineering, and/or science.

298 1 5 4.04 0.91

This S&T MESA Day made me more aware of math,

engineering, and/or science subjects and careers.

291 1 5 4.07 0.86

It was easy to get to and from the different workshops. 290 1 5 3.93 0.97

The workshops gave me information that is helpful. 290 1 5 4.01 0.92

The activities gave me information that is helpful. 292 1 5 4.00 0.89

I enjoyed the activities included in the S&T MESA Day. 296 1 5 4.34 0.82

I enjoyed visiting a college campus. 294 1 5 4.48 0.72

Table 8

Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Academic Planning

Items Describing Students’ Academic Planning N Min Max Mean SD

This S&T MESA Day made me more aware of the A-G

course requirements for CSU/UC eligibility.

283 1 5 3.43 1.08

This S&T MESA Day helped me understand how to apply

to college.

286 1 5 3.45 1.08

This S&T MESA Day introduced me to what kinds of

classes are required in college.

283 1 5 3.59 1.06

This S&T MESA Day introduced me to different science,

technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and

majors that I could study in college.

291 1 5 4.02 0.94

Table 9 displays the items describing students’ future plans, where the mean of all of the items

except for one – “Attending this S&T MESA Day has made me more interested in taking college

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preparatory classes.” - was higher than four. The results suggest that students perceived the

event increased their interest in going to college after high school, studying STEM majors in

college, and pursuing a STEM career after college.

Table 9

Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Future Plans

Items Describing Students’ Future Plans N Min Max Mean SD

Attending this S&T MESA Day has made me more

interested in taking college preparatory classes.

293 1 5 3.89 0.96


interested in going to college after high school.

297 1 5 4.17 0.87


interested in studying math, science, and/or engineering

in college.

297 1 5 4.10 0.89


interested in pursuing a career in math, science, and/or

engineering.

294 1 5 4.04 0.93

The open-ended response results presented in the following section supported the Likert-scale

item response findings, but also provided information on how to improve the S&T MESA Day

and the specific workshops, activities, and competitions attended.

STUDENT SURVEYS: OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES

Students responded to open-ended questions and statements asking them about their overall

impressions of the event and the workshops, including what went well and what could be

improved. Specifically, students wrote down their perceptions of their favorite part(s) of the S&T

MESA Day and how S&T MESA Day could be improved. Since this evaluation is focused on

event implementation and improvement, common and unique responses from students on what

went well and how to improve various components of the event are highlighted below.

What was your favorite part of this S&T MESA Day?

o The most common response from students regarding the favorite part of the day

was the workshops and activities. Many students indicated that they enjoyed the

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workshops and activities, specifically the liquid nitrogen ice cream making,

building a solar powered car, space slime, household chemistry, UCSB research

lab tours, scratch programming, marine reef tour, and reaction in a bag. Students

also enjoyed the competitions, particularly the EggXpress drop, gliders, bridge

testing, tug-o-war robots, and mousetrap cars. Other favorite parts of the day

included lunch and lunch time activities, campus tour, interacting with college

students, the awards ceremony, and having fun. Some common responses from

the students include the following (misspellings are preserved):

“Doing workshops because it was fun.”

“Lunch! Viewing all the different programs.”

“I liked being able to walk around campus and do workshops. I also liked

the one-on-one experience of having a college student as a guide.”

“Talking to students about college”

“campus tour!”

“The award ceremony”

“Winning a medal”

o Some unique responses from the students include the following (misspellings are

preserved):

“I loved it you guys are awesome and making learning fun!”

“Learning about technology and science”

“The activities college students offered”

“getting to see all the projects”

“Exploring the college experience”

“Everything”

How could we improve the S&T MESA Day?

o The most common response from students regarding how to improve the day was

the perceived lack of organization of the event. Many students indicated that they

would have liked to see more organization such as having maps and/or directions

around campus, having a more organized staff, and organize competition judges

better. Students also would like to see more workshops and activities and having

a different variety of workshops. One student indicated that the workshops were

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the same as last year’s and would have liked to see different workshops this year.

Students would like to see more reef tours offered since it was very popular.

Students also suggested having a better navigation of workshops and suggested

having workshops closer together. Students suggested having bigger classrooms

and space to conduct the workshops and activities, as well as having sufficient

number of supplies for students. Another common response was the quality and

quantity of food during lunch time. One student suggested having more food or

snacks throughout the day. Students also wanted to have longer lunch breaks and

receive MESA T-shirts. In addition, students wanted to interact more with the

college students and have them talk about their college experience. A few

students suggested making the day longer. Some students felt that the day went

well and there were no improvements necessary. Some common responses from

the students include the following (misspellings are preserved):

“Be more organized”

“I think having directions written around the campus.”

“More variety and choice of times to attend events”

“More food at end of day”

“Better food”

“Shirts. Food variety”

“talk about the future & how we (this generation) will improve society”

“Talk more about the fields of math scien, and engineering, especially to

the Middle School Kids.”

“Be more open and bond more with students.”

“To make the day longer”

“You don't have to improve. You guys were perfect.”


preserved):

“By making workshops have more students helping”

“Talk more about classes are required”

“Bring back closing ceremony at Campbell Hall! Better informed

volunteers. Recruitment stuff”

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“Get regular team math quest!”

Other comments

o Students had the opportunity to write any additional comments at the end of the

survey. Generally speaking, students enjoyed the experience they had at the S&T

MESA Day. Some students would have liked to see more and different workshops

as well as have the rules explained better in the workshops and competitions.

o Some common responses from the students include the following (misspellings

are preserved):

“It was all fun and amazing”

“I loved MESA day”

“The offered workshops were the same as last year's, or similar to last

year’s MESA Day. It would be great to offer new ones.”

“Please explain the rules better in civil structures”


preserved):

“Mesa, mesa que mas aplauda”

“This year was my first year in MESA and I really enjoyed it and had a

great time.”

“I'm deffentley coming back next year! I LOVE MESA!!!”

“I am very greatful for this experience that has revealed the essence of

engineering.”

“Better than last year.”

