. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Emotions in Education for Sustainability in EngineeringAbstractThis study examined the role of emotions in sustainability education. Faculty reflections on theirown emotions and their perceptions of student emotions related to sustainability education inengineering were analyzed. The findings were then connected to emotionally conscious,effective teaching strategies in sustainability education within engineering. The research was partof a larger study grounded in the Diffusion of Innovation theory. Ten interviews were conductedwith innovators and early adopters of educating mechanical engineering students aboutsustainability in the U.S. and Canada. Following the discrete emotions
ofUse, Perceived Usefulness, Attitude Toward Use, and Behavioral Intention to Use. The responsepatterns are presented in Table 4.Perceived Ease of Use received overwhelmingly positive responses, with 70.84% of respondentsagreeing or strongly agreeing that AI tools like ChatGPT are easy to use. Only 8.33% expresseddisagreement, and 20.83% remained neutral. This reflects a general sense of accessibility and user-friendliness. Perceived Usefulness was similarly well-rated, with 62.5% of participants agreeingor strongly agreeing that AI tools are useful in educational contexts. A smaller group (8.33%)disagreed, and 29.17% remained neutral.For Attitude Toward Use, 66.66% of respondents expressed a positive orientation toward using AItools in
, ensuring that students are equipped with the skills necessary to thrivein an AI-driven world. This growing integration of AI tools into curricula promises to driveinnovation in teaching methods, assessment, and the broader educational ecosystem, preparingfuture engineers to navigate and contribute to an AI-powered landscape.Recent studies highlight the growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools inengineering education, reflecting both their potential and challenges. For instance, Subramanianand Vidalis [1] explore AI-powered tools, including generative models like ChatGPT, thatfacilitate interactive, personalized learning experiences in engineering classrooms shortly afterthey are becoming readily available to the public. They
technical assignments include eight guidedlaboratory assignments and two open-ended projects, each scaffolded by a proposal process,where students meet with teaching assistants to check in and get critical feedback on their designideas. A Lab Practicum is administered as an authentic performance measure near the end of thecourse. Three reflection assignments are administered throughout the semester at week 2 (pre),week 9 (mid), and week 14 (post) to measure the development of student attitudes throughout thecourse. These reflection results are the data analyzed in this paper.In addition to measuring students’ self-efficacy, the reflection assignments also measure theiridentity both as a “maker” and “engineer” as well as their sense of belonging to
curriculum writer, but quickly evolved to reflect her passion for supporting the tactical details of large-scale programs and product development and dissemination. Ashley is currently engaged in research on behalf of NIHF as a member of the Strategic Data Project Fellowship, a program of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.Roxanne A. Moore Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Roxanne Moore is currently a Principal Research Engineer at Georgia Tech with appointments in the Center for Education Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Computing (CEISMC) and Mechanical Engineering. She has spent her 12+ year research faculty career focusing on broadening participation in STEM and creating novel
create more effectivepersonalized learning environments [9]. However, their integration also raises concerns aboutequity and potential bias, particularly when considering the need for diversity and inclusion inengineering education. 2.3. Diversity in Engineering EducationDiversity and inclusion (D&I) in engineering education are essential for increasing therepresentation of underrepresented groups, especially women and minorities [11,12]. Despiteongoing initiatives, the demographics of the engineering field remain primarily unchanged andneed to reflect societal diversity [12]. The rationale for promoting diversity varies, encompassingindustry needs, social justice arguments, and the benefits of cognitive diversity [13].D&I efforts
systems thinking to engineers?Background on Systems ThinkingA systems philosophy can be characterized by the following primary orientations [15]: ● An understanding of interrelationships, the dynamics of which encompass an ontology ● A commitment to multiple perspectives, which reflect an epistemology ● And an awareness of boundaries and the acknowledgment of multiple perspectives, reinforcing the ethics of a systems philosophyLearning about systems allows people within them to understand not just action andconsequences but encourages them to reflect on the underlying structures and assumptions thatlead to those actions and consequences [16, 17]. These underlying structures and assumptions arealso sometimes called ‘mental models
, & assessments • IRB Review Data Analysis Data Collection • Analyze differences between • Pre-Course Survey the two approaches (e.g., • Post-Course Survey engagement, satisfaction, • Students Performance Data performance) Evaluation Reflection & • Test hypotheses on Recommendations project impact
