Engineering Education, 2019 Reflections on Eight Years of Undergraduate Research at Our Community CollegeAbstractSince 2010, San Antonio College (SAC) has been the center of a continuously increasing familyof undergraduate research projects hosted by Texas’ first Math, Engineering, and ScienceAchievement (MESA) Center. A paper presented at the 2012 ASEE Conference in San Antoniodescribed the start of this program at this community college. It has been widely reported thatundergraduate research programs at four-year institutions increase retention, improve students’success, and produce higher quality graduates. Results demonstrate that two-year institutions canalso initiate and maintain successful
from one of the state colleges in our state. In order to create a shared understanding of the assetsthat transfer students bring to our institution, two faculty worked closely with two undergraduate studentsand one adviser. Data collection involved guided reflection writing by the two students and adviser ontopics as informed by the theoretical framework. These reflections bring to light some psychological,social, cognitive, and environmental resources that students in transition can draw on to maximizesuccess and minimize the transfer shock phenomenon.IntroductionTransfer students and their transitions to four-year institutions from two-year/community collegeshas been the focus of many investigations and programs. Research has shown that
, demonstrate, and maintain), reflected a 15% similarityamong the top 20 most frequently mentioned verbs found in the compared documents.Total and Unique Verb Match. There were 438 total verbs in the AM Curriculum Framework to415 in the AM Competency Model, and of those 16.21% (n=71) and 43.13% (n=179) wereunique verbs, respectively. The UM between the AM Framework and AM Competency Model is23.03% (Low), while TM has a DMS of 0.34 (Very low).Categorized Verbs. Verbs were categorized according to the Cognitive Dimension of Bloom’sRevised Taxonomy to identify similarities and differences between AM Framework and the AMCompetency Model. In Table 3, we see the frequency verbs in each of the categories and thecorresponding percentage of verbs in each of
moreclearly addressed the targeted student population(s) in their project summaries. By contrast, theydid not improve in their abilities to align evidence-based strategies with institutional/programneeds and to present research questions that showed potential for knowledge generation or toidentify multiple areas of far-reaching, plausible, and measurable broader impacts, includingthose related to STEM workforce development and graduate school placement.One of the limitations of our analysis is that the post-workshop summaries were collectedimmediately following the workshop, and thus are not necessarily reflective of the summariesthat were actually submitted with the proposal. We believe after participants returned to theirinstitutions and used the
interviews conducted, and along with this, some students completed reflection journalentries every other month (bi-monthly). Within the interviews, the focus was understanding howthe community college that they were at, where there was an S-STEM program established, wasable to help them develop their science or engineering identity. In the reflection journal entries,the questions revolved around STEM recognition, interests, and performance/competence.Finally, the study triangulated findings from all forms of data (e.g. interviews, reflection journalsto understand the students’ STEM identity.Findings There were multiple themes that were formulated when looking at the findings from thestudy. Some of the themes that came from the study were
possible.(Table 1). Students were then 3. If you were to describe your cohort to someone that has no experiencesasked to reflect on their midpoint with your cohort, what would you say? Please be as specific as possible.written responses and provide any 4. Describe how your cohort functions on assignments related your undergraduate research project, such as the concrete mix design and labamendments to these responses report. Be as specific as possible.during an interview with the 5. How do you think others perceive you in the cohort? Be as specific as possible.researcher at the
transcribedand coded using Dedoose software. A coding scheme was developed inductively based oncommonly occurring themes and themes relevant to existing literature. The aim of this study wasto identify factors contributing to persistence of women in engineering, so particular attention waspaid to respondents’ reflections on both supports received and barriers faced in their pursuit ofengineering at a community college. Detailed demographic characteristics of interviewrespondents are reported in Appendix B.FindingsMotivation to study engineering and choice of majorResearch indicates that about 70% of students who complete bachelor’s degrees in engineeringintended to do so as early as their senior year in high school and motivations for
havelimited documented evidence of their effectiveness. To better address their needs and provide afoundation for future efforts to support transfer student success at four-year institutions such asUC Davis, it is necessary to obtain relevant knowledge regarding barriers to facing thesestudents.The objective of this paper is to present identified barriers to UC Davis College of Engineeringtransfer student success and to document perceptions and experiences of these transfer students.Data was obtained through an analysis of survey data from upper division engineering studentsand three focus groups of transfer students. Current transfer students both confirmed previouslyreported barriers and identified new barriers, reflecting their struggle with a
