Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Moore, Petroleum Institute; lana El Chaar, Petroleum Institute; Lisa Lamont, Petroleum Institute

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

by a graduate of a course or program. Using this approach, the STEPSteam was able to ensure that curriculum design, content, delivery, and assessment wasbased on an explicit identification of the integrated knowledge, skills and values neededby both students and society.The learning outcomes for the STEPS courses (STEPS I taken in Sophomore 1 andSTEPS II, taken in Junior year) require that students: ≠ Demonstrate competency in applying the steps of the engineering design process to solve open-ended problems. ≠ Demonstrate ability to present design solutions in oral presentation and written reports. Page 14.963.6 ≠ Practice

Conference Session

Issues of Persistence in Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peggy Meszaros, Virginia Tech; Catherine Amelink, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

continue pursuing an engineering degree. These twofactors were seen as a way to compensate them for onerous and time-consumingcoursework. Survey results illustrate that motivating factors for female students, more so Page 14.23.7than male students, were formal engineering student organizations. Qualitative findingsunderscore this finding further. Females explained that it was the intrinsic benefitsreceived from participation in such programming that served as motivation. Attendingengineering-related events was viewed as a means to integrate themselves into thedepartment and helped diminish feelings of tokenism. Additional benefits includedconnecting

Conference Session

Panel: Effecting Change in Higher Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Priscilla Nelson, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Theresa Hunt, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Cherrice Traver, Union College; Pamela Eibeck, Texas Tech; Zulma Toro-Ramos, Wichita State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Mary Roth, Lafayette College; delcie durham, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

those choices have on careers, and how to “separateout” trends in engineering from those in the sciences were also important to attendees. Broaderquestions related to this issue area asked why the percentage of women engineers is greateramong ethnic minorities, whether part-time, tenure-track appointments are workable and wherethey may be available, and why there are so few women at the department chair levelnationwide.Key Recommended Action Items ≠ The chair is an incredibly important person for diversity success. Strong training and coaching efforts are warranted for the department chair regarding management, diversity and mentoring training – integrated into formal and informal performance and promotion review, and

Conference Session

Issues of Persistence in Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Mary Cordova-Wentling, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Cristina Camacho, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

adegree in Engineering. Focus groups were utilized because they produce qualitative data thatprovide insights into the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of participants. The focus grouppresents a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because participants areinfluencing and influenced by others, just as they are in real life (Krueger, 1994). Focus groupsenable the researchers to increase the sample size without dramatic increases in the time requiredof the interviewer. In addition, focus group techniques are both useful and valid for assessingstudent problems within an undergraduate curriculum (Diamond & Gagnon, 1985). Quantitativedata was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was analyzed

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Cady, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering; Catherine Didion, National Academy of Engineering; Karen Peterman, Goodman Research Group, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

field. Female studentsespecially are turned away by images of engineers as males who work alone in a laboratory [3].Thus, it is important to disseminate accurate pictures of engineering to students of all ages.Programs designed to expose girls to exciting work in engineering fields have had some successin increasing their awareness and accurate mental images of engineering [4]. Ryerson Universitysaw an increase in female enrollment over the years they offered a summer camp that includedactive laboratory projects [4]. An extension of that project included short workshops during theschool year, and although boys and girls had similar knowledge about engineering prior to theworkshop, boys were far more likely than girls to indicate interest in

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rachelle Reisberg, Northeastern University; Amanda Funai, University of Michigan; Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

throughout the course of engineeringprograms. In an in-depth study of students who switched out of science, math, and engineeringmajors, 77.9% of women cited discouragement and loss of self-esteem as a factor in switching.4Research has shown that women tend to drop out of engineering earlier and with higher GPA’s Page 14.1098.2than men, suggesting a lack of support and confidence. The crucial year appears to be thefreshman year when the largest drop in engineering students is seen5. Focusing on improving thefirst year engineering students’ experience has become a goal for many universities and colleges.Freshmen curriculum include required courses such