problems. Provide opportunities to access expert thinking and performance, Imitating Expert enabling students to observe expert performance and simulate activity Work Performance processes before attempting. Multiple Roles and Provide opportunities to access and investigate multiple viewpoints, Perspectives roles, and perspectives. Require students to reflect based on extensive knowledge to make Reflection predictions, hypotheses, and experiments, generate solutions and solve problems. Provide opportunities to solve
program accreditation is essentially a continuous improvementprocess. It requires the accredited program to establish an effective continuousimprovement mechanism.By looking back at history and combining the viewpoints of relevant research, thequality assurance practice of engineering education in American colleges anduniversities since the 1990s can be divided into three stages: the EC2000 pilot period(1995-1999), the EC2000 promotion period (2000-2007), and the EC2000transformation period (since 2008). During each stage, colleges and universities havemade new progress in quality assurance practices under the leadership of ABET, butalso exposed different quality assurance problems. The main problem in the EC2000transformation period is reflected
, University of Minnesota, with atotal of 19 students providing responses, reflecting approximately 15% of the current active cohort.The respondents included individuals at various stages of the program, such as first-year students,second-year students, and those in their final semester who are completing a thesis or capstoneproject. This convenience sample aims to illustrate the current experiences of students usingGenerative AI tools within this specific graduate program.Data Analysis: Quantitative responses were aggregated and summarized as percentages or meanratings. We collected statistics on the frequency of tool usage, such as how often students useGenerative AI (GenAI) for academic tasks, and noted specific concerns, like the percentage
Inclusion and Accessibility: The Impact of Inclusive Design on UX Career PreparationTaylor M. Smith, The University of Texas at Austin; Hansika Murugu, University of Maryland, College Park; & Earl W. Huff Jr., The University of Texas at Austin[THE SHIFT TOWARDS INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY] 2 AbstractThis study examines the transformative impact of inclusive design education on informationscience students’ career goals and their understanding of technology development. Throughanalyzing student reflection journals and conducting follow-up interviews, the research exploreshow exposure to inclusive design principles
institutions have attempted to track student success from their engineering leadershipprograms post-graduation, primarily through surveys. Researchers at U of T evaluated the impactof their curricular and co-curricular program through a survey of over 800 alumni with 25 followup interviews [8]. The ILead program at U of T program is relatively diffuse; students could takeacademic leadership courses or participate in various duration co-curricular programs, from 2-hour workshops to 30-hour cohort-based programs. There was no attempt to assess alumnileadership using any validated instrument; alumni were instead asked to reflect on how theirinvolvement in ILead programming had impacted their career. Alumni reported an impact ofleadership courses on their
instructors to maximize peerlearning and communication skills in a third-year mechanical engineering course. Thisincorporates both (peer-to-peer) design reviews and reflection work for a computer aideddrafting (CAD) design project. To determine effectiveness, an anonymous Qualtrics survey wasdeveloped and administered to students to determine the impact on their learning experiences,skills, and engineering identity in Part I of the study. Previously, there was only one open-endedquestion that did not yield many responses regarding its impact. The continued study (Part II)seeks to address some of these issues and includes a re-administration of the Qualtrics survey toa second cohort of students in the class. The revised survey contains six new
development projects of their choosing weeklyover the course of the semester. The course was conducted over two semesters: an initial pilot,followed by a refined iteration incorporating lessons learned and student feedback.In both iterations of this course, students live stream for a set amount of hours each week whilemaintaining a diary of their accomplishments and how they felt their individual streams went. Weevaluate the students on their perceived self-efficacy and the evolving perceptions of their goalsand desired achievements during this course through three reflection assignments.Our observations reveal that students initially took the course to set aside time to work onpersonal projects and develop their programming skills, with motivations
in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Madras and M.S and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Indiana University. During his time at Rose-Hulman, Sriram has served as a consultant in Hadoop and NoSQL systems and has helped a variety of clients in the Media, Insurance, and Telecommunication sectors. In addition to his industrial consulting activities, Sriram maintains an active research profile in data science and education research that has led to over 30 publications or presentations. At Rose-Hulman, Sriram has focused on incorporating reflection, and problem based learning activities in the Software Engineering curriculum. Sriram has been fundamental to the revamp of the entire software
