) working with writing centertutors, (2) creating (in-house) discipline-specific writing-intensive course, (3) building upsupport groups consisting of peers, advisors and writing specialists. For the purpose of thisstudy, I review below only first two areas of interest. For a fuller review of the currentlandscape of graduate-level writing support available in engineering, readers should refer toBatson [4].Working with writing center tutorsAs a university-wide service to students, employees and faculties who need professionalsupport for any kind of writing task, writing centers have long served as a default solution toproblems in writing. Engineering professors also commonly recommend the tutoring serviceat the writing center to those who struggle
,indicating that such an environment contributes to verbal and written communication skills andlearning to facilitate difficult conversations (the three items in communication skills). In apositive peer climate, students might have a greater opportunity to receive feedback on theirpresentations or writing samples from peers, as well as being able to practice toughconversations and receive advice from students further along in their programs. It is unclear why advisor climate was
takes place to build student’s self-appraisal skills.Many video examples are used in class to show presenting styles, use of different structures,opening and closing a talk, gesturing, tone and adapting information to different audiences.Students analyze the speeches of Hans Rosling, Max Tegmark, Barack Obama and other globallyknown speakers and scientists, as well as presentations from their peers. Focused observation ofspeakers helps students define their own presentation style and also supports in-class exercisesthat break down the many elements of a presentation. Targeting single elements such astransitions or fielding questions allows students to build capacity through experimentation. Aswith the writing course, Ph.D. students greatly
student community in scientific communication. This evidence-based practice paperdescribes the implementation of a unified “Professional Development” (PD) course series tosupport the success of graduate students. This PD program features a course to enhance thestudents' verbal scientific communication skills through a practical, feedback-driven, and peer-reviewed format. A scientific writing course, a course complementary to scientificcommunication, is being developed to help students improve their writing skills. A key objectiveof both these communication courses is to teach graduate students how to use storytelling inspeaking and writing to make their scientific findings clear and engaging for all audiences. It alsoexplains how storytelling can
. Inrecent years, programs such as Michigan’s NextProf workshop and CU Boulder’s ACTIVEFaculty Development and Leadership Intensive, have emerged that bring together Ph.D. studentsand postdocs to network with peers as well as meet and learn from faculty at host institutionsregarding the job search. Any review of faculty application materials happens briefly duringthese events, which does not allow scaffolding for the participants or application materialrevision opportunities. Other programs focus their preparation on certain types of institutions(e.g., Stanford’s Preparing Future Professors and predominantly undergraduate institutions),disciplines (e.g., Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering and the University of Chicago’s FutureFaculty Conference
.” • “Literally seeing this information at any point in time is amazing. Practice writing some of the statements was very good as well.” • “The written assignments along with the feedback from peers and teachers helped quite a lot. It was especially helpful to get feedback from the instructors as they have more of a sense as to what the application materials should contain. Guest lecturers were also helpful because they provided different perspectives from which we could learn.” • “Discussions, assignments targeted towards real-application material. Broadened understanding of job roles, responsibilities and how to apply as a graduate student to these jobs. Examples of application materials shared…helped to
projects; completing Clifton Strengths testand individual career assessment before attending the class. For weekly classes, studentsparticipate in small and large group discussions to gain an understanding of course topics.Following the 50 min lecture, students participated in the post-lecture activities such as smallgroup peer reviews for reflective writing, discussion of the application of PM skills, and Q&Awith guest lecturers (see Table 1).Table 1. Course Content Week Course Topic Learning Activity 1 Introduction Icebreaker game 2 Project Charter Building project charter for thesis/ research
onmindsets that are discipline-specific, including maker mindset [8] and the entrepreneurialmindset [9]. The extant literature on mindsets is abundant and highlights the need for relevantmindsets toward specific task performance [9] – [11].The term ‘research mindset’ has been used by some researchers [10]–[12], but has yet to beexplicitly defined. A few studies call out the presence of research mindset and the relatedconstruct of researcher identity [13], [14]. Efforts in this space aim to better understand howmindset plays a role as researchers engage in various research tasks like defining researchproblems, conducting literature reviews, designing and conducting experiments, writing upresults, and working on a research team. Research is a task, or
