Paper ID #43745Report on a Student Community of Practice Program’s Impact on CareerPreparedness and Sense of Belonging Among Underserved UndergraduateStudents in the Electrical & Computer Engineering MajorDr. Rachael E Cate, Oregon State University Rachael Cate received her M.A.in rhetoric and composition from Oregon State University in 2011 and her Ph.D. in higher education leadership and research from Oregon State University in 2016. She joined the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University as a member of the professional faculty in 2016. In this role, she provides engineering
barriersthat impact their access to and success in higher education [5]. One significant issue is the growingnumber of students in poverty. Community colleges, for instance, have seen a notable increase inthe number of dependent students from impoverished families, rising from 13% in 1996 to 27% in2016 [6]. The rising cost of college coupled with the slow rise of income and lack of awareness offinancial support can lead some families to believe that college is out of reach [5]. The purchasingpower of the Pell Grant, developed for students whose families meet certain income criteria, hassignificantly declined over the past few decades further exacerbating these challenges [7].Academic preparation is another barrier, as disparities in college completion
Agency. (2019). Community-port collaboration. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/community-port-collaboration 3. Mendoza, D. L., Pirozzi, C. S., Crosman, E. T., Liou, T. G., Zhang, Y., Cleeves, J. J., Bannister, S. C., Anderegg, W. R. L., & Paine III, R. (2020). Impact of low-level fine particulate matter and ozone exposure on absences in K-12 students and economic consequences. Environmental Research Letters, 15(11), 114052. DOI 10.1088/1748- 9326/abbf7a 4. Cserbik, D., Chen, J.-C., McConnell, R., Berhane, K., Sowell, E. R., Schwartz, J., Hackman, D. A., Kan, E., Fan, C. C., Herting, M. M. (2020). Fine particulate matter
they engage in interdisciplinary discussions, explain how multiple factors have contributed to infrastructure inequities and how they can be part of the solution. This also emphasizes the importance of relying on multiple disciplines in different fields of knowledge to address JEDI issues. Additionally, the framework proposed includes, in its structure and suggested activities, multiple opportunities for students to evolve from foundational understanding to thinking in multi- disciplinary ways and being creative in the design of solutions. Collaborative efforts and increased visibility of these narratives among the engineering students, and the community at large, will amplify the potential for meaningful change
improve the field’s diversity, adaptability, and competitiveness, the Year of Impact on Racial Equity is focused on creating organizational change to address the culture, policies, and racial and ethnic representation within engineering student organizations, colleges of engineering, and pre-college outreach efforts. These 12 months will move us beyond action to focus on the impact of the actions we take. We expect that actions in these domains will result in three concrete forms of impact: (1) empowered engineering student organizations, which will make engineering education more inclusive at the level of peer-to-peer interactions; (2) actionable organizational policies and effective practices
domain examines how students understand and conceptualize their socioeconomicstatus (SES) and its influence on their academic and personal experiences. It explores students’awareness of their economic background, their perceptions of social class, and how these factorsshape their educational journey. The affective domain focuses on the emotional impacts of SES,particularly how financial stress and social stigma affect students’ well-being, sense ofbelonging, and ability to engage in campus life. It provides insight into the psychological toll ofnavigating higher education while managing financial constraints and the challenges ofclass-related exclusion. The behavioral domain addresses the practical aspects of how SESinfluences students' actions
accommodation.Hypothesis 4: Educational institutions with standardized process for determining the need foraccommodations will see higher rates of accommodation utilization and student satisfactioncompared to the ones with less formalized process.Figure 5 shows how accommodation procedures are communicated across campus.Standardized processes not only promote consistency and fairness in accommodation decisionsbut also enhance transparency, which can increase students’ trust in the system. When studentsclearly understand how accommodations are determined and what documentation is required,they are more likely to engage with the process and follow through with requests. Additionally,institutions with formalized procedures are better positioned to train staff
, SaP can also support STEM students’ engagement in DEI efforts. For example, in2015, Bunnell et al. [26] developed a course titled “Being Human in STEM (HSTEM)” atAmherst College, which engages students in action research projects on topics related todiversity and inclusion in STEM. In personal reflections, HSTEM course alumni noted that theirparticipation in the course supported them in making sense of their own and other students’experiences of marginalization, combatting feelings of isolation, and feeling empowered aschange agents within the Amherst STEM community [26].3. FrameworksThe design of the JEDI was guided by notions of liberative pedagogy [27]-[28]. From a Freireanperspective, liberative education facilitates conscientização, or
