BME7900 Seminar: Aaron Kyle (Duke)

Outreach Design Education: Enhancing Middle and High School Students' STEM Identity through Engineering Design

The advent and widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have increased the need for engineering design education in K-12 settings. The engineering design process (EDP) is a methodology that engineers employ to identify and solve problems. The NGSS rightly recognizes the importance of introducing engineering design early and often throughout primary and secondary education. These practices are critical for helping younger students develop a broader appreciation for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Additionally, EDP requires students to be innovators, cultivating further investment and interest in design-based projects.

Outreach Design Education (ODE) at Duke University promotes engineering design education for middle and high school students and teachers. We do this through in-class lessons and Hackathons for middle school students, our Summer Design Camp for high school students, and Teacher Collaborations, through which we work with teachers to create engineering design-centric lessons for their home schools. Through these efforts, we have demonstrated that engineering design can be effectively taught to grades 6-12 students. Furthermore, engineering design education promotes pre-college students’ engineering identity: their self-perception of being contributors to, belonging in, and persisting in engineering endeavors. Identity is a critical aspect of the development of nascent engineers and scientists. ODE’s efforts have impacted more than 700 middle and high school students in Durham, North Carolina, and surrounding areas by providing high-quality engineering design education opportunities.

In this talk, I will share the motivations, design, implementation, assessment, and evaluation of ODE’s programmatic activities. I will discuss the challenges and successes associated with these types of community-facing educational endeavors. I will also describe future activities that I intend to undertake in subsequent iterations of ODE. I will share the outcomes to promote broader consideration of how university-level engineering programs can positively impact local STEM education ecosystems.

Bio: Aaron Kyle is a professor of the practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, where he combines technical expertise with a passion for teaching and outreach. At Duke, he teaches first-year design, medical device instrumentation, and capstone design courses, guiding students through the process of translating innovative ideas into practical biomedical solutions. Beyond the classroom, he directs the Outreach Design Education program, an NIH-funded initiative that enhances STEM identity among younger students through hands-on engineering design. More than 1,000 middle and high school students across New York and North Carolina have participated in ODE programs, gaining early exposure to engineering principles and confidence in their ability to pursue STEM careers.

Kyle earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from Kettering University (magna cum laude, 2002) and his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Purdue University (2007). His professional contributions have been recognized through election as a fellow of both the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Society.