Engaging Freshmen Women in Research – Feedback from Students and Best Practices for FacultyIntroductionIncreasing the participation of diverse populations in engineering and technology fields is achallenge for many universities. A significant means to address this issue is to increase theparticipation of women students. However, this can prove to be challenging. In a studyconducted by Marra and Bogue,1 it was found that although women engineering students enterthe university with high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, those levels decline quicklyduring the first year. They also found through their research, that the initial levels were neverregained. One method to help retain diversity in engineering and technology
panel brings together a group of men with diverse backgrounds and experiences to discusstheir perspectives and offer practical skills for men to effectively serve as advocates for genderequity. This paper augments the panel and captures the backgrounds, experiences, perspectives,and recommendations of the panelists, thereby providing a lasting resource for those unable toattend the panel or future interested individuals. The information we present targets men andadministrators, who will better understand the barriers to advocacy, learn best-practices ofeffective advocacy, and hear first-hand experiences of successful advocacy.BackgroundMany factors – systemic and non-systemic, conscious and unconscious, policy and climate – cannegatively impact
. Kuh G, Others. Involving Colleges: Successful Approaches to Fostering Student Learning and Development outside the Classroom. [First Edition]. [Internet]. Jossey-Bass Publishers; 1991 [cited 2015 Jan 29]. Available from: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED32917715. Astin AW. Principles of good practice for assessing student learning. American Association for Higher Education; 1992.16. Creswell JW. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications; 2013. 305 p.17. De Janasz SC, Sullivan SE. Multiple mentoring in academe: Developing the professorial network. J Vocat Behav. 2004 Apr;64(2):263–83.18. Earnest Friday, Shawnta S. Friday, Anna L. Green. A reconceptualization of
universities to help freshmen and upper-classmen succeed in challenging college courses. SI can consist of peer tutoring, instructor officehours, review sessions, study groups, or any combination of these. Students who use SI havebeen shown to earn higher term and cumulative grade point averages (GPA’s) as well as moretimely graduation rates than their peers who do not utilize SI.. [3] [4] [5] It also has been shown thatthere is a statistically significant correlation between higher term GPA’s and more time spent inSI. [2] [6] “The U.S. Department of Education has designated SI as an Exemplary Educational Practice and has validated the following three research findings: Students participating in SI within the targeted
reform effort risks being undermined by the curricular and cultural practices thatpervasively shape student experience and outcomes and drive away too many could-be engineerswith diverse interests, aptitudes, lived experiences, and values.PDI’s response to the bait-and-switch problem employs design-oriented logics of engagement inparallel with the fundamentals-first approach, which provides a partial corrective to the logic ofexclusion. This configuration offers educators new avenues for thinking about explicit andimplicit connections between the design-centric emphasis in K-12 and the content-driven modelof fundamentals first. Moving forward, we hope to conduct empirical research using participantobservation and interviews to compare students
what thiscareer path would look like in practice, but I’m committed to finding out.About half way through my freshman environmental seminar, my professor, Dr. Walther, askedme if I would be interested in working on a research project in engineering education. Hedescribed a study of media representations of engineering that he was working on with hiscolleague and told me that they were looking for a student who would like to help with dataanalysis. I agreed, and attended his research group’s next meeting. I was initially intimidated byworking with professors on a research project, but I quickly became comfortable after help andencouragement from my supervisors.My participation in this research group formed the context for the present
in Engineering Education (FREE, formerly RIFE, group), whose diverse projects and group members are described at feministengineering.org. She received a CAREER award in 2010 and a PECASE award in 2012 for her project researching the stories of undergraduate engineering women and men of color and white women. She received ASEE-ERM’s best paper award for her CAREER research, and the Denice Denton Emerging Leader award from the Anita Borg Institute, both in 2013. She helped found, fund, and grow the PEER Collaborative, a peer mentoring group of early career and re- cently tenured faculty and research staff primarily evaluated based on their engineering education research productivity. She can be contacted by email at
: • Department/College-level creation, implementation, and dissemination of Best Practices and Professional Development Models Page 26.162.108 • Leadership-in-Action type grants designed to support grass-roots efforts, organizational development, website construction, research to inform change, or other self-identified areas of need • Sponsorship of keynote speakers and workshops on topics such as building transparency, negotiating dual-career hires, the changing funding environment, establishing career goals, network development, unconscious bias, best practices in recruiting, and broader impact issues5. CONNECT GRANTS
needs of society.IntroductionMany factors influence a student’s choice to pursue a career in engineering.1, 2 Research hassuggested that some underrepresented groups are attracted to engineering as a means forimproving the world around them. For example, Grandy3 documented a stronger preferenceamong women in engineering and science for future employment that could benefit society;Margolis and Fisher4 found women to be specifically interested in using computers to dosomething useful for society; and students with disabilities have demonstrated an interest inusing design in order to improve the experiences of individuals with disabilities.3 Furthermore,students that decide to leave science and engineering fields after completing their
