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Action on Diversity: A Content Analysis of ASEE Conference Papers, 2015–2016

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Conference

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Columbus, Ohio

Publication Date

June 24, 2017

Start Date

June 24, 2017

End Date

June 28, 2017

Conference Session

Action on Diversity - Institutional Change & Perspectives on Diversity

Tagged Topics

Diversity and ASEE Diversity Committee

Page Count

27

DOI

10.18260/1-2--27533

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/27533

Download Count

632

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Paper Authors

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Mayra S Artiles Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-7604-0410

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Mayra S. Artiles is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University with a focus on nanotechnology. Prior to her current position, she worked at Ford Motor Company as an Electrified Vehicles Thermal Engineer. Her research interests are broadening participation in engineering higher education, higher education policy, and academic motivation.

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Raeven Carmelita Waters

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Ashley R Taylor Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Ashley Taylor is a doctoral student in engineering education at Virginia Polytechnic and State University, where she also serves as a program assistant for the Center for Enhancement of Engineering Diversity and an advisor for international senior design projects in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Ashley received her MS in Mechanical Engineering, MPH in Public Health Education, and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. Her research interests include broadening participation in engineering, the integration of engineering education and international development, and building capacity in low and middle income countries through inclusive technical education.

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Karis Boyd-Sinkler Virginia Tech

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Karis Boyd-Sinkler is a doctoral student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She also serves as support staff for the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity where she is involved in the recruitment, outreach, and retention of engineering students. Her research interests include diversity in engineering and the role of engineering student support centers in regards to student attrition and persistence rates. Ms. Boyd received her B.S. in Engineering Science from the University of Virginia in 2014.

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Sarah Anne Blackowski Virginia Tech

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Cynthia Hampton Virginia Tech

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Cynthia Hampton is a doctoral student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech.

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Amy Hermundstad Nave Virginia Tech

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Amy Hermundstad is a doctoral student and Graduate Research Assistant at Virginia Tech. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. Her research interests include the professional development of engineering students through out-of-class activities.

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Benjamin David Lutz Virginia Tech Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2637-0942

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Ben Lutz is a PhD student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research interests include innovative pedagogies in engineering design, exploring student experiences within design settings, school-to-work transitions for new engineers, and efforts for inclusion and diversity within engineering. His current work explores how students describe their own learning in engineering design and how that learning supports transfer of learning from school into professional practice as well as exploring students' conceptions of diversity and its importance within engineering fields.

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Walter C. Lee Virginia Tech Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-5082-1411

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Dr. Walter Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and the Assistant Director for Research in the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED), both at Virginia Tech. Lee’s research interests include co-curricular support, student success and retention, and diversity in STEM. Among his honors and awards, Lee received a 2012 NSF GRFP Award and an ASEE Apprentice Faculty Grant Award in 2015. He received his Ph.D in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech, his M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, and his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University.

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Abstract

In recent years, the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) has made several attempts to advance efforts that promote diversity and inclusion in the engineering education community. Part of these efforts have included creating a Diversity Committee in 2011; declaring 2014-2015 as the Year of ACTION on Diversity; and establishing the Best Diversity Paper Award in 2015. Prior to these actions, diversity efforts were primarily relegated to a few divisions: International Division, Minority in Engineering Division, Two-year College Division, Women in Engineering Division, and Pre-College Engineering Education Division; each of which is recognized by ASEE for having made a “specific commitment” to diversity. Appropriately, the charge of the Diversity Committee is to encourage additional divisions to get more involved in featuring diversity and inclusion in their work. To assist ASEE in this effort, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which members of ASEE address diversity by analyzing papers published in the proceedings of the annual conference. Further, to assist community members who wish to contribute to this conversation during future conferences, our research asks the following questions: What are the common profiles of diversity-related conference papers published in ASEE? And in what ways can additional member divisions help expand this profile?

We address these questions by conducting a content analysis of over 200 diversity-related publications in ASEE from the 2015 and 2016 conferences. These years were selected because they coincide with the Year of ACTION in Diversity declared by ASEE and subsequent creation of the Best Diversity Paper Award. In addition to focusing on papers nominated for the Best Diversity Paper Award, we also focus on papers from the Minority in Engineering Division (MIND) and Women in Engineering Division (WIED). We selected these divisions based on their long-standing commitment to diversity. This decision was also informed by the dichotomous approach to broadening participation (i.e., emphasizing women & minorities as different groups) traditionally taken by the field of engineering: focusing on MIND and WIED provides an opportunity to also explore the implications of this approach with regard to intersectionality. To complete the content analysis, one author reviewed and coded each conference paper after our research team co-developed and refined a codebook. Our analysis focused on the following aspects of each paper: (1) ASEE division; (2) paper type (i.e., research, practice or theory); (3) study rationale; (4) demographic of interest; (5) setting or environment; (6) research or assessment methodology; (7) framework or theory; (8) research questions; and (9) implications & recommendations. The results of this study will provide an overview of the ways in which ASEE is currently discussing and addressing diversity in engineering; highlight ways in which additional member divisions can be involved; summarize which demographics are included and not included in these efforts; and inform future efforts of ASEE members.

Artiles, M. S., & Waters, R. C., & Taylor, A. R., & Boyd-Sinkler, K., & Blackowski, S. A., & Hampton, C., & Nave, A. H., & Lutz, B. D., & Lee, W. C. (2017, June), Action on Diversity: A Content Analysis of ASEE Conference Papers, 2015–2016 Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27533

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2017 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015