Conference Session

The Pipeline

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Plotkowski, Grand Valley State University; Mary Ann Sheline, Grand Valley State University; Margo Dill, Grand Valley State University; Jessica Noble, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

through lessons and activities. Increase their interest in the fields of engineering, science, and technology. Learn to work as a team while building their airplane.Students attending camps learn significant content in physical science, engineeringprinciples, and social and developmental activities. Technical aspects of the campinclude CAD and CNC labs, an aerodynamics class, and airplane construction andassembly. Additionally, the scientific concepts underlying flight, aviation, andengineering are taught. Developmental aspects of the camp focus on social interactions,team building, and self reflection skills. These activities include orientation, meetingswith engineering college students, cooperative activities

Conference Session

The Impact of Engineering Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Marra, University of Missouri; Barbara Bogue, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

differences reflected the female respondents as being more positive or demonstratingmore productive learning activities than males.Item N Average t Sig(Responses: 1=never; 4= almost always)12k. The instructor delivers the course man 132 2.02 2.98 .003content too quickly woman 58 1.6412l. Homework assignments are about the man 132 3.00 2.30 .023right level of difficulty woman 55 3.2713e.When working in groups, some male

Conference Session

Focus on High School Girls in Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Porche, Wellesley Center for Women; Jennifer Grossman, Wellesley Center for Women; Anne Noonan, Salem State College; Peter Wong, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

; alpha =.78) and Inauthentic Self-in-Relationship (AFIS-ISR; alpha = .73). Higher scores on these twosubscales reflect an internalized repressive hegemonic femininity ideology. Page 13.827.7Dependent variables Engineering Aspirations. Students were asked to report “How much do you want to go tocollege to study engineering?” (1 = not at all, 5 = a lot). Responses from the 5-point scale wereused to create a dichotomous variable representing plans to study engineering (“a little” or “alot”) versus lack of interest in studying engineering (“not at all” “not much” or “neutral”). Mathematics Aspirations. Students were asked to report “How

Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Waterfall, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Elizabeth Albrecht, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

acquiring skills and attitudes which promoteintellectual and personal growth. In the process, students become effective professionals andmature decision makers in a way that is uniquely theirs. This is a different way to considerand do advising.If faculty advisors could reflect for a moment on what academic skill sets the quintessentialstudent would possess upon graduation, most would picture a mature decision maker who hasthe capacity to apply the knowledge he/she gained in classes to solve problems, benefithumankind and expand the knowledge base in their chosen field. Utilizing a developmentaladvising model has the potential to produce the same scenario in the area of life skills.Effective Teaching Methods Set the Stage for Developmental

Conference Session

The Pipeline

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tania Monterastelli, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Julia Ross, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

finally testing a solution.As a result of the restructured program, attendance has steadily grown through the years.Comments attained from both students and parents have reflected that the introduction of theweekly hands-on activities to supplement the guest lecturers has provided an enjoyable additionto each seminar.3In order to gather enrollment, letters were sent to Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) high school coordinators from Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford, QueenAnne’s, Baltimore, and Carroll counties, as well as the City of Baltimore, inviting them tonominate students (teachers and parents are also welcome) for the program. To help keep allparticipants connected to the program, a website4 was created to provide updated

Conference Session

Money and People; Resource Management for Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debra Lasich, Colorado School of Mines; Candace Sulzbach, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Commitment ChartEnrollment and Retention DataOne of the byproducts of a successful SWE section is the effect it can have on femalestudent enrollment and retention. Data was collected from CSM Registrar’s Officereports and the national SWE organization to see if there was any correlation betweenthese factors. Chart 1 shows how female student undergraduate and total enrollmentshave steadily increased from 1992 to 2007. Undergraduate female students increasedfrom 445 in 1992 to 719 in 2007 and total female enrollment increased from 620 to 947 Page 13.1260.8during the same time period.Female graduate student enrollment, however, does not reflect

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristen Constant, Iowa State University; Sharon Bird, Iowa State University; Florence Hamrick, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

controls).Indicators of Increased Overall Retention and Advancement of Women Faculty in Senior andLeadership Ranks: • Distribution of science and engineering faculty. • Number of men and women tenured and tenure-track faculty by department, rank and gender. • Number of non-tenured men and women faculty (e.g., Instructional, Research, Clinical, Postdoc.). • Distribution of science and engineering faculty in leadership positions in the institution. • Proportion of STEM women and underrepresented faculty of color in leadership positions.Many of these measures are institution wide and may not necessarily reflect the progress of asingle department.SummaryThe MSE department at Iowa State University is participating in

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Girls and Young Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Burkett, University of Arkansas; Claire Small, Springdale High School; Charles Rossetti, University of Arkansas; Bryan Hill, University of Arkansas; Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

school system with much diversity, andthis diversity was reflected in the day camp program participation. The demographicbreakdown of the 24 students participating in the inaugural camp was 50% Caucasian, 42%Hispanic and 8% African American.The camp was staffed for a student-mentor ratio over 4:1, ensuring an enjoyable and safeexperience plus the ability to provide a challenging curriculum. The mentoring team consistedof two certified Project Lead the Way (PLTW) instructors, two female SHS Pre-engineeringstudents, one UA faculty member, and two female UA undergraduate engineering students. Allmentors were in the classroom every day. Women undergraduate engineering students whoparticipate in outreach activities show tremendous interest in helping

