Conference Session

Mentoring Graduate Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan Rinehart, Rice University; Sherry Woods, University of Texas at Austin; Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

Presentation materials can be found at: structure workshop sessions, http://cnx.org/content/col10442/latest/ candidates were asked to anonymously submit their biggestconcern regarding their job search (Table 2) and various panels of faculty members wereorganized to discuss and respond with potential solutions. These concerns are consistent withother research findings for female candidates; for example, graduate students in the life sciencescited concerns related to finding a job, balancing personal and professional responsibilities and

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ida Ngambeki, Purdue University; Odesma Dalrymple, Purdue University; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

enrolling in college, the rest make their decision as they go throughtheir first year and beyond13. High school teachers and counselors, extracurricular activities,family members, faculty members, and peers were identified as some of the factors influencingtheir decision. Having systematic programs to assist students has also been shown to have aneffect on students’ decision-making as regards choosing an engineering field; programmaticfactors and self-exploration were found to be the largest influences on students’ decision-makingprocess13. It is not clear however, exactly what these influences comprise of and how they affectthe decision-making process. This study sheds some light on these factors by asking studentswhat their first and last choices

Conference Session

Student Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer VanAntwerp, Calvin College; Rachel Reed, Calvin College; Crystal Bruxvoort, Calvin College; Neil Carlson, Calvin College

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

, since those who do not enjoy or thrive in that culture do notsucceed to continue on to graduate school and become engineering professors.Within the existing literature on retention, we could not find a suitable survey instrument whichwould allow identification and correlation of contextual factors related to retention of students inengineering. Furthermore, no existing instruments were available that would adequately andrelevantly explore retention (and lack thereof) among diverse educational settings. In order tooczkok|g"qwt"wpfgtuvcpfkpi"qh"vjg"rtkoct{"kphnwgpegu"qp"uvwfgpvuÓ"ejqkeg"vq"uvc{"ykvj"qt"ngcxg"engineering programs, an instrument is needed that specifically ogcuwtgu"uvwfgpvuÓ"rgtegrvkqpu"of contextual factors. This article documents

Conference Session

Student Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

advanced engineering degree, in lieu of an MBA, law or medical degree, or a non-engineering M.S. • The decision to apply for admission to certain M.S. or Ph.D. programs at certain universities. • The decision to enroll in a specific program.Batson, Merrit, and Williams4 highlight the role of the faculty member in recruiting studentscurrently enrolled in B.S. programs in engineering and the sciences to be full-time graduatestudents. Many students never get to the first stage in the process of attending graduate school:they never consider graduate school! Many good engineering students never consider graduateschool for themselves because no one ever encourages them to consider graduate school.5Reichert and Absher6 believe the main

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 2

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Jessica Yellin, University of Washington; Yi-Min Huang, University of Washington; Brook Sattler, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

that class, and what I tried last year to do, which I was much more satisfied with personally, though my evaluations didn't change that dramatically, is to focus the entire class on a particular topic.”At some point in their careers, all three described using teaching workshops as a source forgathering information. Nathan and Fay reported attending these workshops more often whenthey were at an earlier stage in their careers. Fay was more involved in workshops for femalefaculty in engineering on an ongoing basis. Ted enjoyed attending teaching workshops and statedthat he continues to attend teaching and creative teaching workshops. Ted explained one of hisreasons for participating in workshops, saying “But [Faculty member

Conference Session

Mentoring Graduate Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tershia Pinder-Grover, University of Michigan; Sarah Root, University of Arkansas; Emine Cagin, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

Engineering GSIs (Fall 2007) (a) EGSM respondents (graduate students only) (b)Figure 2. Comparison of Career Choices considered by (a) Fall 2007 CoE GSIs and (b) Fall 2007 graduatestudents who have participated in the EGSM program5.3.2 Responses of Former Mentors in AcademiaLecturers or tenured/tenure-track faculty respondents also indicated that the EGSM programinfluenced their teaching practices. One faculty member said, “My time as [an EGSM] was theonly time as a graduate student when I could discuss teaching