“I really enjoy the MESA Program. I hope UCSB continues to participate

in MESA”

“Desirable workshops like reef study only have one time slot. This made it

impossible to attend”

“The lady did not let us go on the reef tour and that made me

upset.”

The students’ open-ended responses suggest that although the event was perceived to be a

success for some students, there is room for event improvement. For instance, many student

comments indicated that the S&T MESA Day would have been better with more workshops and

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activities. In addition, during the workshops, lots of students indicated that they would have

liked more time, more space, and more volunteers. There were also specific recommendations

made on how to improve the event. The comment about “The lady did not let us go on the reef

tour and that made me upset” could be due to the limited number of students that could attend the

tour and the fact there was only one time slot available for the reef tour. More recommendations

on how to improve the event will be discussed in the conclusion and recommendations section.

In terms of the implementation of this event, there were mixed sentiments expressed about the

level of organization. On the one hand, students said that more helpers/volunteers would have

been useful, the food could have been more ample or better, and there could have been more

interaction with college students. On the other hand, there were many student responses where

they articulated how great the event was, suggesting that the level of organization was at least

satisfactory. Students wrote these positive comments both in the favorite part(s) of the day

section, as well as in the improvement section. These findings will be further summarized in the

discussion section.

The following section examines the responses from the staff and volunteers surveys.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEER SURVEYS: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

There were 65 staff and volunteers who completed the survey. Staff and volunteers were asked to

report their race/ethnicity, gender, and their role(s) during the S&T MESA Day. In reporting

their race/ethnicity, staff and volunteers had the option to check all that applied. As displayed in

Table 10, there were approximately 39% Asians, 31% Hispanics, 12% White, 8% Black or

African American, and 6% of staff and volunteers with two or more races.

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Table 10

Race/Ethnicity of Staff and Volunteers

Race/Ethnicity Count Percent

Asian 25 38.5%

Black or African American 5 7.7%

Hispanic 20 30.8%

White 8 12.3%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 1 1.5%

Other 1 1.5%

Two or More Races 4 6.2%

Missing 1 1.5%

Total 65 100.0%

Table 11 shows there were more female staff and volunteers than males, with approximately

54% females and 46% males.

Table 11

Gender of Staff and Volunteers

Gender Count Percentage

Male 30 46.2%

Female 35 53.8%

Total 65 100.0%

Table 12 displays the different roles that staff and volunteers held during the S&T MESA Day.

This question allowed respondents to check all roles that apply, thus the total is more than the

total number of staff and volunteers. The percentage was calculated out of 65, which is the total

number of staff and volunteers. However, because some staff and volunteers marked multiple

responses, the total percentage is above 100%. Based on all the different roles, approximately

74% were volunteers, 17% were MESA advisors, 9% were MESA staff, 8% were teachers, and

5% were judges.

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Table 12

Roles of Staff and Volunteers during S&T MESA Day

Role Count Percent

MESA Staff 6 9.2%

Volunteer 48 73.8%

Judge 3 4.6%

MESA Advisor 11 16.9%

Teacher 5 7.7%

Total 73 112.3%

Table 13 illustrates a more descriptive role type of the staff and volunteers. There were about

74% of staff and volunteers who were four-year university undergraduate students, 22% were K-

12 staff, 3% were four-year university graduate students, and 1.5% were other.

Table 13

Role Type of Staff and Volunteers during S&T MESA Day

Role Type Count Percent

K-12 Staff 14 21.5%

4-year University Undergraduate Student 48 73.8%

4-year University Graduate Student 2 3.1%

Other 1 1.5%

Total 65 100.0%

The following section will describe the staff and volunteers’ event perceptions using Likert-scale

items.

EVENT PERCEPTIONS: LIKERT-SCALE ITEM RESPONSES FROM STAFF AND

VOLUNTEERS SURVEY

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Using surveys, staff and volunteers were asked to report their attitudes and perceptions toward

several components of the S&T MESA Day, including the organization of the day, set up and

take down process, lunch, opening ceremony, closing ceremony, activities, workshops, and

competitions. Staff and volunteers were also asked about the transit between the workshops, and

the degree in which they enjoyed the activities, workshops, and competitions in the S&T MESA

Day. In addition, staff and volunteers self-reported their confidence in their role prior to the

event and throughout the day of the event. Also, staff and volunteers were asked their level of

preparedness in addressing questions from students, parents, MESA advisors, and other staff.

There were a total of 23 scale items, where 20 items were intended for both staff and volunteers,

and three items were included for volunteers only. The 23 items were analyzed on a 1-5 Likert

scale, with a response of 1 indicating that the staff member/volunteer strongly disagreed with the

statement and a response of 5 signifying that the staff member/volunteer strongly agreed with the

statement. Also, staff and volunteers had the option to respond not applicable (N/A) to these

statements.

RESULTS

The survey items were grouped under the following three categories: Overall Program, Role, and

Volunteers. These results are displayed in Tables 14, 15, and 16, respectively. Please see

Appendix C for the complete Likert-scale statements. N represents the number of observations

(i.e., the number of responses meeting the inclusion criteria - see protocol above on page 7).

Minimum and maximum are the lowest and highest scores, respectively. The mean is the average

of all included responses and the standard deviation shows the variation in the data.

Table 14 displays the items describing the overall program, where the mean of all of the items

was higher than four. These findings suggest that staff and volunteers had positive views of the

S&T MESA Day. The descriptive analyses of the Likert-scale statements indicated that staff and

volunteers perceived the S&T MESA Day was well organized in terms of the overall day, set up

process, take down process, lunch, opening and closing ceremony, activities, workshops, and

competitions. Unlike the student participants, staff and volunteers perceived it was easy to get to

and from the different workshops. This might be due to the fact that volunteers were holding

signs on pickets and directing students where to go for the next session. The findings also

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illustrate that staff and volunteers enjoyed the workshops, activities, and competitions included

in the S&T MESA Day. Some staff and volunteers expressed their perceptions in further detail

in the open-ended comments, where they described their favorite part of the day and ways to

improve the event. An analysis of these open-ended comments will be discussed in the following

section.

Table 14

Descriptive Statistics for Overall Program

Items Describing the Overall Program N Min Max Mean SD

This S&T MESA Day overall was well organized. 65 2 5 4.31 0.68

The set up process was well organized. 59 3 5 4.31 0.68

The take down process was well organized. 45 3 5 4.27 0.65

Lunch was well organized. 58 4 5 4.52 0.50

The opening ceremony was well organized. 42 3 5 4.26 0.70

The closing ceremony was well organized. 42 3 5 4.26 0.59

It was easy to get to and from the different workshops. 58 1 5 4.16 0.88

The workshops were well organized. 59 3 5 4.32 0.65

The activities were well organized. 57 3 5 4.32 0.63

The competitions were well organized. 49 2 5 4.24 0.69

I enjoyed the workshops included in the S&T MESA Day. 51 3 5 4.55 0.54

I enjoyed the activities included in the S&T MESA Day. 54 3 5 4.52 0.54

I enjoyed the competitions included in the S&T MESA Day. 48 3 5 4.50 0.55

The items displayed in Table 15 describe the extent to which the staff and volunteers felt

confident in their roles. As displayed in Table 15, all but one of the items – “I knew what to do

for my role(s) prior to S&T MESA Day” – had a mean that was higher than four. This suggests

that generally speaking, staff and volunteers knew what their role throughout the day and felt

confident in their role and in answering questions from students, parents, MESA advisors, and

other staff. The item with a mean of 3.88 might be possibly explained by the fact that staff and

volunteers did not attend the volunteer training session, and thus did not know what their role

was prior to the event. This will be discussed in more detail in the following section.

23

Table 15

Descriptive Statistics for Staff and Volunteers’ Role

Items Describing Staff and Volunteers’ Role N Min Max Mean SD

I knew what to do for my role(s) prior to S&T MESA Day. 65 1 5 3.88 1.01

I knew what to do for my role(s) throughout the day. 64 1 5 4.13 0.72

I was confident in my role(s) throughout the day. 62 3 5 4.19 0.67

I was well prepared to answer questions from students. 64 2 5 4.06 0.81

I was well prepared to answer questions from parents. 56 3 5 4.07 0.71

I was well prepared to answer questions from MESA advisors. 51 3 5 4.14 0.69

I was well prepared to answer questions from other staff. 53 3 5 4.21 0.60

One of the program event sponsors, Los Ingenieros, a UCSB student organization that aims to

promote professionalism, leadership, and community outreach for all math, science, and

engineering majors, held two volunteer training sessions the week prior to the S&T MESA Day.

These sessions were intended to inform volunteers on various ways to help out during the S&T

MESA Day, which included directing students through campus, helping deliver lunch, assisting

with the workshops, and being positive role models for the K-12 student participants.

Table 16 displays items for volunteers to respond to only. Since this evaluation focuses on the

implementation of the S&T MESA Day and not the volunteer session, there was not a detailed

analysis of the implementation of the volunteer session, aside from the three items in Table 16.

As displayed in Table 16, volunteers felt that it was easy to sign up to be a volunteer, with a

mean of 4.61. One of the items asked volunteers whether or not the students attended the

volunteer training. This item is a little flawed in the sense that it was written on a 1-5 Likert-

scale, when it could be answered with a “yes” or “no” response. Thus, responses were coded in

the following manner: Volunteers who responded “Agree (4)” or “Strongly Agree (5)” were

coded as attending the training session. On the other hand, volunteers who responded Strongly

Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Neutral (3), and N/A were coded as not attending the training session.

There was a total of 42 volunteers who responded to this statement, however, using this coding

24

scheme, it is concluded that there were 25 volunteers who attended the training. These volunteers

who attended the session felt the volunteer training session to be somewhat useful, with a mean

of 3.82.

Table 16

Descriptive Statistics for Volunteers Only

Items for Volunteers’ Only N Min Max Mean SD

It was easy to sign up to be a volunteer. 49 4 5 4.61 0.49

I attended the volunteer training. 42 1 5 3.48 1.61

I found the volunteer training to be very useful. 34 1 5 3.82 1.00

The open-ended response results presented in the following section supported the Likert-scale

item response findings, but also provided information on staff and volunteers’ favorite part of the

day and suggestions on how to improve the S&T MESA Day.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEER SURVEYS: OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES

Staff and volunteers responded to open-ended questions and statements asking them about their

overall impressions of the event and the workshops, including what went well and what could be

improved. Specifically, students wrote down their perceptions of their favorite part(s) of the S&T

MESA Day and how the S&T MESA Day could be improved. Since this evaluation is focused

on event implementation and improvement, common and unique responses from staff and

volunteers on how to improve various components of the event are highlighted below.


o The most common response from staff and volunteers regarding their favorite part

of S&T MESA Day included the workshops, activities, competitions, interacting

with students, lunch and lunch time activities, seeing students’ enthusiasm and

encouragement for other students, and attending the opening ceremony. Several

staff and volunteers noted the workshops, activities, and competitions were very

interesting and they enjoyed watching the students participate in the various

events. In particular, volunteers noted that it was fun interacting with students

25

during the workshops and lunch, as well as encouraging students to go into the

sciences. One staff member noted that it was fun seeing their old students again

during the S&T MESA Day. Some common responses from the staff and

volunteers include the following (misspellings are preserved):

“Helping out and trying to encourage kids to go into the sciences.

Especially interacting with the kids during lunch.”

“Lunch time, when I got to interact with the students”

“My favorite part was seeing the studnets compete in their competitions,

it's great to see their projects in action.”

o Some unique responses from the staff and volunteers include the following

(misspellings are preserved):

“1. Key note speaker was inspiring/ skit. 2. UCSB enrollment director was

very enthusiastic and effective at her invitation to students.”

“It was something I did when I was in middle/high school so it's cool to

give back.”

“Seeing the excitement of the younger students as they saw their projects

being tested.”

“My favorite part of the day was when I led the students to the robotics

and solor powered car workshop comp. I was fascinated to see all the

wonderful projects they have been working on along with their enthusiasm

for learning.”


o Similar to the students’ comments on ways to improve the event, the most

common response from staff and volunteers regarding how to improve the day

was the perceived lack of organization of the event. Staff and volunteers also

noted having more and better workshops or activities, having more schools

participate in the S&T MESA Day, having better food, and having better hygiene.