Luchini-Colbry is the Director for Graduate Initiatives at the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, where she completed degrees in political theory and computer science. A recipient of a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, she earned Ph.D. and M.S.E. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan. She has published more than two dozen peer-reviewed works related to her interests in educational technology and enhancing undergraduate education through hands-on learn- ing. As a volunteer for Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, Luchini-Colbry facilitates interactive seminars on interpersonal communications and problem solving skills for engineering students across the U.S.Dr
requirements and other logistics.Much like an iterative research or engineering design loop, a thorough assessment andimplementation process will reveal information useful to determine the value to an institution’sslate of activities and to its diversity goals. In this context, the “problems” include theoverarching objectives or goals such as increasing the number and representation of diversestudents in the college, creating an inclusive climate, and increasing the likelihood of diversestudents graduating from engineering. Prior to designing an intervention, an “informationgathering” process incorporates a review of the literature can reveal best practices and researchresults. It can also help to discuss with colleagues at other institutions to learn
research. Thebenefits of mentoring in the workplace have long been documented in the literature, yet early andmid-career faculty at Oakland University were generally left to fend for themselves unless theywere fortunate enough to identify helpful faculty in their departments on their own. TheWISE@OU program has hence set out to develop a multi-faceted, effective and sustainablementoring program for faculty in STEM. An unusually high percentage of women in the 2012cohort of new STEM faculty (5 out of 8) presented the WISE@OU program with a uniqueopportunity to test out different mentoring models and have a lasting impact on this andsubsequent faculty cohorts. One-on-one, peer-to-peer and group mentoring activities wereorganized, first for the 2012
, helping men develop a personal motivation forengaging in gender equity efforts, utilizing male roles models, providing opportunities for male-only dialogues, and engagement in solution-building. Barriers include apathy, fear of status loss,and lack of knowledge about gender inequities15. Additional theory and research indicate thatthere are key stages in the development of an ally identity and effective ally behaviors16-21.Overall, there appears to be accord among investigators such that (1) potential allies must firstunderstand unearned advantage and how it works in their own lives as well as how it impacts thelives of systemically disadvantaged persons; (2) successful ally development approacheseducate, inspire, and support members of the
students; twentypercent of this population is female. The majority of the students graduating from thisprogram choose Technical Sales as their career. The diverse curriculum of thisengineering major causes students to be well sought out by the industry. However, acareer in Technical Sales is not a traditional choice for women, thus leaving the femaleundergraduates apprehensive about their career goals. So, a group of students and the IDfaculty decided to found an organization that catered to the needs of the female IndustrialDistribution Engineer and resolve this concern. This new organization was namedSociety of Women in Industrial Distribution (SWID).SWID was established with the intention of stimulating and catapulting female
completing graduation requirements. · Assess and evaluate information for personal use.Together, the Mentors and Mentees had the following shared responsibilities: · Set the mentoring agenda (discussing clear expectations and boundaries). · Practice honest communication and interaction. · Accept the “take it or leave it” option without fear of diminishing the helping relationship.Over the summer, the Peer Mentors participated in group training sessions involving reading,writing and discussion-based assignments in order to prepare to be successful Peer Mentors.Training materials used for the Peer Mentors included: • Students Helping Students: A Guide for Peer Educators on Campuses, F. B. Newton, S
described at feministengineering.org. She received a CAREER award in 2010 and a PECASE award in 2012 for her project researching the stories of undergraduate engineering women and men of color and white women. She received ASEE-ERM’s best paper award for her CAREER research, and the Denice Denton Emerging Leader award from the Anita Borg Institute, both in 2013. She helped found, fund, and grow the PEER Collaborative, a peer mentoring group of early career and re- cently tenured faculty and research staff primarily evaluated based on their engineering education research productivity. She can be contacted by email at apawley@purdue.edu
impact of their lowerstarting representation and higher attrition rate on workforce diversity. Exit rates fromengineering careers are highest in the first 10 years after graduation. Thus, unlike mostworkforce retention research, this study focuses on participants who are still in the midst of thiscritical phase of their careers. We investigated what engineering graduates say about how andwhy they make early career pathway choices. The motivations for their choices were examinedthrough the lens of gender differences (and similarities) while resting on the fundamentalpsychological framework provided by self-determination theory (SDT). SDT has demonstratedthat the more behaviors are autonomously motivated, the more stable, the more fulfilling, and
