Evaluating K-16 Student Engagement In STEM-based Drone Racing

Increasing the number of students interested in pursuing careers in STEM, computer science, and technology is of widespread interest to education stakeholders. Yet, despite the tremendous amount of human and fiscal resources directed at increasing the STEM, CS, and CTE career pipelines, numbers are less than satisfying. In a purposeful effort to create a more rapid onramp to high tech careers, the project team implemented a series of competitive, quadcopter drone races for students. In these races, student drone pilots race through a timed obstacle course to determine which pilots navigate the challenge in the shortest amount of time. These events that served as a focal point for motivating students to learn about drone technology, encouraging students to develop precision flight skills, and providing educators both inside and outside of formal classrooms with a foundational structure to increase the quantity and quality of technology education. Assessment of students’ and educators’ perceptions suggest that the developed program provided a low barrier to entry and engagement pathway for students to become more deeply engaged in technology.