Charlie in the following writing activities in undergraduate engineeringcourses: 1. Project proposals for design projects 2. Reflective essays on career goals and plans for achieving those goals 3. Project reports (labs and design projects) 1We anticipate that this AI agent can provide meaningful feedback to students to increase thequality of their writing drafts before turning them in for final review by the instructionalteam. This first study characterized the feedback provided by Charlie to determine its qualityrelative to a human evaluator. Our initial research questions include: R1: How effectively does Charlie provide formative feedback to students? R2: How well do students integrate
judgment for synthesizing evidence acrossparameters, and interpretive judgment for understanding contextual implications. Their researchshows how these judgment types build upon each other hierarchically as engineers developexpertise. Similarly, Francis et al. [5] examined how engineering judgment develops through theinterplay between cognitive decision-making processes, professional identity formation, andcontextual influences within engineering practice. Taken together, these frameworks highlightthe multifaceted nature of engineering judgment while pointing to common developmentalmechanisms like failure analysis, authentic contexts, and reflective practice.Despite growing theoretical understanding of engineering judgment, significant
, with one instructor teaching the two control sections and the other teaching theintervention section. Assessment standardization was achieved through a structured approach:homework assignments utilized student self-assessment based on instructor-approved solutions,complemented by metacognitive reflections. For examinations, the instructors systematicallydivided grading responsibilities, with each instructor blind-grading specific questions across allthree sections to maintain consistent assessment standards.The intervention for the intervention group consisted of six structured AI-focused activitiesimplemented throughout the semester to integrate AI into their classroom experience. In the firstfive lessons, students received foundational
velocities of longitudinal and transverse waves intensile testing specimens, from which material properties such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’sratio, and shear modulus were determined.In parallel, the same specimens underwent traditional tensile testing, providing students with avaluable opportunity to compare Young’s modulus values obtained via both ultrasonic NDT andconventional testing methods. This direct comparison deepened students' comprehension of thematerial properties and highlighted the practical applications of NDT in evaluating the integrityand characteristics of materials without causing damage.The effectiveness of incorporating ultrasonic NDT into the curriculum was assessed throughdetailed student reports and reflections. These
integrate aspects of the project fundamentals andimplementation framework. The higher-order synthesizing skills of the students were alsobrought to bear with the open-ended creative project with the robotic systems and helped reinforcethe ABET learning outcomes related to teamwork, analyzing and interpreting data, and self-directed acquisition of new knowledge[11].6.0 Future WorkThe student efforts outlined in this paper offer considerable potential for advancement within thecontext of the experiential learning and research framework. The “concrete experiences” describedhave facilitated “reflective observation” and “abstract conceptualization,” which are now pavingthe way for further “active experimentation,” in alignment with Kolb’s experiential
American history such as enslavement, scientific racism, medical experimentation, Jim Crowlaws, and the Freedom Movement, African Americans made significant contributions to STEM, achievingdegrees, creating inventions—many of which were uncredited—and advancing the field. Today, however,African Americans are awarded the lowest number of STEM degrees and remain underrepresented in theSTEM workforce (Bailey & Ojuok, 2024). This disparity reflects what Ladson-Billings (2006) terms the"education debt," which encompasses historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral components ofsystemic inequities. Ladson-Billings explains that this debt represents an accumulation of disadvantagesover time, rooted in unequal access to quality education, under
implicitprocesses explicit to the learner.Cognitive Apprenticeship posits six key teaching methods: 1. Modeling: The expert demonstrates the target skill, making their thought processes explicit through verbalization and other means. 2. Coaching: The expert provides guidance and support as the learner attempts to perform the skill, offering feedback and suggestions. 3. Scaffolding: The expert provides temporary support structures that enable the learner to perform tasks that would otherwise be beyond their capabilities. 4. Articulation: The learner is encouraged to articulate their understanding and reasoning, making their thought processes explicit. 5. Reflection: The learner is encouraged to compare their