Staff and volunteers noted that the event could have been more organized and

provided suggestions on how to improve such as having better communication,

having better volunteer coordination, providing clearer notes for volunteers prior

to S&T MESA Day on what to do, making the transition between workshops run

26

more smoothly, and gathering escorts ahead of time to ensure they know the

location of the workshop/competition and the maximum number of students per

workshop. Staff and volunteers also suggested making workshops longer and

having more workshops that students are most interested in. Some staff and

volunteers also suggested having more interactions between K-12 students and

college students. In addition, staff and volunteers proposed changing the lunch

menu every year and having a better hospitality room. Some staff members

suggested volunteers be more hygienic and not lick the ice cream spoon before

serving students. Although there were many comments on ways to improve the

S&T MESA Day, some staff and volunteers stated that there were no

improvements necessary. Some common responses from the staff and volunteers

include the following (misspellings are preserved):

“Organization and efficiency was good but can always be improved.

Overall though, everything ran very smoothly.”

“Perhaps being a bit more organized with tasks, etc would make the

program run more smoothly. Also, a short training on the kinds of projects

they are working on to be more informed.”

“More volunteer coordination, which volunteers are supposed to go

where”

“More communication between everyone. Sometimes it felt hectic and

chaotic.”

“Mesa Day seemed really good to me. No improvements necessary.”

o Some unique responses from the staff and volunteers include the following

(misspellings are preserved):

“Have a little more creative activities”

“Maybe have more of a standard for workshops to make sure they're all

fun and engaging and accomplish the goals of encouraging students to

pursue STEM majors or college degrees.”

“Trying to incorporate more student interaction with the college students

and the participants.”

“Better hospitality room; T shirts”

27

Other comments

o Staff and volunteers had the opportunity to write any additional comments at the

end of the survey. Besides the perceived lack of organization, staff and volunteers

overall liked attending the S&T MESA Day and had a great experience. Some

common responses from the students include the following (misspellings are

preserved):

“This is really a great opportunity for studnets. Thanks to all organizers

and volunteers. Mucho gracias!”

“Keep up the good work!”


preserved):

“Have more designated coordinators that volunteers know to report to so

they're always doing things and know how to do it well.”

The staff and volunteers’ open-ended responses suggest that although the event was perceived to

be a success for some, there is room for event improvement. There were many comments

indicating that the S&T MESA Day was great overall but could be improved with more

organization, more activities and workshops, better communication, and better volunteer

coordination. In terms of the implementation of this event, there were mixed feelings expressed

about the level of organization. On the one hand, staff and volunteers said that there could have

been more organization in terms of communication and transit to and from workshops, better

food, and more interaction with college students. On the other hand, there were many staff and

volunteer responses where they articulated how great the event was, suggesting that the level of

organization was at least satisfactory. Staff and volunteers wrote these positive comments both in

the favorite part(s) of the day/workshop sections, as well as in the improvement sections. In

addition, the absence of responses on how to improve various aspects of the day indicates that

many of these staff and volunteers tended to feel at a minimum that the event went smoothly.

These findings will be further summarized in the following discussion section.

DISCUSSION

Students, staff, and volunteers tended to have favorable perceptions of the S&T MESA Day as

measured by the Student Surveys and Staff and Volunteer Surveys. The means of the Likert-

28

scale items of the surveys were high, where most were above four for students, staff, and

volunteers. In examining the Likert-scale items describing the overall program for students, it is

apparent that generally speaking, students felt the event was well-organized and enjoyed the

activities, workshops, and competitions. Students perceived the event made them more aware

and/or increased their interest in STEM subjects and careers. The only item that did not have a

mean above four was the transition in getting to and from different workshops. This item along

with other items with means below four will be discussed in further detail in the conclusions and

recommendations section.

In terms of the Likert-scale items describing students’ academic planning and future plans,

students agreed that they were introduced to different STEM subjects, are interested in attending

college after high school, and studying STEM majors and pursuing STEM careers. However,

students were not fully aware of course requirements and/or how to apply for college. It might be

helpful to incorporate more than one college readiness workshop for both students and parents to

understand how to prepare for college and apply to college.

In examining the Likert-scale items describing the overall program for staff and students, it is

clear that overall staff and students felt the S&T MESA Day was well organized in terms of the

set up process, take down, opening and closing ceremonies, lunch, workshops, activities, and

competitions, with means all above four. In terms of the Likert-scale items describing the

confidence in the role(s) held during S&T MESA Day, staff and volunteers tended to know what

their roles were throughout the day and were able to address questions from students, parents,

MESA advisors, and other staff. Some staff and volunteers noted they did not know what to do

prior to the event, which may be due to the fact that they did not attend the volunteer training

sessions. The Likert-scale items for volunteers only illustrated that volunteers found it relatively

easy to sign up to be a volunteer and those who attended the training session found it be

somewhat useful.

An examination of the open-ended responses confirmed the results from the descriptive analysis

of the Likert-scale items for students, staff, and volunteers. The open-ended responses regarding

the favorite part of day indicated that students, staff, and volunteers tended to enjoy the activities,

workshops, competitions, lunch and lunch time activities, interactions between K-12 students

and college students, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Staff and volunteers noted they

29

enjoyed seeing the students’ enthusiasm for learning in the various workshops, activities, and

competitions.

In terms of ways to improve the event, students, staff, and volunteers suggested there could have

been better organization of the event, better communication, more and different workshops, more

workshops offered for the popular workshops, better transition of getting to and from the

different workshops, more and/or better food, and more interactions between K-12 students and

college students. Details on how to improve the event will be discussed in the conclusion and

recommendation section.

LIMITATIONS AND BARRIERS

There were some limitations that affected the interpretation of the survey data. Only six MESA

staff returned the Staff and Volunteer Surveys. Since many more than six MESA staff attended

and helped out with the event, their responses may not reflect the sentiments felt by the larger

group of staff and volunteers. Another limitation was the survey design on one of the Likert-

scale items pertaining to volunteers only. The item “I attended the volunteer training” elicits a

“yes” or “no” response, but it was placed on a 1-5 Likert-scale with an “N/A” option, which

might have made it confusing for volunteers to respond.