less, and those who are part-time students see no benefit. When the tuition isincreased to cover the cost of the discount, the students with lower credit hour enrollments areeffectively subsidizing the discount for those with higher credit loads. Clearly, students frommarginalized communities who tend to be low-income and transfer from community collegebenefit less and are effectively subsidizing a benefit for higher-income, non-transfer, whitestudents.Looking at the three-part test laid out by the U.S. Department of Justice for Title VI [20], thisanalysis shows that this policy has a measurable disparate impact on students of color. Thejustification for this policy is to encourage higher credit loads and improve graduation rates, butthere is
effective approaches for incorporatingsocial impacts into technical courses.ContextWe have known for a while that the time spent training to become an engineer is an importantand formative time for engineering students. Engineering education is the ‘causal relationship’that links education to the development of technology and products for consumer use andcompany profit [16, pg. 149]. To ensure students feel safe enough to learn in their programs andtruly engage in that formative process, engineering educators must communicate precisely andwith care to address the lack of positive student engagement. We refer to these communicationtechniques as rhetorical practices. Building on Perrault [10, pg. 64] who states that, “...rhetoricalknowledge is just
workshops to practitioners around the world. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Engineering Health Equity: Perspective and Pedagogy of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning and Impact on Learners’ Social IdentityAbstractThis research explored the beliefs related to the health disparities, systems, and innovation ofhonors/engineering students enrolled in a course on Health Equity. This course aims to bringtogether undergraduate students across disciplines from engineering, public health, pharmacy,anthropology, sociology, and other social and basic sciences to learn from each other throughco-designing solutions to address health disparities. The
to engineering technology edu- cation and the whole profession through excellence in teaching, research and service to the engineering technology community. Dr. Uddin is a proponent of project-based learning and developed innovative teaching strategies to engage his students in solving real-world problems and prepare them with skills and knowledge that industry requires. Dr. Uddin is active in research and scholarship. He has been awarded grants from National Science Foundation, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Board of Regents, DENSO and ASEE (ETD mini-grants) and several other organizations for a total of more than $2 million. His current research interest focuses on risk-based estimation in
tackle these issues. Furthermore, it reflects a more comprehensive understandingamong academic and healthcare professionals regarding the enduring effects of pandemics onmental health (Singh, Kumar, & Gupta, 2022) and the increased demand for mental health servicesamidst their diminishing availability (Wasil et al., 2021).Missing from these studies are acknowledgments of the additional impact that systems of exclusionand marginalization have an impact on the mental health of marginalized communities during andafter (and before) the COVID-19 pandemic (Coley & Thomas, 2023; Farra, et al., 2024; McGee,et al., 2019; Wilkins-Yel, et al., 2022). While the heightened focus on graduate student mentalhealth after the pandemic is an important step
in their local context that can block the change theyseek to achieve. [Simply] adding ‘equity’ to the collective impact agenda is not enough. Organi-zations engaged in collective impact initiatives should first consider and act on how they need tochange within by applying an equity lens to their own people and practices” [14, p. 2]. This in-cludes navigating through the discomfort often experienced when discussing concepts associatedwith equity, such as racism and misogyny [38, 39]. Regardless of the uncomfortable conversa-tions that may arise, it is important to develop common language, as well as shared methods fordisaggregating student data [14] based on the demographic changes sought by the CI.3 MethodologyOur research questions were
Paper ID #42751WIP: In Search of Community: A Collaborative Inquiry Among NeurodivergentEngineering Education ResearchersDr. Marissa A Tsugawa, Utah State University Marissa Tsugawa is an assistant professor at Utah State University who leverages mixed-methods research to explore neurodiversity and identity and motivation in engineering. They completed their Ph.D. in Engineering Education where they focused on motivation and identity for engineering graduate students.Theo Sorg, Purdue University Theo Sorg (they/them) is a fifth-year PhD student and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the School
focus on community building within engineering. Thenuances of my experiences inside and outside of the classroom over the course of my four yearsat this university inform my following recommendations and speak to the impact of positive andnegative teaching experiences encountered during my educational journey.Preliminary Findings and RecommendationsOur analysis of the instructors’ guide revealed that several policies have been implemented withthe intent of supporting student learning, but their impact falls short in terms of aligning withhigh-impact teaching practices and fostering inclusive learning environments. Syllabus languagewas the first item addressed in the instructors’ guide, with the following recommendationsstanding out to us: 1
diverse students and support varied career paths(Brawner et al., 2012). To probe these distinctions, our study, grounded in Social Cognitive CareerTheory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994) and Critical Race Theory (CRT; Crenshaw et al., 1995),investigates the career pathways and attitudes of engineering graduate students. Leveraging adataset of 847 engineering graduate students, we examine differences across these threeengineering disciplines and the impact of demographic factors like race and gender on careerdecisions and attitudes. Findings suggest that clear demographic distinctions emerged at theintersection of race and gender: female students across all disciplines displayed a greaterpreference for nonprofit careers compared to their male
could represent any one (or more) of the seven individuals who participated inthe interviews [35], [36]. We used the singular form of “they/them” pronouns to represent theamalgamated participant.Author PositionaltyThe first author (they/them/theirs) was a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado, Boulderwhile the study was being conducted. As a dis/abled, queer, nonbinary person, who at timespasses as an able body/minded, white, heterosexual, cisgender person they found themselvesdrawn to the models of disability that affirmed their experience. This likely impacted thetheoretical frameworks of disability they found and chose to explore. Their experience ofdisability influenced how they interpreted the participants’ statements even as they
question asks, when students exertmicroaggressions on their teammates, what do they look like at scale so that instructors of largecourses can see them? Based on current data collection and analysis, our project’s original intentto provide instructors with observation tools to identify at scale when teammates are engaging inharassing behavior in order to interrupt it, seems insufficient and perhaps even damaging in howtrivial it treats the depth of engineering’s marginalization of minoritized students.Our paper briefly describes three current findings that lead us in this direction: 1. We see that teammates enact microaggressions and selective incivilities against their minoritized teammates frequently and predictably. 2. We see that
engineeringpipeline to attract, retain and support underrepresented groups. Thus, to the extent that studentswho struggle in engineering are disproportionately underrepresented students [3]-[4], it isimportant to examine all aspects of engineering education that could potentially weed thesestudents out, including assessment.Little research has been done to examine the effect of assessment practices on underrepresentedgroups in engineering. Oftentimes, underperformance has been thought of as a failure of thestudent rather than a product of inequities and harmful practices within the methods ofassessment and reporting themselves [5]. As this research reveals, students report that assessmentand reporting practices greatly impact their confidence levels, and
ease accreditation metric creationAbstractBackground: Research has shown that students from underserved groups are more likely topersist when they see the link between their coursework and improving society [1], [2].Simultaneously, human welfare and social impacts have become a part of accreditation protocolsfor engineering programs [2], [3], [4]. These two factors result in a need for faculty tostrategically create inclusive classrooms where students 1) are engaged in the field of studythrough application to their personal, social, and global knowledge contexts and 2) aredemonstrating proficiency on subject matter sufficient to demonstrate accreditation andprogrammatic requirements. In prior work the authors have shown strategies that exist
project incorporatingcentering Indigenous ways of knowing and being within an engineering education context. Cal PolyHumboldt’s new master’s program in Engineering & Community Practice is among the first of its kind inthe United States as an Indigenous-centered graduate engineering program. This program is a one-year,project-based degree where STEM students will work through the relationship-building process with anIndigenous Nation to develop and complete an engineering project. As such, the potential impact of theprogram could be significant as we start to engage with the decolonization process as a field. Thisresearch attempts to capture and communicate that impact in a way that centers Indigenous ways of beingand storytelling. This will
Paper ID #41362Redefining Engineering Literacy with Generative AI: Impacts and Implicationsfor Diverse Languages and Expertise in Engineering EducationDr. Clay Walker, University of Michigan Dr. Walker is a Lecturer III in the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering Technical Communication Program. He regularly teaches first-year, intermediate, and senior writing courses for students in all engineering disciplines, but especially Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science Engineering. His research focuses on the interplay between identity, experience, and agency in language and literacy practices in technical and
responses we received were highlyindividual and suggest that there is a communal need to recognize and support individuals toprevent the burnout and dehumanization that we — educators, researchers, leaders —collectively face. The second consideration is expanding research activities to includehumanizing questions so that we can continue to understand the impact of the political andcultural systems on those who are the focus of our research, including ourselves. There isincreased recognition that students are people, which has led to significant increases ininvestment on student well-being. We are calling for that same level of recognition thateducators, researchers and faculty, and policy leaders are also people, and are equally in need
displaced engineering students, understanding the supports and barriers to educational continuity for engineers in a disaster context, and preparing engineering students interdisci- plinarity to address disasters in their work. She works as a graduate research assistant for the Virginia Tech Disaster Resilience and Risk Management interdisciplinary graduate program, as well as for the VT Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies.Dr. Marie C. Paretti, Virginia Tech Marie C. Paretti is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she directs the Virginia Tech Engineering Communications Center (VTECC). Her research focuses on communication, collabo- ration, and identity in engineering
Native American PacificIslander-Serving Institutions Program.” Accessed: Jul. 31, 2023. [Online].[20] L. Whiting, “Semi-structured interviews: guidance for novice researchers,” NursingStandard, vol. 22, no. 23, pp. 35–40, 2008.[21] S. Secules et al., “Positionality practices and dimensions of impact on equity research: Acollaborative inquiry and call to the community,” J of Engineering Edu, vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 19–43, Jan. 2021.[22] J. A. Leydens, K. E. Johnson, and B. M. Moskal, “Engineering student perceptions of socialjustice in a feedback control systems course,” J Eng Educ, vol. 110, no. 3, pp. 718–749, Jul.2021.[23] M. E. Cardwell, “Examining interracial family narratives using critical multiracial theory,”Review of Communication, vol. 21
remains for teachers interested in culture-based approaches:How can teachers identify "useful" cultural resources for students, and how can they effectivelyincorporate them into their teaching curricula?5. Research DesignOur study examines a Professional Learning Community (PLC) of eight secondary physics teachers (n=8)to understand how physics teachers leverage students' cultural resources to engage with physics ideas. ThePLC met for 90 minutes each month. During each meeting, one teacher shared a culture-based lesson thatincluded a local issue or cultural aspect at each meeting. Other teachers then discussed ways to improvethe lesson. After the teacher presented the lesson, the other teachers discussed ways to improve thelesson. These meetings
(cultural)In the following section, we start by presenting how CoP leadership impacts resourcemobilization. We then describe how change teams employ each means of access to mobilizeresources for their changemaking efforts.How CoP Leadership Moderates Resource MobilizationCoP leadership employs various pedagogical techniques to moderate the mobilization ofresources during the community of practice meetings. We find that their techniques impact thestructure of the conversation, how participants engage with the subjects and each other, and howthey connect to external resources.To facilitate the change-focused conversations, CoP leadership employs rehashing and repetition,probes silent teams to share out, supports reflection exercises and the
public. As Associate Professor her mantra has been to connect education to profes- sional practice inside and outside the classroom as demonstrated by the local and state awards she has won: 2014 UTEP’s CETaL Giraffe Award (for sticking her neck out); 2014 College of Engineering In- struction Award; 2014 The University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award; the 2012 NCEES Award for students’ design of a Fire Station. In her work, Dr. Santiago helps to find innova- tive engineering solutions through an understanding of the balance between sustainability, social equity, entrepreneurship, community engagement, innovation, and leadership to improve the well-being of peo- ple. A few examples include
Ipersonally worked on through a rapid-design organization founded in the early days of thepandemic. Community-based environmental monitoring of pollutants can be done with low-costtools and freely accessible data uploaded onto the internet, allowing communities to trackpollutants that might be impacting their health and form a political response.Finally, intentionally participatory hackathons showcase the ability for technology-orientedspaces to be sites of utopia-building as well as critical engagement with unraveling systems ofinequities [53]. During their 2018 event, Make the Breast Pump Not Suck, they created a spacegrounded in equity that was intentionally inclusive by ensuring that there was time to buildrelationships before and after the