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Girls and Young Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joan Kowalski, Penn State University - New Kensington; Tracie L. Brockhoff, Penn State University - New Kensington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Program directors developed a mail-out questionnaire which wassent to all participants who could be conceivably deemed college graduates. There were 114from the program identified as such. Of this number, nearly 100 mailings successfully reachedtheir intended address. The response rate (a respectable one-third) reflected 31 respondents out of96 confirmed contacts.The questionnaire mailed to all of the participants is shown in Figure 1. Page 13.1229.7Figure 1-Sample of 2007 FIRSTE Program SurveyDear FIRSTE Program Participate,Some years ago, you were selected to attend the Females Interested in Reaching for Science,Technology and Engineering

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Monica Young, Syracuse University; John Tillotson, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

your male collaborators.Several male faculty members commented that women faculty members might have in fact, an Page 13.924.9easier time securing grants because of special NSF funding sources and initiatives targeted atfemales, but none of the women faculty members mentioned this point.Double stigma for women faculty membersThe majority of female faculty members described feeling a double stigma of possibly beinghired because they are a female and then having to work extra hard to prove they are bothdeserving of the position and earned the job because of their qualifications. The following quotesfrom female engineering faculty members reflect

Conference Session

Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nadia Kellam, University of Georgia; Ashley Babcock, University of Georgia; David Gattie, University of Georgia-Athens

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

, F. E. (1959). Characteristics of socio-technical systems. In Emery, F. (ed.), The Emergence of a NewParadigm of Work. (Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University, Canberra, 1978, pp. 38–86.)16. Johnson, B. L. (2002). Extending the study of learning environments: connecting the field to other literatures.Queensland Journal of Educational Research, 18(2), 183-206.17. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1986). Understanding reflective practice. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 1(4), 353-359.18. Aviolo, B. J. (1999). Full leadership development: Building the vital forces in organizations. Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage Press.19. Aldridge, J. M., & Fraser, B. J. (2000). A cross-cultural study of classroom learning environments in

Conference Session

At The Institutional Level

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Judy Loveless-Morris, University of Washington; Priti Mody-Pan; Robert Embrey, Highline Community College; Kali Kuwada, Seattle Central Community College; Marisela Mendoza, Columbia Basin College; Robert Olsen, Washington State University; Eve Riskin, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

is ability to capitalize on market differences.The diverse locations of the participating institutions provide access to larger and more diverseminority populations. For example, some of the colleges within NW-ETEP are able to drawfrom a larger number of Hispanic populations, while others are better able to draw from African-American and female populations. 2 In general, each institution attempts to increase URMrecruitment from all minority populations. However, each institution also finds strength indrawing from particular minority applicants that are reflective of geographic location. Thisenables NW-ETEP to make progress toward increasing overall minority recruitment without

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nina Dahlmann, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Maria Elsner, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Sabina Jeschke, University of Stuttgart; Nicole Natho, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Christian Schroeder, Technische Universitaet Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

worlds and are capable of integrating people withvarious cultural backgrounds into their teams. These demands are for example reflected in asurvey of 2004, carried out by the German Engineering Federation VDMA (Verband DeutscherMaschinen- und Anlagenbau). The results are presented in Figure 2.Figure 2: What companies expect to change in education for engineers. From VDMA 11,translation added by authorsA modern university with its diverse staff and students from all kinds of educational and culturalbackgrounds provides an ideal environment for developing these kinds of skills. Due to theBologna process universities now have the opportunity to integrate the new demands into theircurricula. Unfortunately, a big amount of the Bachelor courses in the

Conference Session

Focus on High School Girls in Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Brake, Eastern Michigan University; Kaninka Bhatnagar, Eastern Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

. The knowledge oftechnology for the purpose of this study consisted of practical, technical skills and knowledge oftechnical products. Undoubtedly the one major change in technology since the PATT study in1986 is the ubiquitous presence of computers at all levels of our society and the educationsystem. Therefore the knowledge and the comfort level of working with computers becomes amajor aspect of defining technology. In today’s society the two are often found to besynonymous however we have used a broader definition to reflect the interdisciplinary nature oftechnology that applies to more careers than that of computer science.This research investigated the reasons behind a student’s perception as well as their intent to notonly attend college

Conference Session

Focus on Under-Represented Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Donohue, University of Virginia; Larry Richards, University of Virginia; Carolyn Vallas, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

programs, all located in Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs), reveals five factors that encourage female persistence. The HBCUs were selected forthis analysis due to the relative homogeneity of their student populations, which helps to reducethe impact of confounding factors on the analysis. In addition, they have managed to besuccessful with limited resources; the identified factors reflect institutional will and missionrather than economics and therefore are more universally adoptable. The results, obtainedprimarily through document review, are verified via triangulation with other data sourcesincluding interviews and representative sources from the literature. The success of these sixprograms in enabling female undergraduates to

Conference Session

Trends in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynette Osborne, The George Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

4women’s sense of self-esteem and self-worth were derived more from their perceivedattractiveness to men than from their academic prowess. Peer culture also reflects organizational culture. The culture of engineering has beendescribed as a “masculine culture” (Hacker, 1981; Wajcman, 1991) where quantitative, analyticskills are considered more valuable than social skills. Students are socialized into the culture ofengineering by their professors and by peers. Women are confronted with an assumption thatbeing women makes them inherently less qualified than men to become engineers. Hacker (1981) spent a year researching the culture of engineering, gathering data throughparticipant observation and interviews at an elite engineering

Conference Session

Money and People; Resource Management for Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Elizabeth DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology; Jacqueline Mozrall, Rochester Institute of Technology; Julie Olney, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering