college. In addition to collectingdemographic information, participants completed a series of measures designed to captureattitudes and behaviors toward engineering as a potential career field. The main measures ofinterest include Engineering Identity and Doing Engineering. Engineering Identity scores reflectparticipants’ personal and professional identities as engineers; Doing Engineering scores indicateparticipants’ prior experience with engineering and its related technical skills. Boys reportedsignificantly higher engineering identities (M = 37.65, SD = 6.58) compared to girls (M = 39.54,SD = 6.09), t(360) = 2.95, p = .003. Boys reported stronger and more frequent experiences withengineering, indicated by their higher Doing Engineering scores
nowpursuing their educational or professional career in the area of UAVs and other related areas. Theprogram has also been successful in motivating the participants to graduate degrees in STEMdisciplines. Some of the participants are already pursuing their studies for a Master’s degree or areplanning to apply to Master’s/PhD programs. Most of the community college students havetransferred to 4-year institutions for degrees in engineering. Also, all the participants havepresented their work at student and/or professional conferences. This has helped the participantsimprove their written and oral communication skills. The paper discusses how the Programinfluenced in motivating them to graduate studies and/or for R&D career in industry in the
of Undergraduate Studies, Center for Academic Advising and Student Affairs, and the Career and Professional Development offices. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2020A Phenomenological Exploration of Women’s Lived Experiences and Factors That Influence Their Choice and Persistence in EngineeringIntroductionIn recent years it has been suggested that the United States is losing its prominent global positionin Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, which has greatly influencedour country’s global and economic competitiveness. According to the National Math and ScienceInitiative (NMSI, 2016), “American students are falling behind other countries in the criticalsubjects of
, Persistence, and Interest in Civil EngineeringAbstractExposing pre-college students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)activities and undergraduate college students to service learning have both been linked toincreased interest and participation in STEM careers. This study investigates the use of theWriting Partners program as an intervention to increase college students’ intentions to persist inthe major and increase K-12 students’ awareness and understanding of engineering. The WritingPartners (WP) program consists of college students exchanging letters with a local 5th or 6thgrade student twice over the course of a semester, culminating in a campus visit for theelementary students. This research
rising senior at the Colorado School of Mines. He is studying Chemical Engineering with a focus on Biological Engineering. He is also working towards a secondary education licence through the University of Northern Colorado with the intention to pursue a career in secondary education after graduating in May 2021. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2020 Work-in-Progress: Chemical engineering students’ emotions towards biologyIntroductionEmotions and attitudes towards a subject can play a large part in a student’s decision to takemore courses or pursue a major in that subject area. The theory of planned behavior states that aperson’s intentions to perform a
Qualitative Case StudyAbstractThe necessity for a highly qualified STEM work force has created national educationalinitiatives, both secondary and post-secondary, to address the need for increasing theparticipation of underrepresented people in STEM related fields. These efforts have includedstrengthening secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and preparing studentsto have a strong foundation in high school mathematics and science courses. While women haveclosed the gap in academic performance in high school mathematics and science courses, andattainment of post-secondary degrees, they pursue undergraduate engineering degrees at a muchlower rate than men. In order for the United States to meet the demand for qualified
participants with an improved skill set for entry into a facultyposition. The project has completed three, two-week summer intensive professional trainings thatprovided participants with skills for entry into a faculty position and recently started the thirdyear of mentoring.The first summer intensive professional preparation was held at The University of Akron and had13 ACADEME (Advancing Career in Academics with Diversity and Mentorship in Engineering)Fellows from The University of Akron, universities in the same geographical region, and fromthe collaborating institutions. Modifications to the advertising approach were successful;yielding applicants from across the country and increased participation. The second summerprofessional preparation held
less than 20 percent of thecomputing and engineering fields [7].According to a recent research study (2012), in order to increase participation we must expand ourresearch into K-12 to better understand boosters and barriers to students entrance into STEM fieldsof study [8]. As such, in order to find out how to attract more female students to this maledominated field, it is important to further investigate and understand the barriers and factors thatinfluence female students’ educational pursuits and career choices along the key transition pointsmiddle school, high school and entire college. In this study we focused on female students’occupational aspirations and paths from middle school, beginning of high school, and beginningof college
