BOARD # 374: IGE: Transforming STEM Graduate Education: Enhancing Identity, Belonging, and Reducing Impostorism through Storytelling

Krishna Pakala; Angela Minichiello; Eric Jankowski; Uyen Thi Kim Nguyen; Anne Hamby; Jelena Pokimica

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session II
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 5
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55746
Download Count: 1

Paper Authors

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Krishna Pakala Boise State University

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Dr. Krishna Pakala is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University (Boise, Idaho). He was the Director for the Industrial Assessment Center at Boise State University. He served as the Faculty in Residence for the Engineering and Innovation Living Learning Community (2014 - 2021). He was the inaugural Faculty Associate for Mobile Learning and the Faculty Associate for Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning. He was the recipient of the Foundation Excellence Award, David S. Taylor Service to Students Award and Golden Apple Award from Boise State University. He was also the recipient of 2023 National Outstanding Teacher Award, ASEE PNW Outstanding Teaching Award, ASEE Mechanical Engineering division’s Outstanding New Educator Award and several course design awards. He serves as the campus representative and was the past-Chair for the ASEE PNW Section. His academic research interests include innovative teaching and learning strategies, use of emerging technologies, and mobile teaching and learning strategies.

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Angela Minichiello PE Utah State University orcid.org/0000-0002-4545-9355

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Angela (Angie) Minichiello, PhD is a military veteran, licensed mechanical engineer, and Associate Professor of Engineering Education at Utah State University.

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Eric Jankowski Boise State University orcid.org/0000-0002-3267-1410

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Dr Jankowski's interest in efficiency underpins his research in thermodynamic self-assembly for materials and his research into how to best empower students as effective engineers. He is an assistant professor in Boise State University's Micron School of

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Uyen Thi Kim Nguyen Utah State University

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Uyen Nguyen earned a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Engineering Education at Utah State University. Her most recent work develops support tools in self-study for students participating in engineering drawing courses. Her research interests include exploring innovative teaching methods and addressing challenges to improve the overall quality of education toward sustainable education.

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Anne Hamby

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Jelena Pokimica Boise State University

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Abstract

The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) project aims to enhance professional identity, foster a sense of belonging, and reduce impostorism among STEM graduate students. Recognizing the prevailing focus on content expertise in STEM fields, this project introduces a cohort-based program centered on storytelling. Students learn and apply storytelling techniques through personal narratives, which are grounded in narrative identity, reflection, and cognitive consistency theories. This initiative builds on previous pilot work and is framed by Self-Determination Theory, targeting the basic human needs of autonomy (identity), relatedness (belongingness), and competence (imposter feelings). The project's collaboration with The Story Collider, a national nonprofit, further aligns with the IGE mission to transform STEM graduate education. By performing stories of discovery, fitting in, and overcoming doubt, students explore themes relevant to their STEM experiences. The project's goal is to develop, implement, and assess a storytelling curriculum that contributes to broader dissemination and fosters positive change in STEM graduate education.

The project operates on three primary hypotheses: (1) storytelling pedagogy will improve STEM graduate students' professional identity and sense of belonging while reducing impostorism; (2) storytelling will decrease the stereotyping of STEM professionals; and (3) personal storytelling performances will enhance retention in graduate programs and support transition into STEM careers. Four key objectives guide the research: (1) develop a storytelling curriculum in collaboration with The Story Collider; (2) implement the curriculum with graduate students; (3) evaluate the impact of these performances on multiple stakeholders; and (4) disseminate the storytelling curriculum and student stories via open-source platforms like workshops and webinars.

The research will address three main questions using a mixed-methods approach: (1) What are the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives that students create about their STEM experiences? (2) How does storytelling relate to professional identity, sense of belonging, and impostor feelings among STEM graduate students? (3) How do the narrative characteristics of these stories influence identity, belonging, and impostor syndrome?

Preliminary quantitative data, drawn from 38 participants, suggests improvements in both STEM and researcher identities (as hypothesized), with slight declines in social fit (inconsistent with hypotheses) and marginal decreases in impostorism (as hypothesized). Audience responses to Fall 2024 performances, measured using the Warmth and Competence Scale and the Nerd-Genius Stereotype Scale, showed no change in perceived competence but noted significant improvements in perceived warmth. Although not formally hypothesized, this finding offers a promising direction for future research. Post-workshop interviews with graduate student participants further suggest that participants found the workshops beneficial and expressed interest in expanding the program to faculty and undergraduate students, as well as non-STEM fields.

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Citation
Format

Pakala, K., & Minichiello, A., & Jankowski, E., & Nguyen, U. T. K., & Hamby, A., & Pokimica, J. (2025, June), BOARD # 374: IGE: Transforming STEM Graduate Education: Enhancing Identity, Belonging, and Reducing Impostorism through Storytelling Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55746

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) project aims to enhance professional identity, foster a sense of belonging, and reduce impostorism among STEM graduate students. Recognizing the prevailing focus on content expertise in STEM fields, this project introduces a cohort-based program centered on storytelling. Students learn and apply storytelling techniques through personal narratives, which are grounded in narrative identity, reflection, and cognitive consistency theories. This initiative builds on previous pilot work and is framed by Self-Determination Theory, targeting the basic human needs of autonomy (identity), relatedness (belongingness), and competence (imposter feelings). The project&#39;s collaboration with The Story Collider, a national nonprofit, further aligns with the IGE mission to transform STEM graduate education. By performing stories of discovery, fitting in, and overcoming doubt, students explore themes relevant to their STEM experiences. The project&#39;s goal is to develop, implement, and assess a storytelling curriculum that contributes to broader dissemination and fosters positive change in STEM graduate education.

The project operates on three primary hypotheses: (1) storytelling pedagogy will improve STEM graduate students&#39; professional identity and sense of belonging while reducing impostorism; (2) storytelling will decrease the stereotyping of STEM professionals; and (3) personal storytelling performances will enhance retention in graduate programs and support transition into STEM careers. Four key objectives guide the research: (1) develop a storytelling curriculum in collaboration with The Story Collider; (2) implement the curriculum with graduate students; (3) evaluate the impact of these performances on multiple stakeholders; and (4) disseminate the storytelling curriculum and student stories via open-source platforms like workshops and webinars.

The research will address three main questions using a mixed-methods approach: (1) What are the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives that students create about their STEM experiences? (2) How does storytelling relate to professional identity, sense of belonging, and impostor feelings among STEM graduate students? (3) How do the narrative characteristics of these stories influence identity, belonging, and impostor syndrome?

Preliminary quantitative data, drawn from 38 participants, suggests improvements in both STEM and researcher identities (as hypothesized), with slight declines in social fit (inconsistent with hypotheses) and marginal decreases in impostorism (as hypothesized). Audience responses to Fall 2024 performances, measured using the Warmth and Competence Scale and the Nerd-Genius Stereotype Scale, showed no change in perceived competence but noted significant improvements in perceived warmth. Although not formally hypothesized, this finding offers a promising direction for future research. Post-workshop interviews with graduate student participants further suggest that participants found the workshops beneficial and expressed interest in expanding the program to faculty and undergraduate students, as well as non-STEM fields.

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
AU  - Krishna Pakala
AU  - Angela Minichiello PE
AU  - Eric Jankowski
AU  - Uyen Thi Kim Nguyen
AU  - Anne Hamby
AU  - Jelena Pokimica
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - BOARD # 374: IGE: Transforming STEM Graduate Education: Enhancing Identity, Belonging, and Reducing Impostorism through Storytelling
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/55746
ER  -