Engineering With Empathy in the Build a Better Book Project

Abstract

Build a Better Book (BBB) is a novel STEM education initiative that engages youth in an authentic, empathy-driven engineering design experience in which they create inclusive books, games, and toys for children who are blind or have low-vision. BBB designers learn about users' needs through empathy-building and tactile activities, and iteratively test and improve designs using feedback from others, including users with visual impairments. Programs take place in formal and informal learning environments and benefit from community partnerships. This chapter shares the BBB network's trajectory from a few sites in Colorado to a national network of informal and formal education partners adapting and implementing BBB programming. Research findings offer insights about the strengths of the BBB model and how it has been able to effectively scale and be sustained across diverse settings, audiences, and program formats. The chapter also shares how the initial successes of short-term programs led to the current exploration of more intensive and career-oriented opportunities for youth.