Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) GIFTS Session 2: Foundational Skills in the First-Year Engineering Classroom

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evans Tang, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Allyson Faith Miller; Olivia Guptill; Clara Elisa Hortua; Aparajita Jaiswal, Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI); Sakhi Aggrawal, Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI); Paul J. Thomas

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Diversity

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First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

academic andprofessional development [1]. Recent industry data underscores this urgency - while 98% ofemployers rate teamwork as a critical career readiness competency, 73% report difficulty findinggraduates with essential soft skills like teamwork and conflict resolution [2], [3]. This gap isparticularly concerning as only 77% of recent STEM graduates rate themselves as proficient inteamwork, suggesting a disconnect between workplace demands and graduate preparedness [2].The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that 60% of STEM employees never receive basicconflict resolution training [4], highlighting the crucial need to address these skills duringacademic preparation.Engineers, scientists, and technologists often work in interdisciplinary

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Work-in-Progress 3: Integration of Math, Computing, and AI in First-Year Courses

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Selvakumar Raja, Greenville College; Natalie Schleper, Saint Louis University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

disciplines. This course aims toequip students with essential hard skills specific to electrical, mechanical, and computerengineering fields, while simultaneously fostering the development of crucial soft skills liketeamwork, oral and written communication, and the engineering design process that are commonto all fields of engineering.The ProposalA course that offers first-year engineering students a panoramic view of the engineering landscapeby introducing students to the fundamental principles and practices of multiple engineeringbranches. Additionally, the course encourages and facilitates students to gauge the job prospectsof their intended/desired field of engineering study using market trends and databases, thusenabling students to make more

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 8: Division Best Papers

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sonia Travaglini, Stanford University

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Diversity

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First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

Outcome Measurement to Program ObjectivesThe core of the outreach program evaluation methodology is driven from having a cleardefinition of the program objectives, continuous feedback during implementation, and impartialassessment of final outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative metrics help ensure the program isobjectively assessed, measuring the engagement with or completion of the program objectives,and in the specific and highly individualized objectives, such as ‘learn to code Python’, whichare generated by the participant and program staff in collaboration during the on-boarding to theoutreach program. This approach ensures both the program objectives, such as ‘developingparticipants' engineering technical and soft skills’, and the

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 2: Designing Creativity - Innovation Through First-Year Maker Projects

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rui Li, New York University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

in engineering education: a systematic reviewof the literature,” *Eur. J. Eng. Educ.*, vol. 45, pp. 165–180, 2020. doi:10.1080/03043797.2018.1534086[8] E. G. T. Sumanasiri, M. Yajid, and A. Khatibi, “Review of literature on graduateemployability,” *J. Stud. Educ.*, vol. 5, pp. 75–88, 2015. doi: 10.5296/jse.v5i3.7983[9] S. Nilsson, “Enhancing individual employability: the perspective of engineering graduates,”*Educ. Train.*, vol. 52, pp. 540–551, 2010. doi: 10.1108/00400911011068487[10] S. M. Nisha and V. Rajasekaran, “Employability skills: a review,” *IUP J. Soft Skills*, vol.12, pp. 29–37, 2018.[11] C. Succi and M. Canovi, “Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing studentsand employers’ perceptions,” *Stud. High. Educ.*, vol

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 12: Bridging the Gap - Strategies to Support Diverse Learners in Early Engineering Courses

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brainerd Prince, Plaksha University; Sohan Panda, Plaksha University; Shubham Goel, Plaksha University; Tanmay Ravi Chowdhary, Plaksha University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

and the video to showcase their findings. The students even devised differentcreative ways, including skits, to explain their project through storytelling. They also reviewedvarious research papers to deepen their understanding of the concepts. Another fruitful outcomewas that the use of AI tools was comparatively less for part two of the course. Thus, one couldsay that creating an engineering thinking taxonomy and the video, which followed the PBLpedagogy, proved to be a better approach for teaching critical thinking skills to engineeringstudents. Importantly, the key takeaway was that project-based learning not only fosters criticalthinking and creativity but also enhances essential soft skills like teamwork, communication, andresearch

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Work-in-Progress 2: Skills Development and Career Preparation

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Atheer Almasri, West Virginia University; Lizzie Santiago, West Virginia University; Todd R Hamrick, West Virginia University; Robin A.M. Hensel, West Virginia University; Carter Hulcher, West Virginia University; Akua B. Oppong-Anane, West Virginia University

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First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

System (NAICS)," [Online]. Available: https://www.census.gov/naics/?58967?yearbck=2022. [Accessed: 14-Feb-2025].[5] G. C. Fleming, M. Klopfer, A. Katz, and D. Knight, “What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements,” J of Engineering Edu, vol. 113, no. 2, pp. 251–279, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.1002/jee.20581.[6] M. Hirudayaraj, R. Baker, F. Baker, and M. Eastman, “Soft Skills for Entry-Level Engineers: What Employers Want,” Education Sciences, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 641, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.3390/educsci11100641.[7] D. Rabelo et al., “The Role of Non-Technical Skills in the Software Development Market,” in Proceedings of the XXXVI Brazilian Symposium on Software

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 7: Teams that Work - Collaboration and Project-Based Learning

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jessica Josephine Adams, Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI); Camden Love, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Charis Armstrong; Devang Atul Patel, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Aparajita Jaiswal, Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI); Sakhi Aggrawal, Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI); Laura Starr, Indiana-Purdue University

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Diversity

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First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

comparisons to validate these findings across different contexts. Investigation ofspecific intervention strategies could help identify the most effective approaches for developingboth team skills and intercultural competence. Development of standardized assessment toolsand examination of industry outcomes would also provide valuable insights for improving STEMeducation practices.References[1] S. Majid, Z. Liming, S. Tong, and S. Raihana, “Importance of Soft Skills for Education and Career Success,” Int. J. Cross-Discip. Subj. Educ., vol. 2, no. Special 2, pp. 1036–1042, Dec. 2012, doi: 10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2012.0147.[2] P. Bahrami, Y. Kim, A. Jaiswal, D. Patel, S. Aggrawal, and A. J. Magana, “Information Technology Undergraduate

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Work-in-Progress 2: Skills Development and Career Preparation

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bhavana Kotla, The Ohio State University; Tyler James Stump, The Ohio State University; Connor Jenkins, The Ohio State University; Abbey Darya Kashani Motlagh, The Ohio State University; Krista M Kecskemety, The Ohio State University; Rachel Louis Kajfez, The Ohio State University

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First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

validation testing.6. AcknowledgementThe authors acknowledge The Kern Family Foundation’s support of this work and the studentsfor participating and completing the surveys.7. References[1] G. C. Fleming, M. Klopfer, A. Katz, and D. Knight, “What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements,” J. Eng. Educ., vol. 113, no. 2, pp. 251–279, 2024, doi: 10.1002/jee.20581.[2] F. Munir, “More than technical experts: Engineering professionals’ perspectives on the role of soft skills in their practice,” Ind. High. Educ., vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 294–305, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1177/09504222211034725.[3] J.-B. R. Souppez, “Engineering employability skills: Students, academics, and industry

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Work-in-Progress 1: Curriculum Design and Innovative Pedagogy

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raghu Pucha, Georgia Institute of Technology; Amit Shashikant Jariwala, Georgia Institute of Technology; Shivani Kundalia, Georgia Institute of Technology; Pranathi C Amballa, Georgia Institute of Technology; Stacy Ross, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

mentorship into design-based learning courses has been shown to promotedeeper understanding of design processes and the role of end-users and stakeholders. Dym et al.[10] underscore the importance of design thinking in engineering curricula and how collaborativeactivities enhance students' ability to approach complex, open-ended problems. They alsohighlight the importance of embedding case studies and reverse engineering to promoteintegrative thinking. Peer mentorship in such courses not only facilitates this learning but alsohelps in the development of essential soft skills, including communication, teamwork, andleadership. Within the context of engineering education, makerspaces commonly utilize peermentorship to provide a safe and welcoming

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Work-in-Progress 1: Curriculum Design and Innovative Pedagogy

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael J McGinnis, LeTourneau University; Jeff Johnson, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs Division (FPD)

with tertiary goals ofmaking the first year students of this year jealous of next year’s build project.Students enter LeTourneau with a spectrum of experiences and through the build project acommon skillset can be taught to be utilized for future labs and projects. Some have grown uptinkering, disassembling electronics and rebuilding them; some have helped with projects aroundthe house; a few are at LeTourneau on the G.I. Bill coming back to school after serving ourcountry; most have grown up constructing with LEGO® bricks; however, the other side of thespectrum have never used power tools or soldering irons.The skillsets taught through this project are twofold: soft skills and physical skills. Soft skillsinclude: attention to detail, time