Conference Session

Issues of Diversity in Graduate Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eugene DeLoatch, Morgan State University; Sherra Kerns, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Lueny Morell, Hewlett-Packard; Carla Purdy, University of Cincinnati; Paige Smith, University of Maryland; Samuel Truesdale, Rolls-Royce Corporation

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

faculty members' understanding ofissues of diversity. Other programs deal with diversity during a sequence of courses onimproving teaching skills and succeeding in an academic career60. Many of these professionaldevelopment programs have been established as part of a national "Preparing Future Faculty"initiative61 to provide graduate students with multiple mentors in addition to the research advisorand to improve their preparation for all aspects of an academic career, not just research. Moreand more programs to improve faculty understanding of issues in engineering education,including diversity, are also being established. For example, Scales et al.62 describe an initiativeto set up study groups of engineering faculty at Virginia Tech to explore

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 1

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helen Chen, Stanford University; Krista Donaldson, Stanford University; Ozgur Eris, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Debbie Chachra, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Gary Lichtenstein, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; George Toye, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

students’ undergraduate engineering experiences. Of this portfolio of methods, a keycomponent has been the survey and through the collective work of the APS, two instrumentshave emerged – the Persistence in Engineering (PIE) survey and the Academic Pathways ofPeople Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES).The Persistence in Engineering (PIE) survey was designed to identify and characterize thefundamental factors that influence students’ intentions to pursue an engineering degree over thecourse of their undergraduate career and upon graduation, to practice engineering as aprofession3, 4. First administered in Winter 2003, the PIE survey was deployed seven times from2003-2007 to approximately 160 students at four institutions (“Longitudinal Cohort

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Roger Parsons, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Rachel McCord, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; J. Elaine Seat, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Thomas Scott, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-1089: COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL AND INTEGRATED FIRSTYEAR CURRICULA - GRADUATION SUCCESS AND MBTI DISTRIBUTIONJ. Roger Parsons, University of Tennessee-Knoxville Roger Parsons is the Director of the Engineering Fundamentals Division and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He was an original member of the Engage curriculum development team.Rachel McCord, University of Tennessee-Knoxville Rachel McCord is a graduate teaching assistant in the Engage freshman engineering program at the University of Tennessee. She has a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and is currently a second year student in a combined Master of Science/Master of Business

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

students can benefit. Student needs can readily extendbeyond academic topics and provide a considerable challenge to effective advising. Thispaper explores the territory between student personal issues that faculty worry about havingto address and curriculum matters dealing with course selections and prerequisites. Effectivestudent advising demands that the entire range of issues be addressed, yet faculty are hesitant.Faculty can and should shoulder only a part of the burden but could benefit from viewing theadvisor-student relationship as an opportunity to help the student acquire life skills.What the authors have found to be true to a great extent is that a major need of students is tosimply talk, to talk to someone who cares. Engaging students

Conference Session

Successful K-12 Programs for Girls & Minorities

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Regina Middleton, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Shelly Perdomo, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were polled as a follow up todetermine if attending Career day influenced their decision to attend the College of Engineeringat UMass Amherst. Data was entered and complied in an excel spreadsheet for organizationalpurposes.Data CollectionThe primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of WEP Career Day andexamine it as a possible model for success in recruitment of female students in the field ofengineering. Furthermore, this study will also explore and assess the perceptions of femalestudents and high school counselors of the WEP Career Day at UMass Amherst. The datacollected from this study is based on completed student and counselor/teacher evaluations.The student

Conference Session

The Academic Environment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Monica Young, Syracuse University; John Tillotson, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

doctoral/thesis advisorEncouragement from doctoral or thesis advisors was cited by a majority of faculty members asbeing a significant factor in their decision to pursue a doctoral degree. Male faculty memberstended to attribute this to the fact that, by default, an advisor becomes a mentor due to the natureof the relationship, though the depth of this relationship is often dependent on the personality ofthe advisor. Female faculty members were more likely to point out the need for extraencouragement from advisors to consider and actually pursue faculty positions in engineering.One female faculty member recalled: I thought I was just going to get a masters degree, get a job, and be done with my graduate education…he [advisor] is the

Conference Session

Educating Graduates in Engineering for a Flat World

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Mariasingam, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Thomas Smith, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Sandra Courter, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tagged Divisions

International

Engineering Learning Center and a member of the Department of Engineering Professional Development, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison. She teaches technical communication courses to undergraduate engineering students. As a member of the management team for the NSF Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), Courter is responsible with a multi-disciplinary team for developing and teaching a graduate course about teaching and learning; she piloted the course as an online web-conference during fall 2006. Courter is currently involved with an NSF grant (No. 0648267) related to "How People Learn Engineering

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Phy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa Larkin, American University; Dan Budny, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

educationalmaterials and instructional strategies from elementary through graduate school [16].In recent years, a number of writing techniques have evolved that make use of various writing-to-learn strategies within the domains of engineering, mathematics, and the sciences [17] - [25].The use of writing in introductory classes for non-majors may be an effective vehicle forallowing students to enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Writing can alsoassist students with the identification and confrontation of personal misconceptions [26] - [27].Science classes are seen by many students to be threatening and intimidating places to be.Tobias [28] has been critical of introductory college science courses and has argued that typicalclassrooms

Conference Session

Gender & Minority Issues in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

LaRuth McAfee, Case Western Reserve University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

demonstrations illustrate general polymerscience concepts, as well as describe the student’s project. They additionally serve as long-termrecruiting tools for PEP. PEP students are expected to do at least one demonstration eachsemester they are in the program. Such demonstrations serve as ways to empower students asadvocated by Elmesky9.While PEP is a means of directly impacting a select group of high school and middle schoolstudents, the organizers recognize that it is important for the program to touch a larger number ofpeople. Parents and guardians of the participants are expected to attend an evening event in thespring that welcomes the incoming class of Polymer Envoys, provides facility tours, introducesthem to faculty and graduate mentors, and

Conference Session

Student Engagement and Motivation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University; Senay Purzer

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

individuals with an interest in technicalactivities have high self-efficacy in a variety of engineering subfields 6,7 .When Lent, Brown & Larkin 8 compared self-efficacy to other theories of career choice such asHolland’s 9 theory of fit between interests and occupational environment and Janis andMann’s 10 theory of decision making (considering consequences of alternatives) they found thatself-efficacy was a better predictor. Neither the theory of fit nor the theory of decision makingpredicted academic achievement or career perseverance. Bandura 1 summarized the role of self-efficacy and career choice as follows. “…efficacy is a robust contributor to career development.It predicts the scope of career options seriously considered, occupational

Conference Session

Curriculum Development and Applications

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Nail, University of Tennessee-Martin

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Design Graphics

successful initial development of a one semester undergraduatecourse in Microstation © and GEOPAK©, for undergraduate Civil Engineering students. A briefsummary of the academic institution is provided, describing the environment within which theengineering program exists. The Bachelor of Science in Engineering program is described insummary. Significantly more details are provided concerning the Civil Engineering specialtyconcentration. The rationale behind why the course development was undertaken is explained,focusing on the specific educational needs of the undergraduate Civil Engineering students. Asummary of the capabilities of Microstation © and GEOPAK © is explored, relative toundergraduate versus graduate educational needs – as well as

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qiang Le, Hampton University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

for incorporatingmulti-media case studies in engineering curriculum.IntroductionThe nation’s current and projected need for more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) workers, coupled with the chronically lagging participation of students from ethnicallygrowing segments of the population, argue for policies and programs that will increase thepathways into engineering. Enhancing the curriculum is recognized to be an important way toimprove overall diversity in engineering. Retooling curricula to prepare students for theinnovation age requires them to explore open-ended problems, thereby acquiring higher-ordercognitive and teamwork skills and equipping them with the tools they will need to becomesuccessful engineers. Past research

Conference Session

Research in Multidisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Barry, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Jacqueline Isaacs, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

in the Center’s laboratories (i.e., early June to mid August). Students, asindividuals or in collaboration with other undergraduates, conducted research under the guidanceof their faculty advisors, other faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. In thisprogram, students with diverse technical backgrounds gained skills in electron and atomic forcemicroscopy; chemical synthesis; MEMS and NEMS fabrication; dip pen nanolithography;template-guided assembly and transfer of polymers and nanoparticles; high rate polymerprocessing; assessing the impact of nanoparticles on the environment; and exploring economicand ethical issues associated with nanomanufacturing. The participants presented the results oftheir research at the end of

Conference Session

Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cliff Lissenden, Pennsylvania State University; Nicholas Salamon, Pennsylvania State University; Andrew Miller, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

mustpractice divergent thinking to explore the entire design space, which is an immensely importantskill for developing creative and effective solutions. Learning design via a team-based designproject promotes cognitive skills, social skills, management skills, and positive personal traits.Design and development of an open ended design project is discussed. The team-based projectprogresses over approximately ten weeks in an elementary strength of materials course. Thisprovides a significant design experience for engineering students that helps bridge the gapbetween the first-year engineering design course and the capstone design project that engineeringstudents typically do in their senior year. The project requires student teams to: work together

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aleksandra Vinogradov, Montana State University; Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

in the College of Engineering at Montana State University. She works on various curriculum and instruction projects including instructional development for faculty and graduate students. She also serves as the college’s assessment and evaluation expert, currently evaluating the success of various programs and projects, including the Designing Our Community program, the Providing Resources for Engineering Preparedness program (funded by the U.S. Department of Education), and the Enhancing Access Scholarships for Engineering and Computer Science program (funded by NSF). Prior to coming to MSU, Plumb was at the University of Washington, where she directed the Engineering

Conference Session

SE Curriculum and Course Management

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Scott Hawker, Rochester Institute of Technology; Ian Webber, Rochester Institute of Technology; Michael Starenko, Rochester Institute of Technology; Jeremiah Parry-Hill, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

that they havelearned, combined with all that their teammates have learned, to quickly and effectively developa quality solution to a real-world problem.Similarly, an instructor may teach five courses a year over many years, each with dozens ofstudents. Course content changes from year to year, and a given course’s content must becontinually aligned with the content of other courses and content from other instructors. As thecurriculum evolves and teaching improves, faculty members need an integrated view of learningcontent and student performance assessment over the entire curriculum and numerous years.Current approaches to managing course information do not provide the integrated, organized,evolving view of knowledge that students and

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jale Tezcan, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; John Nicklow, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; James Mathias, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Lalit Gupta, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Rhonda Kowalchuk, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

inengineering. Specifically, the course aims to 1. Help students understand and become familiar with engineering professions and careers. 2. Introduce students to the various technical areas and specializations within engineering. 3. Help students form academic and personal support groups and develop the ability to communicate and work effectively with others. 4. Acquaint students with the role of engineers in society and in engineering ethics. 5. Provide students hands-on laboratory projects and theoretical background to appreciate the importance of mathematics in engineering. 6. Guide students in choosing an engineering curriculumCourse Structure and Content :The Introduction to Engineering course is a three-credit course that

Conference Session

Collaborative & New Efforts in Engineering Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fanyu Zeng, Indiana Wesleyan University

Tagged Divisions

International

curriculum for a college in China, toeliminate gaps between the curriculum and rapidly changing requirements by foreigncompanies in China, and to ultimately help Chinese students to be prepared for theirprofessional careers in the dynamic global economy.Research is carried out to first examine common characteristics of Chinese students inthis program in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The study recognizesChinese students’ strengths and particularly their success in mathematics and sciencebased on literature reviews on other’s work, personal experience interview andobservation. It also reveals an important finding that overemphasis on understanding andmemorization in mathematics and science in existing software engineering

Conference Session

Unique Student Opportunities in BME

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Linsenmeier, Northwestern University; Jean Alley, Vanderbilt University; Penny Hirsch, Northwestern University; Stacy Klein-Gardner; Julie Greenberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mark Bourgeois, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

will also impact education inthese fields. Further, some of the materials have been disseminated for middle school and highschool students. This paper discusses how a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)program engaged undergraduates in this work, benefiting both the students and the VaNTH ERCand argues that similar programs, or even aspects of this program, would be very helpful to Page 13.128.2students considering faculty careers in engineering or graduate school in engineering education.1.2 Rationale for an REU program in bioengineering education research Almost any research experience is valuable as a component of an

