Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen L. Webber, University of Georgia; Amy Stich, University of Georgia; Matthew Grandstaff, University of Georgia; Collin Case, University of Georgia

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NSF Grantees Poster Session

enough to ensurestudents reach their desired outcomes [27].The benefit of WREAs toward employability originates primarily through skill development andthe expansion of personal networks. For example, research suggests that internships serve as away to build technical, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills [18]. Although postsecondaryeducation and engagement in WREAs contribute to broad human capital and aid in developingan individual’s critical thinking, skills are environmentally contextualized in how they form andare employed [28]. As such, we should strive to think of soft skills, such as communication andleadership, within the context of the environment in which they form to adequately understand astudent’s ability to navigate an

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marisol Clark-Ibanez, California State University, San Marcos

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Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

experiences (e.g., translators for parents, inspired to succeed as role modelsin their community, resiliency through financial hardships, navigating new social worlds asrefugees or immigrants) [8]. Therefore, increasing their social capital would ignite their potentialboth academically and professionally. Fab Friday provided our SSTEM Scholars a vibrant,challenging, and ultimately rewarding space to enhance their technical skills, practice “soft”skills, and grow their social network through working with students in a team and beingmentored by industry partners and CS faculty.1.3 Design of Fab FridayFab Friday was designed innovatively to meet the SSTEM goals of academic success andworkforce readiness. Fab Friday provided students with exposure to

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tariq Khraishi, University of New Mexico; Kristine Denman, University of New Mexico

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Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

(CAE) courseto construct a CAD model via ANSYS for an old truss bridge. The motivation for this projectwas for students to help determine the load-carrying capacity (or reverse engineer it) of thebridge for safety purposes going forward. Krishnan & Nilsson (2015) [7] discuss a course titled“Engineering Projects for the Community” at their institution to engage students in communityprojects. Projects cover a wide variety of engineering majors including civil, mechanical,electrical, bio and computer. This course also emphasizes the need to interact with civic bodiesor public organizations which is a new soft skill set for the students involved. Nagel et al. (2019)[8] discuss in their paper design courses at James Madison University intended

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bonnie Kathleen MacKellar, St John's University; Natalie Kiesler, DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education; Rajendra K. Raj, Rochester Institute of Technology ; Mihaela Sabin, University of New Hampshire; Renee McCauley, College of Charleston; Amruth N. Kumar, Ramapo College of New Jersey

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NSF Grantees Poster Session

and computing, where students are expected to perform in the workplacefrom day one, without any additional training. Employers are known to value employees andpotential employees who demonstrate what are often referred to as professional or soft skills, suchas persistence, self-direction, and adaptability [1, 2, 3]. As a typical undergraduate program isthree or four years, we have a short time to take young people straight out of high school and turnthem into nascent professionals. This means that we must find the space and time in our programsto develop these “professional skills.”Terms such as “soft skills,” “human skills,” and “noncognitive skills” [4, 5, 6] are frequently usedin the popular press but have varying definitions and

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Carrell, Texas Tech University; Joshua M. Cruz; Andrew Mark Herbert; Michael Scott Laver, Rochester Institute of Technology; Emily Lazarus; Iris V. Rivero; Erika Nuñez, Texas Tech University; Nafisha Tabassum

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Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

developing technical knowledge and interpersonalskills [2]. For example, it is recognized that the humanities have played little or no role inengineering courses [3], and most institutions deliver these curricula through differentdepartments/faculties/schools. Most STEM curriculums emphasize technical knowledge withoutconcern for the social implications or the historical and social contextualization of science andtechnology in our modern world and our shared global past. This has led to the development ofpedagogical approaches designed to promote the training of engineering students as specialists intheir narrow disciplines while relegating the study of humanities to the “soft skills” involved ininterpersonal relationships [2].The humanities ground

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Manuel A. Jimenez, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez; Luisa Guillemard, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Aidsa I. Santiago-Roman, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Oscar Marcelo Suarez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Nayda G. Santiago P.E., University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Carla Lopez Del Puerto, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Pedro O. Quintero; Anidza Valentin, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Nelson Cardona-Martinez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez ; Sonia M. Bartolomei-Suarez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez

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Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

withtools and services encompassing individualized mentoring, soft-skills training, researchopportunities, internship/COOP experiences, scholarships, and peer-mentor activities. Theseprogram elements were integrated into a learning community that joined the efforts of students,faculty, and university staff. After four years of program execution, salient results in the studygroup include retention rates above 97%, student persistence up to 98.8%, and graduationindexes four times higher than those observed in the general population. Moreover, quantifyingthe socioeconomic status performance gap within the group revealed reductions up to 50% withrespect to that observed in the general population.Throughout this work, results from the performance of a

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Ray Morelock, University of Georgia; Dominik May, University of Wuppertal; Aileen Reid, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Ayesha Sherita Sherita Boyce; Nicola W. Sochacka, University of Georgia; Joachim Walther, University of Georgia; Chaturved Janaki, University of Georgia

Tagged Topics

Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

planning for the worst case scenarios, andthe use of some analytical software such as NVivo. In addition to these hard skills, someparticipants also referred to soft skills they had gained during their training. Some examples theyprovided were related to working with others in a team and communication skills. For instance,one participant reported: I feel like I'm better at communicating things. Almost like I have a better vocabulary. I have better communication skills because of the institute. I'm trying to think of like specific things, having the social reality was really nice, being able to show that to my students, being able up to get them to kind of wrap their head around what that looks like and what that means