Another limitation is the short time frame in developing the surveys for students, staff, and

volunteers. The process of survey design typically takes weeks, perhaps even months, to draft,

modify, test, and retest before making the final version of the survey. Given that the evaluators

only had one week to design the survey, it was challenging to include all the questions we were

interested in. The evaluators also did not have enough time to test out the survey items, and thus

did not catch the poor phrasing of the item “I attended the volunteer training.”

One barrier in the analysis of surveys had to do with the inability to distinguish the relative

contributions of the event on the students’ learning, attitudes, and behaviors. If students

participated in more than one workshop, then their answers to the STEM and college readiness

Likert-scale items cannot be interpreted at the individual workshop level. That is, if a student

attended the Build a Solar Powered Car and Space Slime workshops then it is unclear which one

workshop, an unequal combination of the two workshops, or an equal combination of the two

workshops influenced their responses to items such as “The workshops gave me information that

30

is helpful” or “The activities gave me information that is helpful.” Thus, the responses to these

items cannot be attributed to individual workshops or activities, unless the student specified

which workshop or activity he/she attended that provided helpful information.

31

The S&T MESA Day served middle school and high school students from Oxnard school

districts. There were 301 students and 65 staff and volunteers who completed and returned the

evaluation survey forms. The one-day event focused on exposing students to STEM through

project-based activities, workshops, and competitions, as well as providing information to

students about college applications and financial aid. The STEM activities, workshops, and

competitions were hands-on and provided opportunities for students to construct and reconstruct

their projects. The college readiness activities imparted important knowledge onto students about

navigating the track to higher education. These events were designed in part to meet the goal of

increasing students’ interest in and motivation to learn more about STEM topics and college.

Analysis of the data collected suggested that students, staff, and volunteers tended to be satisfied

with the different components of the event and many reported positive learning experiences,

attitudes, and future anticipated behaviors due to participation in the event, as measured by

certain Likert-scale item statements. The open-ended responses also tended to be favorable,

although students, staff, and volunteers believed that certain improvements could be made in

future events. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the event was a worthwhile experience

for students as it offered students opportunities to engage in STEM activities and provided

students and parents with information on college and financial aid. Participation in an event like

the S&T MESA Day may contribute to more intermediate outcomes, such as increasing student

interest in STEM and in higher education, and may be a factor in the achievement of more distal

outcomes, such as increasing the rates of students applying for college, attending college,

majoring in STEM fields, and pursuing STEM careers.

To improve the implementation of this event and similar ones in the future, some

recommendations are made below. Also, there are suggestions to improve the data collection and

reporting process that will better assist in the evaluation.

Start planning early! Although there were S&T MESA Day Planning Board Meetings,

perhaps start the meetings the summer prior and start planning ahead. This will help with

Conclusions and Recommendations

32

the organization and planning of the event, as well as the coordination of the volunteers.

This could also be a good time to recruit workshop leaders early on to participate in S&T

MESA Day.

Have more and different workshops for students to participate in. Perhaps schedule a day

in the Chemistry Lawn to recruit volunteers to help with leading workshops, activities,

competitions, as well as judging competitions. Send an email out to various STEM major

list serves to recruit as many STEM undergraduates and graduates students as possible.

Contact the program officers of CalTeach and Science and Mathematics Initiative to

recruit volunteers to teach workshops and lead activities.

Ensure that volunteers know what their roles are and where they should be throughout the

day. Have a volunteer coordinator in charge of directing volunteers to where they need to

be so they can be of assistance to MESA staff. It might be helpful to have a volunteer

checklist that assigns volunteers to different areas to help out. For instance, if volunteers

are needed to help set up lunch, then have the volunteer coordinator direct volunteers

there. If there are enough volunteers there, then have volunteers move to another item on

the checklist, i.e., help with workshops. This will provide volunteers a better sense of

knowing what they are supposed to do and where they are supposed to be.

Encourage college student volunteers to interact with K-12 students. Both students and

university-level volunteers noted how excited they were when they had the opportunity to

talk to interact with one another. Some K-12 students wanted to interact more with

college students to hear about their college experiences.

Provide more time slots of the college readiness workshops. Students reported that they

were not aware of the different course requirements for CSU/UC eligibility, nor were

they aware of the college application process. Having additional time slots for the college

readiness workshop will provide more opportunities for students to attend both the

science and engineering workshops and college readiness workshops without having to

sacrifice one for the other.

To aid in data reporting, it might be a good idea to put the surveys online (e.g., through

Survey Monkey) for students, staff, and volunteers. This would assist both in data

collection and in data analysis. For data collection, the online entry would ensure that

participants respond to each question appropriately (once for Likert-scale items; have to

33

provide an answer for each open-ended response question). For data analysis, since the

responses are digital, this reduces the time spent by the evaluator in conducting the

evaluation; specifically, in manually entering the responses into spreadsheets. One

consideration to take into account is the response rate may be low if the surveys are

online. Students also may not have access to a computer or may forget to fill out the

survey once they leave the event. Since the surveys were paper surveys, it was easier to

distribute and ensure a higher response rate as the students were filling out the surveys on

the bus ride home.

Another possibility for data collection is using clickers for the Likert-scale items at the

end of the event and handing out shorter surveys with the open-ended response questions

to capture overall impressions of the event.

To better assess the specific impact(s) of each individual workshop on students, it might

be useful to provide exit cards at the conclusion of each workshop or changing the survey

to include workshop-specific questions. For example, instead of the current general

wording of an item of the survey (e.g., “The workshops gave me information that was

helpful”), it could be altered to something that could be linked to a particular workshop

(e.g., “The Build a Solar Powered Car workshop gave me information that was helpful”).

Parent surveys were not included in this analysis. It will be valuable to gain parents’

perceptions and attitudes of the event. Parent evaluation forms should be available in

English and Spanish and should be placed in the packets for all of the workshops. Staff

should make an announcement about the importance of the completion of the surveys in

both English and in Spanish during the opening ceremony.