methodology [14], [15] to determine the kinds ofpathways AM programs in rural Northwest Florida community and state colleges enabled fortheir students. We conducted a detailed AM program origin story analysis of five AM programcases.Participants. Figure 1 shows an outline of this case study program design and details.Figure 1. AM programs reflected in the study’s casesThe cases illustrated in Figure 1 reflect both one community college and four state college AMprograms located within Northwest Florida. The historical and political context is important tobriefly review when considering the institutional profiles of community and state colleges in thestate of Florida. The four state colleges each historically originated as a community collegebefore
graduates.The Needs of IndustryIn order to maintain a strong focus on industry needs, both RCBC and RU have engaged industrypartners in skills inventory activities that have identified the most important non-technical andtechnical skills. These identified skills were then used as the basis for the new degree programs,with appropriate competencies strongly linked to the course and program outcomes.This important information was gathered through activities such as a technology conference inwhich 59 participants, including academic and industry partners, discussed the critical skills andcompetencies that are needed in industry and should be reflected in the new MET curriculum.Additionally, the Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator have
moreHispanic undergraduates (59,703) than any other U.S. college or university and has the thirdlargest Black non-Hispanic undergraduate enrollment reflecting the racial and ethnic diversity ofthe 2.4 million residents of its service area. With MDC being the largest and most diverse publiccollege in the nation, underrepresented students are the targeted population for this initiative. Inresponse to cloud talent shortage, MDC launched a cloud literacy initiative to invest in cloudprofessional training with the industry leader in cloud computing solutions, Amazon WebServices (AWS). The cloud initiative included three components described in Figure 1 as follows: • Provide faculty professional development in cloud computing to teach cloud-related
grants departments andlimited support staff. While a handful had previously received grants or funding from otheragencies, most had no culture of grants at the organizational level and limited capacity to managethem. In several cases, the college administration had encouraged the teams to pursue Mentor-Connect or ATE applications more generally, lending critical support. Three of the colleges hadpursued mentoring after previous failed attempts at ATE proposals.Benefits and SuccessesUpon reflection of the successes associated with their involvement in Mentor-Connect, collegerepresentatives reported a number of benefits and improvements within their institutions andbeyond. These are presented at three levels: 1) institutional-level benefits; 2
) participate in an organizedservice activity that meets identified community needs, and (b) reflect on the service activity insuch a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of thediscipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility” (p. 112). Service-learning has been found to enhance students’ collaboration skills [5], civic engagement,interpersonal skills [6], [7], and their ability to apply knowledge to problem-solving [8].There is a large variety of service-learning projects developed at other institutions of higherlearning [9] – [11] such as EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service), PROCEED(PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ENGINEERING DESIGN), PublicService Design
standards for educational programs is a professionalresponsibility of the academic community, as is establishing accreditation criteria to ensure qualityis sustained—enter ABET. This paper summarizes the major efforts that led to Associate’s degreeprograms in cybersecurity, along with the motivation to create the first ABET Associate’s Cyberse-curity Program Criteria. It discusses the process to develop these cybersecurity criteria, describesthe current criteria, and presents the current status of the effort. In essence, this process reflects thematuration of the cybersecurity discipline.1 IntroductionCybersecurity professionals at all levels of preparation are in high demand, with predictions thatthere will continue to be a global shortage in
, the CC faculty attended 4 research seminars throughout the summer that focusedon the research being conducted by faculty on UCB campus in various areas. The CC facultyalso attended sessions by the leaders of the research topics (alternative energy, cyber security,wearable medical devices, green and sustainable manufacturing, and nanotechnology) that gavethem an overall view of current research goals and progress. The goal of hosting these seminarsis to describe real world problems being worked on, as well as providing access to leading-edgeresearch outside of their own primary laboratory.Beyond these seminars and workshops, CC faculty were asked to complete weekly homeworkassignments that asked them to reflect on their research progress and