Conference Session

Preparing Engineering Students for International Practice

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Aidoo, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Shannon Sexton, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology; James Hanson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Kevin Sutterer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Robert Houghtalen, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

International

necessary data.Despite the associated challenges, the benefits to the students are seen as immediate andprofound. To date, there is little or no information on assessing the short and long-term benefitsof such projects. In 2006-2007 academic year, five Rose-Hulman civil engineering studentsdesigned an agricultural training facility in Ghana as part of their capstone design project. At theend of the project, in the summer of 2007, the student team had the invaluable experience ofvisiting Ghana. While in Ghana, they presented their final design report to both the localengineer as well as the local community; the primary beneficiaries of the project. Additionally,the student team visited a university in Ghana to explore the feasibility of

Conference Session

Engineering Professional Development for K12 Teachers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brant Miller, University Of Minnesota; Tamara Moore, University Of Minnesota

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

.Overview of SDSM&T RET ProgramThe main objective of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) ResearchExperience for Teachers (RET) Site: “Inspiring Educators in Rural America through Research”is to provide an authentic research experience to practicing middle and high school science, math,and technology teachers. As an outcome of the research experience, the teachers take back totheir classroom newly acquired experiences, knowledge, and demonstrations which they willreadily share with their students. The objectives of the SDSM&T RET Site are: 1. to provide ten (10) sixth through twelfth grade teachers (RET Research Assistants) the opportunity to work side-by-side with undergraduate students, graduate students

Conference Session

Gender & Minority Issues in K-12 Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karla Korpela, Michigan Technological University; Shalini Suryanarayana, Michigan Technological University; Christine Anderson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Page 13.1318.12 • provide advice concerning resources (people, potential partnerships, and funds) for Educational Opportunity programs • provide direction in the development and improvement of the Department’s precollege career explorations • recommend improvements in advertising and marketing strategies for Department programs • provide advice for fine tuning Educational Opportunity business processes The greatest impact the Board has had is in its very presence on campus. It aggressivelyquestions staff, faculty, students and the upper administration about our commitment to diversity.The Board is an advocate that consistently reminds our fairly isolated campus that we must be adiverse university and that we

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Craig, North Carolina State University; Lisa Bullard, North Carolina State University; Jeff Joines, North Carolina State University; Tom Miller, North Carolina State University; Carolyn Miller, North Carolina State University; Dianne Raubenheimer; George Rouskas, North Carolina State University; Larry Silverberg, North Carolina State University; Eric Wiebe, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

disciplines to participate in the community during the second year of the project.Participants will commit to attending two 2-hour sessions per month and to integrate computinginto one of their courses by developing an assignment, lecture, in-class exercise, or etc. Anindustry panel, comprised of a new set of 4-6 representatives, will be formed each semester andwill be asked to attend at least one session per month. The graduate student assistant trainedduring the planning phase will be available to provide personal attention to faculty participants toaid in executing the ideas generated and for assistance in developing relevant assessmentmeasures. The semester will culminate with a poster session and/or some form of disseminationof information to

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 1

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cynthia Atman, University of Washington; Lorraine Fleming, Howard University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Karl Smith, University of Minnesota; Reed Stevens, University of Washington; Ruth Streveler, Purdue University; Christine Loucks-Jaret, University of Washington; Dennis Lund, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

that examination is to see howwell students are able to make informed decisions to stay or go in their study of engineering.Students need a welcoming environment that gives them the information they need, and theyneed learning experiences that will enable them to build their engineering knowledge andidentity as an engineer with the skills needed to succeed in the global engineering work world.Our data show that often the undergraduate experience differs greatly for different groups suchas men, women, and underrepresented minorities. The engineering education community,whether policy-makers, faculty, or researchers, must not only recognize the wide variety ofstudent pathways to an engineering degree but also encourage and support these multiple