teamwork, and encouraging self-assessment of leadership abilities in groupenvironments.The mentorship program follows Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which emphasizes learningthrough concrete experiences and reflection, enabling students to apply theoretical knowledge topractical, industry-related challenges. Additionally, Vygotsky’s social constructivism informs thestructure of the program, where students actively construct knowledge through social interactionswith their mentors and peers, providing a collaborative learning environment.Since its implementation, the program has engaged sixteen industry professionals as mentors.Students are required to meet with their mentors at least three times during the semester,participating in structured
rather than empirical,research-driven approaches [1]. This trend can lead to rigid prerequisite structures and outdatedframeworks that do not always reflect contemporary engineering practice. As a result, curriculacan become unnecessarily complex, with prior research showing that high complexity negativelycorrelates with graduation rates, time-to-degree, job earnings, and employment rates [2], [3], [4].These curricula also have impacts on equity in engineering pathways as research oftendemonstrates equity gaps in gateway STEM course grades by race or gender [5], [6]. Complexcurricula may also reduce students’ opportunities to cultivate skills beyond traditional classroomenvironments, such as interdisciplinary thinking, interpersonal competency
established AI curriculum, enhanced with specializedadaptations for neurodivergent learners. Students engaged with machine learning principlesthrough hands-on exercises in Python, working with frameworks including TensorFlow andKeras. The curriculum emphasized responsible AI design, particularly addressing machinelearning bias, a critical consideration given emerging research on algorithmic fairness. Projectwork spanned affective computing, computer vision, and natural language processing usingindustry-standard tools, including GitHub and Jupyter Notebooks.Pedagogical ApproachThe program's pedagogical design reflected the current understanding of neurodivergent learningpreferences. Technical content delivery incorporated frequent active learning
patternsAnalysis of instructional approaches showed both commonalities and distinctions between DFand CF. Both groups actively engaged in skill development, with very few skills reported as “notaddressed” by either group. Individual and team-based coaching emerged as a frequently usedapproach across both faculty types, suggesting a shared commitment to hands-on studentdevelopment.The data revealed different emphases in teaching approaches between the two faculty groups. AsFigure 1 shows, CF consistently reported providing specific assignment feedback across nearlyall skills, whereas DF showed more varied application of this instruction approach. Thisdistinction may reflect domain-dependent pedagogical traditions or comfort levels of individualswith
engineering doctoral students’ usage of ‘voice’ mechanismto express discontent with several groups including friends, family members, faculty, anduniversity administrators. The main findings that resulted from this study show students’ decisionto exit or consider existing their program were impacted due to a lack of support, response, and insome cases an active suppression of voice from faculty or graduate department. This studyhighlights that if institutions seek to learn about the underlying causes of graduate engineeringattrition, they need to show a willingness to reflect on the importance of graduate students’feedback and implement self-corrective actions.Introduction and Related Literature Graduate schools and graduate administrators
. Engagement Score E 1 The total engagement score received for the lab.The weights sum up to 1.00, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive scoring system formeasuring student engagement. This distribution reflects the relative importance of eachindicator in contributing to the overall engagement score. While time spent in lab activities (T)was given the highest weight (0.3) due to its direct relationship with active engagement, otherindicators such as pre- and post-lab quiz scores and time spent on instructions were weightedbased on their observed contribution to overall engagement.The engagement score (E) is calculated as a weighted sum of the normalized values of theseindicators, Eq. (6): 𝐸 = 0.1𝐿 + 0.1𝐼 + 0.3𝑇
incentivizing intellectual curiosity, allowing studentsto engage deeply with the material without sacrificing the practical importance of their academicrecords.Alternative grading also gives more meaning to earned grades over traditional grading models byensuring they directly reflect a student’s demonstrated understanding of key concepts. Instead ofrelying on partial credit or averaging scores across graded events, this approach requires studentsto meet clearly defined learning objectives before receiving credit. Furthermore, assessments areclearly and transparently mapped to learning objectives. As a result, grades become a more accu-rate representation of what students understand at the end of a course.In this work, we describe the implementation of