opportunities.Qualitative ResultsQualitative feedback from KickStarter participants collected in regular surveys during theprogram indicate that the KickStarter process is highly valuable in building strategic STEMeducation research capacity at the 24 participating 2-yr HSIs. Participants have also reportedimproved ability to achieve other federal grants. Examples of qualitative comments include:KickStarter has provided us with the infrastructure to develop a strong leadership team,evidence-based goals and a strategic action plan, and well-written proposals that reflect NSF'sambitions.Everyone at the college involved in STEM agrees about the goals in the STEM plan. Making thegoals more tangible and focused is helping us to anchor proposals in a way we
well as those who may already hold a college degree andseek training aligned with this viable career path. To prepare the targeted population to fulfillthese needs, the program will focus on applying theories and hands-on skills in the developmentof marketable products, efficient processes, and designs that reflect an awareness of howtechnology meets the needs of society today and in the future. Further, the AAS.MET programwill provide extensive classroom study along with laboratory explorations. The degree is beingdeveloped based on the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of theAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) accreditation standards. Oneof the long term goals of the program is to obtain ABET
, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, or some EnvironmentalSciences. If we consider attrition from subsequent courses in these sequences, only about 33% ofstudents who enter the CHEM I and II sequence complete it, and only 40 of every 100 do so inthe Physics sequence.These attrition points reflect the reality that the vast majority of Skyline College students,including many interested in pursuing STEM-related careers, are not ready for college-levelmath when they get to the college. On the math placement test administered to students enrollingfor the first time in Fall 2014, only 16% of students placed in Transfer-Level Math(Trigonometry). Far fewer Latinos (5.4%), African Americans (7.1%), or Pacific Islanders(11.1%) did so. In fact, 60% of the
generated hashtags. This platform was user-friendly and familiar to REUstudents since it is similar to LinkedIn and Instagram. The aim of the descriptions detailed by theREU participants were to provide evidence of learning and skill development. E-portfolios helpto develop transferable skills alongside supporting reflective learning, which makes it an idealassessment technique for the technical modules [13].The REU CohortThe 2019 Program consisted of nine participants from NCSU and the two neighboringcommunity college schools. Of the nine participants, 56% were from a two-year institute (n=5)and 44% of the participants were from a four-year institution (n=4). There were five participantsfrom two-year institutions who were also transferring to a
] indicates is one way to ensure robust qualitative research.The research team also wrote analytic memos after each interview and openly discussed broadthemes that emerged from discussions with transfers. Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña [36]assert that analytic memos allow scholars to “reflect on and write about how [they] personally[relate] to the participants” (pp. 34-35). All transcripts were systematically and inductivelycoded individually by at least two members of the team; after coding transcripts individually, theteam then convened as a group of two or more to openly discuss and categorize themes thatcaptured crucial elements of participants’ experiences.In consideration of prior studies involving underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities
fromtalent identification up to bachelor’s or master’s degree completion. This paper outlines thedevelopment, implementation, and evaluation of the Holistic Programmatic Approach for Transfer(HPAT) model. The model is built on a well-thought-out program design reflected in a transferarticulation agreement and a joint commitment to quality and student success. Integral to theapproach is the requirement that the rigor of the curriculum at the community college matches thatof the 4-year partner. In addition, faculty, administration, and staff work synchronously andcollaboratively to provide intentional student support at each institution, with financial assistanceup to the master's degree completion. Holistic student support implements the
Kudo Cards to praise students for their achievements, critical reflection journalingand collaborative inquiry to improve teaching practice, and formation of a cross-institutionalaffinity group among EESTEM II participants to magnify equity-mindedness by developingequity agents. A total of 72 people attended the webinar out of the 128 registered. Seventeen oftwenty responses to the post-webinar survey indicated that the webinar exceeded or mostly mettheir expectations for learning how to build equitable learning environments in CTE and STEM.Fifteen agreed that their confidence level for implementing strategies to foster an equitableSTEM/CTE learning environment improved. All participants agreed that some or many of theirquestions were answered