A theory of action, or logic model, should be created for the event in order to better

assess the implementation of the program, as well as to determine whether the program is

meeting its intended goals and objectives. Without a theory of action, it is challenging to

draw conclusions that could address the strengths and weaknesses of this event and how

it fits within the overall MESA program goals and objectives. Also, a summative, or

outcomes evaluation cannot be properly conducted without a theory of action.

34

Appendix A: S&T MESA Day Program

14th Annual

Science & Technology MESA Day

February 23, 2013

S.T.E.M. Out of this World

Science

Technology

Engineering

Mathematics

35

Science & Technology MESA DAY 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013 - UC SANTA BARBARA

Event Schedule

7:30 - 8:30am Bus Arrival (UCSB University Plaza Loop)

7:45 - 8:30am MESA Project Check-In, Judges Check-In,

Pre- Judging (see locations other page)

8:00 - 8:30am Breakfast Snacks, Advisor/School Check-In (Campbell Hall Plaza area)

8:30 - 11:00am MESA Appeals (for Disqualifications in Pre-Judging) (Buchanan 1934)

8:30am Doors Open: All be Seated (Campbell Hall)

8:45 - 9:30am Opening Ceremony: Welcome, Featured Speaker California State

Assembly Member, Das Williams, College specials, Day’s Preview

(Campbell Hall)

7:45 - 11:00am Hospitality Rm for Judges, Volunteers & Teachers (Buch.1934)

9:40 -11:00am Session I: S&T Workshops, MESA Competitions, Campus Tour,

Parent/Student Spanish Workshop: Taller de Padres: Preparacion para la

Universidad / College Readiness

11:00 - 12:00pm Lunch, Egg Xpress Competition(Gr 6-12) & Entertainment

(Lawn between Physical Sciences North and South)

12:10 - 1:30pm Session II: S&T Workshops, MESA Competitions

(See PM Workshop & Competition Details)

1:40 – 3:30pm Session III: Evaluation Distribution & Completion, S&T Workshops,

MESA Competitions (See PM Wkshop & Comp. Details)

3:30 -3:40pm Pick-up MESA Projects & Materials, proceed to Ceremonies

3:40 - 5:00pm Closing Ceremonies: JR HIGH at Buchanan 1910 /

HIGH SCHOOL at Rob Gym: Awards, Raffle, Closing

5:00 - 5:30pm Photos (front of Campbell Hall) & Departure

37

Los Ingenieros, National Society of Black Engineers, Society for the Advancement in

Chicanos/as and Native Americans in the Sciences & MESA

Los Ingenieros

Los Ingenieros (L.I.) was formed on the campus of UCSB in 1978 by nine Latino engineers who,

sharing similar goals and backgrounds, promoted professionalism and community outreach.

Since then, Los Ingenieros has grown to an organization of more than 10 times the original nine

members and has expanded to include all science and mathematics majors, as well as non-Latino

students. In addition, we have received many accolades, including being awarded Student

Organization of the Year in 1999-2000, 2001-2002, 2008-09 and 2010-11 academic years.

Recognition was a result of our combination of many activities centered around academic

achievement, professional development, personal growth, and community outreach. Los

Ingenieros is the UCSB student chapter of two national professional organizations, the Society of

Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the Society of Mexican American Engineers and

Scientists (MAES).

Mission Statement:

Dedicated to serve its members and the community in the advancement of their math, science,

and engineering disciplines. To provide our members with professional exposure, leadership

opportunities, scholarships, community involvement, and a desire for the pursuit of the highest

level of education.

National Society of Black Engineers, UCSB

NSBE at UCSB has witnessed a trend of fewer African American students pursuing majors in

the STEM fields, and premature departure from the STEM studies without an active Black

student STEM support system. Recognizing its potential clout, NSBE has been reinvigorated in

the past three years. Under new leadership and direction, NSBE UCSB has become a support

group for African American students in the STEM fields, and an inspiration to future college

students. Our goals are to help members develop networking skills, promote the fields of STEM

to the future generations, and to help students continue on their journey of success in academics

and on to STEM careers. Each year, NSBE’s following gets stronger and we plan to continue to

impact our campus and community positively.

Mission Statement

To increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically,

succeed professionally and positively impact the community.

38

Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA)

Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) is an academic, college and career

preparation program for K-12, community college and university-level students in California and

nationwide. Since 1970, MESA’s academic development program has supported educationally

disadvantaged students so they can excel in math and science studies and ultimately attain four-

year degrees in engineering, science, technology or math (STEM) fields.

MESA has particular interest in and focus on students from those groups who historically have

had the lowest levels of attainment to four-year and graduate level programs. By closing this

achievement gap, MESA students and graduates will be better able to make significant

contributions to the socioeconomic well-being of their families, their communities, and beyond.

Mission Statement

MESA enables educationally disadvantaged students to prepare for and graduate from a four-

year college or university with a math-bases degree in areas such as engineering, the sciences,

computer science, and mathematics.

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/as and Native Americans in the Sciences, UCSB

We are theSociety for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science

(SACNAS)at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The National SACNAS Organization

encourages Chicano/Latino and Native American students, along with students of other races, to

pursue higher education; and to assist them in obtaining the advanced degrees necessary for

science research, industry, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels. For over 30 years,

SACNAS has provided strong national leadership towards improving and expanding

opportunities for minorities in the scientific workforce, also mentoring college students in

science, mathematics and engineering.

Mission Statement

SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to fostering the success ofHispanic/Chicano and

Native American scientists—from college students to professionals—to attain advanced degrees,

careers, and positions of leadership in science.

39

Workshop Descriptions

1. Build Your Own Battery-Powered Car! - Build a small battery powered car and learn about

connections in parallel and series, sensors, photoresisters, relays, current, and voltage.

2. Build Your Own Speaker - Where does sound come from? Find out by building your own speaker

and hear it play music!

3. Build a Solar Powered Car - Learn about alternative forms of energy and current energy usage.

Build a solar powered car & see how solar energy converts to work to power the car!

4. Como Llegar al Colegio - Aprenda como obtener información acerca de ayuda financiera y

admisión a la Universidad. También, un grupo de estudiantes de UCSB estará allí para contestar a

sus preguntas sobre estos temas! Las sesiones se ofreceran en español e inglés. Padres son

bienvenidos!