Systems Technology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT), Greensboro, North Carolina for last five years. His current research focuses on Big data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and Content-based Image Retrieval. He received the best paper award for his paper on Image Clustering Using Multimodal Key- words in the International Conference on Semantics and Digital Media Technology, Athens, Greece. He has published more than 40 referred journal and conference papers and 4 book chapters. He has been project manager and a member of several research and industrial grants. Dr. Agrawal actively serves as committee member and reviewer for conferences and journals in his area of research. He is a
Leader (PAL) in their first year. A designated office at Douglass,The Douglass Project for Rutgers Women in Math, Science and Engineering, specializes insupporting women in every STEM field though advising, mentoring, programming, andundergraduate research opportunities.In addition to these resources, the DELLC’s graduate mentor provides invaluable support for theundergraduates participating in the program. She shares her experiences of being a woman in amale dominated field and acts as a resource during times of crisis and struggle. She coordinatesprograms and workshops for the students to create a shared sense of community. Informationalsessions she provided in the 2013-2014 academic year included resume workshops, internships,and information
climate, retention,and promotion/leadership. Most positive climate characteristics rated lower forwomen and negative climate dimensions rated significantly higher for women. Thus,women experience a less welcoming and more demanding work environment. Thissituation is of particular concern as research shows these issues have the greatestapparent impact on women, who often under-represent or altogether deny experiencesof discrimination9.With funding from the NSF ADVANCE Program (Award #0930232), the college hasimplemented a concerted systematic approach to address the issues of climate,retention/promotion and professional development, with the overall goal ofimplementing programs which will increase employee satisfaction of both sexes andenhance
“and that's why we’re emphasizing math and science. That's why we’re emphasizingteaching girls math and science.” This was followed by the White House creation of theSTEM Master Teacher Corp as a new initiative in July 2012. However, it is still not wellunderstood exactly what factors affect persistence in undergraduate STEM majors andwhere the focus should be placed in order to improve persistence. There is a need forfurther research to help shape policies directed at improving the participation of womenin STEM undergraduate studies.NSF-20122 data for the 2009 high school graduating class showed that women are nowwell represented in advanced math and science high school courses. Table 1 presents thepercentage of male and female students that
TrainingThirty-eight girls were initially deemed able, in terms of both capacity and interest, to participatein the project. They were offered a letter of employment stipulating 2.5 hours per week over tenweeks, for a total of $250. (While 38 girls signed a contract, two were released from the projectafter the first week for failing to submit their assignments.)The YTT members were trained in the basics of qualitative research and practical interviewskills. They were then asked to place themselves in one of four themes called Lightning, Gears,Cubes, or Droplets, respectively, according to their interests: 1. Lightning: How do girls’ feelings about femininity impact decisions they make about their future? (9 members) 2. Gears: How do girls
intellectualworks: publishing 101; Service: expectations as a junior faculty; What is promotion and tenureand how do I get there? Interactive activities, such as a small case study were included as well. Session 3: Topic: Time ManagementOne of the biggest obstacles facing a new researcher or academic is insufficient time to geteverything done. There are multiple approaches to managing time with the best approach being Page 26.565.4different for each participant. This session provided examples and discussions as to how thesession facilitator's have made it. Topics included: How to balance graduate courses, TAassignments and thesis
Paper ID #12714Theorizing can contribute to marginalized students’ agency in engineeringpersistence.Mr. Stephen Douglas Secules, University of Maryland, College Park Stephen is an Education PhD student at UMCP, researching engineering education. He has a prior aca- demic and professional background in engineering, having worked as an engineer and project manager in building acoustics consulting firms for 5 years prior to becoming an educational researcher. His research interests include socio-cultural dimensions of engineering classrooms.Dr. Ayush Gupta, University of Maryland, College Park Ayush Gupta is Research
situation, coupled with the growing demand for a technically skilledlabor force, business leaders, policymakers, educational institutions, and activists haveresponded by crafting numerous outreach campaigns to appeal to women to becomeengineers. For the most part, there has been a tendency to see any effort to recruit womento engineering as positive, with little consideration given to the manner in which suchcampaigns are designed to achieve their goals. In this paper, I offer a critical examinationof three prominent outreach strategies and how they present ideas about how best toengage women in engineering. I argue that the messaging in all of these programscharacterizes women as a homogenous entity, without considering questions of
women engineers’ perceptions and experiences has yieldedvaluable data that naturally calls for analyses involving: (a) examinations of, and, (b) points ofcomparison with the dominant male experience with tertiary education and professionalization inengineering disciplines. Yet, few recent studies have examined or sought to generate data withthe objective of providing points of comparison between male and female engineers’ mentoringand career socialization discourses or focused analyses of male engineers’ discourses. We reporton results from the second leg of a two-part research study designed to address this gap incomparative gender analyses of mentoring and career socialization discourses. The presentanalysis is motivated in part by results