advanced study and STEMcareers. These were tabulated against the goals of the REU site, and conclusions drawn on thesite’s progress in achieving its intended objectives. Details are also provided on the recruitingefforts undertaken and the applicant pool it generated, especially regarding the switching of theapplication portal from one that was managed individually by the REU site, to a common pilotapplication system managed at the NSF program level. Finally, the demographics and regionalspread of the participants as well as their intentions for advanced-study and STEM career choicesare detailed as well. Altogether, the experience, outcomes and lessons learned from this REU siteoperation are expected to guide the effective and efficient operation
ca- reers in engineering and technological disciplines. She has presented at numerous conferences throughout the United States and was an invited speaker at the international Gender Summit in Belgium in 2016.Wendy Robicheau Wendy has been Project Manager with the College of Technology – Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing since 2012. In that time she has developed a passion for making middle and high school students, faculty and counselors aware of the educational and career pathways that are possible in STEM and manufacturing through various outreach programs. She enjoys organizing outreach initiatives such as student symposiums, counselor workshops, and any other opportunities to spread the word
through research experiences for engineering students, student pathways to engineering degree completion, and documenting the influence of co-op experiences on academic performance.Dr. Marisa K. Orr, Clemson University Marisa K. Orr is an Assistant Professor in Engineering and Science Education with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University. Her research interests include student persistence and pathways in engineering, gender equity, diversity, and academic policy. Dr. Orr is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award for her research entitled, ”Empowering Students to be Adaptive Decision-Makers.” American c Society for
fields (U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2019) despite thegrowing interest of students in majoring in BME. One empirical study shows that BME majors are sought after,with a high number of pre-majors in our university. On the other hand, industry has the lowest interest in BMEstudents compared to other engineering majors at one institution (Nocera et al. 2018, Ortiz-Rosario et al. 2019).BME students reported three possible career outcomes with accepted industry positions (30%), furthereducation (54%), and looking for a job (16%) upon their graduation. Herein, we present an exploratory analysisof career data from a large Midwestern research-intensive university comparing the interest of variousengineering majors in acquiring industry jobs.The biomedical
systems. [Troy et al.,2016]. In addition, new challenges and opportunities are arising and therefore new professionalsand researchers are needed to deal with these problems. The department of Civil Engineering(CE) at the university has promoted UG research in different ways aligning with the College ofEngineering since 2018. This effort aims to provide research opportunities and enriched learningexperiences to a broad range of UG students in the department. Eventually, these efforts areexpected to improve undergraduate students’ persistence and retention in engineering fields.Lent’s Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) has been utilized in engineering education tounderstand undergraduate students’ major choice and engineering career development
evaluation measures were altered every1 The challenge of increasing diversity in STEM has been with us for more than two decades. Despite effort andtime, little has been achieved in changing the representation in STEM. The paradigm that exposure to STEMgenerates STEM degrees and drives the STEM workforce does not appear to work. Exposure to STEM is necessary,but it is not sufficient to diversify the STEM workforce. The PREP program focuses on activities that will increaseSTEM self-efficacy, STEM career awareness, and grit. This was accomplished by including activities led byyear. The modality of collecting data also changed throughout the years (paper and pencil,SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and REDCap7,8) As such, it should be noted the remainder
our department’s student organizations, and tutors from the peer tutoring center in our department. The program was open to other incoming local freshmen as well. This helped students in our program make connections with other incoming students. Based on the evaluation of the Early Arrival program, students found the introduction to the major requirements, hands-on sessions on Python and Unix, and a discussion of potential career paths for CS majors as the most useful sessions. Index Terms Community-Engaged Learning, Mentoring, Alumni Involvement, Retention I. I NTRODUCTION
professional workplace and gain insights into possible future careers. Tooptimize the benefits gained from internship programs for both students and companies, it isimportant to understand the specific motivations of interns in order to inform the design ofeffective programs, guidelines, and environments.In this study, two cohorts of interns in 2017 (N=115) and 2018 (N=155) at a large globalengineering company in the automotive industry completed exit surveys about their summerinternship experiences. These surveys focused on innovation and engineering task self-efficacymeasures as well as additional variables related to innovation interests and outcomes,postgraduate career goals and other influencing factors. The results were analyzed andinterpreted
, optimizing service commitments, achieving work-life balance, and developing andexecuting institution- and position-specific strategies for career advancement. The paper willreflect on the outcomes and the role of the group as a critical strategy to foster a supportive workenvironment.Introduction and Literature ReviewDespite efforts to increase the number of women in STEM fields in general and in academiamore specifically, there is still a large gender imbalance. While women are more likely than everto enter most STEM fields at the undergraduate level[2], the number of women who go intoacademic positions and then climb the academic ranks is rather dismal. As reported by Smith[3],a 2014 NSF report focused on R1 institutions, found that there were 38
percentages explicitly within engineering academia are difficult to obtainbecause the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics does not disaggregate thedoctoral workforce numbers of women, underrepresented minorities, and those with disabilitiesby discipline beyond S&E or provide a feature making data based on intersectional identitiesavailable [8].B. Approaches frequently used to diversify faculty demographicsStarting in 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a program, called ADVANCE,designed to “increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science andengineering careers” in a systemic way [9, para. 1]. Under the auspices of the ADVANCEprogram, more than one hundred institutions of higher education
that multiple viewpoints and different talents contribute to the work in the field.Career choices in postmodern societyIn postmodern society, the rapid technological change, evolving new technologies,digitalization, and automatization are fundamentally changing the labor market [1, 2]. In thedigital era, the importance of lifelong learning, upskilling, reskilling, and acquisition of newcompetences is emphasized [2]. Postmodern society emphasizes the role of an individual: foradolescents, self-exploration, self-actualization, finding an interesting field of study,developing a satisfying career, and establishing a meaningful life are among the key factorssteering the decisions about education and occupation [3, 4, 5, 6].In the modern world
associated with even the most effective tools for the training ofSTEM professionals, such as developmental network-based mentoring [9], [10] and career-transferable skill development [1]. For instance, mentoring has been proven to improve retentionand performance [11], [12], [13], leadership [14], [15], [16], and student involvement in graduateschool [17], [18], [19], [20], especially among underrepresented minority (URM) students [11],[16], [17], [19]. However, mentoring is typically challenged by the lack of adequate training notonly for mentors [21] but also for mentees, an issue only recently emphasized by mentoringexperts [1], [5], [6]. Similarly, although the skills that STEM graduate students need are wellknown, students are commonly left to
Engineering and Computer Science that prepare undergraduates toenter the job market, have led efforts in integrating entrepreneurial thinking into theircurriculum. This approach can be of interest to other STEM disciplines, because combiningtechnical skillset and entrepreneurial mindset provides career opportunities for all majors whenthey are participating in the knowledge economy. The report on; “Cultivating DiversityChampions: Practices and Lessons from Two NSF Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership InDiversity (GOLD) Projects”, suggests that; “One key challenge was the widespread belief amonggeoscience faculty that “science is science”, and that the question of who gets to practicegeoscience is answered using the scientific method.” [2] This may
topic.As an inherently convergent mixed methods design, Q methodology explains the quantitativeresults of a factor analysis using the qualitative findings from interviews. While Q methodologyhas had limited use in engineering education research to-date, it has a larger presence ineducation and educational psychology research more broadly.This paper details the history of Q methodology, when it is appropriate to use it as a researchdesign within engineering education research, the components of the methodology, how toexecute a Q methodology study, and how to analyze and interpret the results. A detailed examplefrom a dissertation is provided for how Q methodology is currently being used to study theexperiences of early career women engineers when
Risk Reduction Branch for the Galveston District of the Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to that, she served as an Associate Teaching Professor and was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences (CEEES) at the University of Notre Dame for 11 years. Dr. Kerr was the recipient of the Cathy F. Pieronek Women in Engineer Impact Award in 2020, and in 2018, Dr. Kerr was the recipient of the Dockweiler Advising Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising which is awarded to faculty who demonstrate a sustained commitment to undergraduates through outstanding mentoring, academic advising, or career counseling. Her research interests include
of research (increasing retention ofengineering students) by developing a tool that uses existing validated assessments to support astudent’s ability to self-assess their engineering academic career. This tool will serve first- andsecond-year students. The aims of the study focused on the following: 1. To define a UMBC student’s (Third, Fourth and Fifth year) successful Engineering State of Mind. This was essential to the creation of the Engineering State of Mind Instrument (ESMI) giving students indirect peer mentoring opportunities through online profiles. 2. Determine the common themes of Freshman Engineering students Engineering State of Mind and the attitudes and perceptions of the different population groups of the
of Massachusetts, the U.S. Department of Educa- tion, Houghton Mifflin, Verizon, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.Mr. Luis Rafael Frias II ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2020 Mitigating Transfer Shock for Undergraduates in Engineering to Increase Diversity (Work in Progress)Background As part of its response to the anticipated workforce needs in STEM fields, the National Science Foundation S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiative provides essential scholarship support to academically talented and diverse students with interests in STEM careers. The success for this initiative is essential to broadening
envision the potential that these skillshave in their future careers. This study spotlights how the engineering experience is markedlydifferent for these young women when empathy is the unifying cornerstone from whichengineering design experiences flow.Recent research findings on empathy and engineering points to the necessity of pairing empathywith engineering, including empathy needed for emotional intelligence in engineering design, thenecessity of empathy for product design and the need for empathy as an essential skill inengineering project management. Additionally, the use of empathy in the school years is wellestablished for success in multiple modes, including in an inclusive learning culture and as abasis for teamwork. Yet under explored
University of Rabat in Morocco, engineering students have beencompleting their masters of science degrees in aerospace or mechanical engineering. Welaunched our study to determine the impact of culture on career choice when we noted thatalmost equal numbers of Moroccan men and women arrived at our university each year since2015. This work is an exploratory qualitative case study that uses the combined frameworks ofHofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory and Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Theory.According to a report entitled "Is U.S. Science and Technology Adrift?" released by theCommission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST), the United States’ engineeringworkforce is growing but still lagging behind the overall growth of the country [1]. The
constructed to analyze what predictorconstructs contribute to a stronger identity for either engineering or science and how theseidentities influence career path goals and choices. This study shows that recognition from othersis a significant predictor of individual identity and that personal interest is a significant predictorof how an individual views BME. Gender was not found to influence professional identity orperception of BME in this study.1. IntroductionWhile biomedical engineering (BME) continues to grow as a discipline and the number ofprograms increase, there continues to be difficulties with defining BME [1][2]. BMEincorporates aspects of several science disciplines including biology, chemistry, and physics, aswell as traditional
Panel discussion on Regional Programs to Increase Participation of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Computing: Experiences, Partnerships, and Lessons Learned1. IntroductionSeveral high-profile national programs aim to increase diversity of the computing andinformation technology workforce. Among them, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women inComputing, now “the world’s largest gathering of women technologists,” is the best known [1].By bringing attendees together to celebrate the accomplishments of leading women in computingand technology fields, the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) helps counter many obstacleswomen encounter along their career paths, such as lack of role models
the UnitedStates that focus on promoting the development of youths' engineering identity and interest inSTEM-related career paths. In this paper, we present work in progress, focusing our discussion onrising 7th and 8th grade youth drawings and accompanying explanations of “an engineer in action,”as part of a summertime STEM summer outreach program for underrepresented minority middleschool youth. Our work is an adaptation of Draw an Engineer Test (DAET) [1] which focuses on thestereotypical understandings and (mis)conceptions adolescents have of scientists and engineers intraditional PK- 12 classroom settings. The context of this study, however, is an informal STEMlearning environment, entitled Bulls-Engineering Youth Experience for