of academic careers for fellows across theintersectional identities of race/ethnicity, gender, first-generation status, personal experience as acommunity college student, and Pell Grant status as an undergraduate. Given the need forcommunity colleges to hire faculty in STEM fields that are reflective of their racially and ethnicallydiverse student population, the research findings will serve to offer recommendations for futurework that is geared towards effectively preparing Hispanic STEM doctoral students to consideracademic careers at teaching-intensive institutions such as community colleges.To achieve the above-referenced goals in this grant, three research tasks are being pursued. Theprimary, and most labor intensive, is conducting semi
fastest-growing segment reaching 30% of the U.S. populationwhile becoming the youngest group comprising 33.5% of those under 18 years by 2060 [14].The demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be met when workers reflect the diversity ofthe population [15], therefore more students—of all ages and backgrounds—must be broughtinto community colleges and supported through graduation: a central focus of communitycolleges everywhere [16] [17]. While Latinx students are as likely as Caucasian students tomajor in STEM, their completion numbers drop dramatically [18] as Latinx students often havedistinct needs that evolved from a history of discrimination in the educational system [19] [20][21].HSIs do not by default support Latinx students in
’ awareness of and preparation forcareers in instrumentation and manufacturing.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation's AdvancedTechnological Education Program under Grant #1801177. Any opinions, findings, andconclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.Rationale for ProjectThe United States workforce faces a shortage in skilled workers, especially in jobs requiringindustry relevant skills but not necessarily four-year degrees. According to a report by theNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 3.4 million skilled technical jobsare expected to be unfilled by 2022 [1]. Additional
prerequisite structures present ina curriculum, the instructional complexity intends to capture the curriculum’s qualitativecomponents. Heileman et al. [14] admit this is a difficult task, especially in terms of quantifyinglatent qualities of such a system. Like structural complexity, we associate each course with ameasure that reflects its position in the overall curriculum – however, it does not appear to have aspecific name like ‘cruciality.’ The individual course instructional complexity is proxied by thepass/fail rate of the course. One could find the average pass/fail rate for the curriculum,mirroring the use of summing blocking and delay factors to calculate structural complexity, butthis could be a weak measure. Order and concurrency or
a collaboration betweenLouisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) and Louisiana Tech University (LA Tech), withpilot partner Bossier Parish School for Technology & Innovative Learning (BPSTIL), to expandinstrumentation workforce pathways for high school students in Louisiana. This material is basedupon work supported by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological EducationProgram under Grant No. 1801177. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendationsexpressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views ofthe National Science Foundation.This paper presents a detailed account of the course mapping process; a final table of learningobjectives that meet LDCC dual enrollment and
. • REU Collaboration: The REU program joined another REU program site to build unity, professional skills, and share research. The REUs were then exposed to different types of research as well as receive feedback from a different perspective. • Electronic Portfolios (e-portfolios): Students used e-portfolios to document their deliverables, experiences, and research throughout the ten weeks. The REU Program selected the Portfolium platform due to its similarity to other social media sites. Students created ten posts that focused on reflection. Posts included descriptions, teammate tagging, and the skills learned. The intention was for students to develop stronger transferable skills [3
address some ofthese concerns. The program is intended to be a support to new instructors to ensure they areintroduced to the College on-line systems and to support their pedagogy as well. It has made fora more positive experience for both instructors and their students alike.ConclusionSystematic planning that considerers all aspects of the program as a single system, has allowedus to gain success in student recruitment, retention and job placement. Industry involvement inthe program has helped to create a program with content and structure that fulfills industry needsand supports student success. Student success in the program is reflected in the high level of jobplacement we have seen.This material is based upon work supported by the National
semester; they didnot start at Penn State as a first-time freshman due to transfer or being readmitted.A summary of the cohort demographics is provided in Table 1. On average, the freshman cohortsincluded about twice as many men as women. The demographics also reflect the regionalcampus population of fewer underrepresented minority (URM) students and higher percentage offirst generation college students. In general, first generation students are less likely to participatein undergraduate research [14].Table 1. Demographics of Research Program Participants Grouped by Cohort Freshman Total Head Gender FIRST Cohort Count F M URM INT GEN 2012 7