Evaluating the broader impact of the WISE Investments summer institute for K-12 educators

The Women in Applied Sciences and Engineering (WISE) Investments program is a comprehensive program that introduces middle school and high school teachers, counselors, and students to the exciting and challenging field of engineering and technology. The goal of the WISE Investments (WI) program is to encourage women to pursue a career in engineering and computer science. The WI program begins with a two-week summer institute to educate the teachers on how to integrate engineering and technology into K-12 math and science curriculum. Counselors attend the summer institute to learn about engineering and computer science to counsel students in these areas. After attending the WI training, teacher and counselor teams are formed to present a particular engineering discipline to middle school and high school girls at the Wl Saturday academies held during the school year. The paper reports on the broader impact of teachers who attended the Wl summer institute. An external program evaluator has evaluated the WI project for all four years of the program.