How to Get Into College - Learn about how to apply for financial aid and for admission to a

UC and ask your questions to a panel of UCSB students! Sessions offered in Spanish and

English. Parents welcome!

5. Do you have Night Vision? - Find out the difference between how humans perceive image at night

as opposed to a night vision camera and check out night vision cameras used in automotive

applications!

6. Design your own Aircraft! - Build your own aircrafts out of household supplies and learn about

aerodynamic properties such as lift, drag, and fluid flow!

7. Electric Motor - Learn about the forces of electricity and magnetism and build a motor using

simple materials!

8. Household Chemistry–Make your own water filter, learn about crystallization and make your own

rock candy. Learn how to extract DNA from a strawberry!

9. Kelp Beads- Can sugars be converted to plastics? Learn about biopolymers and materials science

while making your own beads from kelp sugar!

10. Marshmallow Catapults- Learn about projectile motion, structural stability, and material

properties! Use these concepts to build a catapult to launch marshmallows as far as possible!

11. Marine REEF Tour- The Research Experience & Education Facility, better known as The

REEF, is UCSB's interactive aquarium facility. The REEF utilizes a high-tech life support system

for the Research Tank, with over 100 different species of marine plants and animals.

12. Planet Hunting- Come learn how astronomers find & study exoplanets (planets around other

starts) using telescopes, math, chemistry, and physics! Take a look through solar telescopes and

discover something out of this world!

40

13. Reaction in a Bag – DO a chemical reaction and learn about the scientific method, as well as

endothermic and exothermic reactions!

14. Space Slime- Make your own silly putty! Learn about its special properties and how this type of

material can be used on space shuttles!

15. Scratch Programming - Learn how to use Scratch, a programming language, and built a game or

a story!

16. Tinfoil Boats - Build a tinfoil boat that can withstand the most weight in water! Learn about

buoyancy and what designs will be the strongest!

17. UCSB Research Lab Tours- Students will visit real research laboratories in Chemical

Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Earth Science, and learn about the amazing, cutting-

edge research done on UCSB campus!

41

MIDDLE SCH. / JR. HIGH MESA Competitions & Demonstrations

Event

Grades

Location

Session I: 9:40-11:00 am

Prosthetic Arm Oral Presentations 6-8 Buchanan 1930

Mousetrap Car - Distance 6-8 Rob Gym

Stick Together (Bridge Testing) 6-8 Engr II 2163

Model Science - The Eye 6-8 Phelps 1448

Lunch & Activities: 11:00-12:00 pm

EggXpress Drop 6-8 Chemistry Lawn

Session II: 12:10-1:30pm

Prosthetic Arm Academic Display 6-8 Rob Gym

Prosthetic Arm Performance Tasks 6-8 Rob Gym

Wright Stuff Glider 6-8 Chem Lawn

Robotics Challenge: Sumo 6-8 Phelps 1444

Speak Up 6-8 GGSE 1215

Session III: 1:40-3:30 pm

Prosthetic Arm Testing 6-8 Rob Gym

Robotics Challenge: Tug-o-War 6-8 Phelps 1444

42

HIGH SCHOOL MESA Competitions & Demonstrations

Event

Grades

Location

Session I: 9:40-11:00 am

Prosthetic Arm Oral Presentations 9-12 Buchanan 1940

Mousetrap Car Accuracy 9-12 Rob Gym

Wright Stuff Glider 9-12 Chemistry Lawn

Robotics Challenge 9-12 Phelps 1444

Lunch & Activities: 11:00-12:00 pm

EggXpress Drop 9-12 Chemistry Lawn

Session II: 12:10-1:30pm

Prosthetic Arm Academic Display 9-12 Rob Gym

Prosthetic Arm Performance Tasks 9-12 Rob Gym

Speak Easy 9-12 GGSE 1213

Civil Structures (Bridge Testing) 9-12 Engineering II: 2163

Session III: 1:40-3:30 pm

Prosthetic Arm Testing (Completion) 9-12 Rob Gym

Model Science - Human Brain 9-12 Phelps 1448

MESA Project Check-In & PRE-Judging Locations

Appeals

8:30am-11:00am

For MESA students to submit

written Appeals

Buchanan

1934

Bridges: Civil &

Craft Stick

Take Bridges to room for pre-

judging & labeling check

Engineering

II - 2226

EggXpress Packages

Take Packages to room for pre-

judging & labeling

Phelps 1260

Model Science: Brain

Model Science: Eye

Take Models to room for pre-

judging & labeling

Phelps 1448

Wright Stuff Gliders

Take Gliders to outside location

for pre-judging & labeling check

In Front of

Chemistry

Building,

near Lawn

Mousetrap Cars Take Cars for pre-judging &

labeling check

Rob Gym

Robotics Take Robots for pre-judging &

holding

Phelps 1444

Speech Competitions Take Materials/ Displays for

Storing (NO Valuables to be left—

You are responsible to pick-up

before Competition)

Buchanan

1910

Prosthetic Arm

Challenge

Take Devices & Displays for pre-

judging & labeling check

(Oral Presentations in Buchanan

after Opening Ceremony)

Rob Gym

Workshops

Workshop Name Hosts Sessions

Offered Rooms

Planet Hunting SB Astronomical Unit 2, 3 Chem 1179

Do You Have Night Vision? Autoliv 1,2,3 Phelps 1160

Household Science Women in Science and Engineering

(WiSE)

1, 2, 3 Chem 1171

Build A Solar Powered Car Materials Research Lab 1, 2, 3 MRL 2053

Space Slime American Institution of Chemical

Engineers

1, 2 Phelps 1440

Build Your Own Battery Powered Car! UCSB Chemical Engineering 2, 3 Engineering Under Grad Rm -

Bldg 698

Inside Tour - Campus Los Ingenieros 1, 2, 3 Chem Lawn

Getting into College UCSB Admissions and Financial Aid 2 Buchanan 1920

Como Llegar al Colegio UCSB Admissions and Financial Aid 1 Buchanan 1920

Design Your Own Aircraft! Society for Advancing Chicanos and

Native Americans in Science

1, 2, 3 Phelps 3515

Marine REEF Tour Marine Science Institute 2 Physical Sciences Building-

North Walkway

UCSB Research Lab Tours UCSB Chemical Engineering, Mechanical

Engineering, & Earth Science

1 Physical Sciences Building-

North Walkway

Build A Simple Electric Motor Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers

1, 2, 3 GGSE 1217

Reaction in a Bag MESA 1, 2, 3 Phelps 1445

Build Your Own Speaker Society of Hispanic Professional

Engineers

1, 2, 3 Broida 1610

Kelp Beads Los Ingenieros 1, 2, 3 Phelps 2516

Tinfoil Boats American Society for Mechanical

Engineers

1 Phelps 2524

Marshmallow Catapult SACNAS 1, 2, 3 Phelps 3505

Scratch Programming Women in Software & Hardware (WISH) 2, 3 GGSE 4211

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

University of California, Santa Barbara

AS Student Commission on Racial Equality (SCORE)

AS Community Affairs Board (CAB)

AS Student Initiated Recruitment and

Retention Committee (SIRRC)

Associated Students (AS) Finance Board

Office of Education Partnerships

Student Initiated Outreach Program (SIOP)

UCSB MESA Programs

UCSB Educational Opportunity Program

Appendix B: Student Survey

Science & Technology MESA Day 2013

Student Survey


*************************************************************************************************************

PLEASE COMPLETE ALL ITEMS (both sides)

Today’s Date __2/23/2013_______ Program Sponsor Los Ingenieros_/ MESA__________

Full Name: First _________________ Middle _______________ Last _________________

Your School (full) Name _______________________________________________________

City ________________________ Zip code ___________

Please check the box that applies to YOU:

□ K-8 Grade Student □ High School Student, Grade 9-11 □ High School Senior, Grade 12

Gender:

□ Male □ Female □ Other □ Decline to State

Ethnicity (Check all that apply)

□ American-Indian or Alaska Native □ White

□ Asian □ Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

□ Black or African American □Other (specify) _______________________

□ Hispanic □ Decline to State / Don't Know

Please check the box that BEST describes you:

□ English Learner (EL) - (in school, I am getting help to learn more English)

□ Fluent English Proficient (FEP)

□ Decline to State / Don't Know

If you are a Senior (Grade 12) in high school, please answer the following question. If you are

not a Senior, please skip this question:

□ I plan to enroll in a community college

□ I have applied to a 4 year college or university

□ I have been accepted to a 4 year college or university

□ I do not plan on going to college after high school

Please check the box that BEST describes you:

□ I plan to be a first-generation college graduate someday (my parents are not college graduates)

□ I plan to be a second-generation college graduate someday (at least one of my parents graduated

from college)

□ Decline to State / Don't Know

Please turn over and complete.

Please rate how much you agree with each statement that follows: (Mark with an “X”)

Program: Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A

This S&T MESA Day overall was well organized.

This S&T MESA Day made me more interested in math,

engineering, and/or science.

This S&T MESA Day made me more aware of math,

engineering, and/or science subjects and careers.

It was easy to get to and from the different workshops.

The workshops gave me information that is helpful.

The activities gave me information that is helpful.

I enjoyed the activities included in the S&T MESA Day.

I enjoyed visiting a college campus.

This S&T MESA Day introduced me to college students

and their college lives.

Academic Planning:

Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A

This S&T MESA Day made me more aware of the A-G

course requirements for CSU/UC eligibility.

This S&T MESA Day helped me understand how to

apply to college.

This S&T MESA Day introduced me to what kinds of

classes are required in college.

This S&T MESA Day introduced me to different science,

technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and

majors that I could study in college.

Future Plans:

Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A


interested in taking college preparatory classes.


interested in going to college after high school.


interested in studying math, science, and/or engineering

in college.


interested in pursuing a career in math, science, and/or

engineering.



If you would like to write any comments, please feel free to add here:

Thank You!!

Appendix C: Staff and Volunteer Survey

Science & Technology MESA Day 2013

Staff & Volunteer Survey


*************************************************************************************************************

PLEASE COMPLETE ALL ITEMS (both sides)

Today’s Date __2/23/2013_______ SIOP Program Sponsor ___Los Ingenieros/

MESA_____

Please indicate your role(s) for the S&T MESA Day (Check all that apply).

□ MESA Staff □ Volunteer □ Judge

□ MESA Advisor □ Teacher □ School Counselor

□ Other (specify) __________________________________________

Please check the box that applies to YOU:

□ K-12 Staff (Teacher, Counselor) □ UCSB Staff

□ Community College Student □ Four-year University Undergraduate Student

□ Four-year University Graduate Student

□ Other (specify) __________________________________________

Gender:

□ Male □ Female □ Other □ Decline to State / Don't Know

Ethnicity (Check all that apply)

□ American-Indian or Alaska Native □ White

□ Asian □ Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

□ Black or African American □ Other (specify) _______________________

□ Hispanic □ Decline to State / Don't Know

What was your favorite part of the S&T MESA Day?


Please turn over and complete.

Please rate how much you agree with each statement that follows: (Mark with an “X”)

Overall Program: Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A

This S&T MESA Day overall was well organized.

The set up process was well organized

The take down process was well organized.

Lunch was well organized.

The opening ceremony was well organized.

The closing ceremony was well organized.

It was easy to get to and from the different workshops.

The workshops were well organized.

The activities were well organized.

The competitions were well organized.

I enjoyed the workshops included in the S&T MESA Day.

I enjoyed the activities included in the S&T MESA Day.

I enjoyed the competitions included in the S&T MESA

Day.

Role:

Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A

I knew what to do for my role(s) prior to S&T MESA Day.

I knew what to do for my role(s) throughout the day.

I was confident in my role(s) throughout the day.

I was well prepared to answer questions from students.

I was well prepared to answer questions from parents.

I was well prepared to answer questions from MESA

advisors.

I was well prepared to answer questions from other staff.

For Volunteers ONLY:

(Skip this section if you are not a volunteer)

Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

Agree

(5)

N/A

It was easy to sign up to be a volunteer.

I attended the volunteer training.

I found the volunteer training to be very useful.

If you would like to write any comments, please feel free to add them here:

Thank You!!

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