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Using a Theory of Action to Define Effective Pre-University STEM Programs

IEEE, as one of the stewards of the profession, is invested in encouraging pre-university students to pursue STEM careers. Each year IEEE’s global community of volunteers conduct hundreds of STEM outreach activities engaging thousands of students. While this is an impressive metric, it did not tell the whole story of whether these activities inspire students to see themselves in STEM careers. In addition, there was no defining strategy to determine “What makes a good IEEE Pre-U program?” In 2019, the IEEE Educational Activities (EA) department undertook a strategic review of the existing programs to determine the best approach to impact as many students as possible. IEEE engaged Outlier, a STEM research and development organization to guide the process. A “needs assessment” led to a paradigm shift for EA; that facilitating locally delivered STEM outreach activities provided a path to success for IEEE. The development of a set of design principles and the IEEE’s Pre-University STEM Education Theory of Action formed the core strategy. This also led to the creation of the IEEE Volunteer STEM Portal, a resource for IEEE volunteers who conduct STEM outreach. This paper outlines the process used to define the design principles, create the Theory of Action and how it was incorporated into the creation of the STEM Portal. The paper concludes with a positive outlook for the future as IEEE volunteers become more familiar with these new resources and conduct STEM outreach to impact as many students as possible.