well as variations in familial and community understandings of neurodiversity [20].Existing literature shows a pattern of disparities in formal diagnosis rates and access to supportsbetween individuals from minoritized racial groups and their White peers [21]-[24].Additionally, neurodiverse women frequently receive a diagnosis of anxiety or depression, whileADHD or autism diagnoses are delayed or unrecognized [25], [26]. The demographic data of the31 participants are summarized in Table 1. Table 1: Summary of Demographic Information (Total N = 31) Field of Study N (%) Biology 5 (16.1%) Biomedical/Health Sciences
as a psychometrician, program evaluator, and data analyst, with research interests in spatial ability, creativity, engineering-integrated STEM education, and meta-analysis. As a psychometrician, she has revised, developed, and validated more than 10 instruments beneficial for STEM education practice and research. She has authored/co- authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings and served as a journal reviewer in engineering education, STEM education, and educational psychology. She has also served as a co-PI, an external evaluator, or an advisory board member on several NSF-funded projects. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023
, Blackstudents face a higher attrition rate compared to their peers of other races [4]. Given these starkstatistics, the retention of the Black population in graduate and undergraduate engineeringprograms becomes imperative for establishing a diverse and robust workforce [8], [10].The systemic and cultural racial biases inherent within educational institutions contribute to themarked dearth of Black students in engineering doctoral programs. Even as research begins tounravel the experiences of Black Ph.D. students in engineering – from motivations and persistenceto encounters with racial microaggressions – the disparity remains, underscoring the need fordeeper exploration. This group has additional heterogeneity [11], particularly overlooking
program was conducted with a larger group of students inthe summer of 2022. Thus far, our results indicate that this program will be beneficial to studentswell after regular programming resumes at full capacity. GREaT GradS was designed to servegroups of graduate students who are typically marginalized within science with an eye towardretention through support and mentorship. The overall goals were to provide (1) ResourceRecognition by introducing students to the various academic and personal resources available oncampus, (2) Personal Preparation through programming on subjects such as personal finance andmental health, (3) Career Preparation through writing workshops and curriculum vitae editing,and (4) Network Building by connecting students
research laboratories and focus on documenting learningprocesses as they unfold during daily practices in the laboratories. Specifically,the goal of our study is to observe and document how graduate students, and otherlab members, learn from one another within the cultural space of the laboratory,and what aspects of laboratory culture facilitate and what impede learning. To thatend, we use cognitive ethnography, an ethnographic approach combined withcognitive science to study cognitive processes through participant-observation oftwo engineering research laboratories. We identified the following themespertaining to learning experiences: scaffolding (structured activities orapprenticeship), peer-to-peer learning, self-directed and self-regulated
individually or by funding sources) for research progress.Writing for Research. Theme: Lab/Research: In the next most frequently applied code,participants described the stress of writing, especially getting started with writing or makingconsistent progress. Participants described stress in receiving feedback and being critiqued,including informal critiques experienced when collaborating with coauthors. Participants alsodescribed experiencing stress when writing grant proposals, navigating the peer review process,and waiting for feedback from collaborators. This stress was particularly high for students forwhom English was not a native language and for students who had not yet published theirresearch. For some participants, this stress was grounded in
Paper ID #39970Metaphor: The Key to Communicating with Both Specialists and the PublicAmanda Dawn Hilliard, The Johns Hopkins University Amanda Hilliard received her MA in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language and PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham in the UK. She has taught writing and communi- cation courses abroad in South Korea, Vietnam, and Ecuador, and in the U.S. in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and Maryland. She currently teaches in the Center for Leadership Education at the Johns Hopkins Uni- versity. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023
semester.Understanding and embracing the cultural dynamics in the United States requires internationalstudents to engage actively with faculty, peers, and staff from diverse backgrounds. In additionto regularly scheduled events such as attending classes, international students enhance theircultural experiences by participating in student organizations and multicultural events. Workingin teams in graduate courses also helps international students integrate into American culture,which helps them adapt to classroom dynamics.While international students must demonstrate English proficiency to be admittedunconditionally into most graduate programs in the United States, they sometimes hesitate toengage in conversation due to cultural background or speaking English as
ourinstrument was guided by the research question: What influence does the instrumental andpsychosocial support that engineering graduate students perceive from their advisor haveon their thesis self-efficacy? Using SCCT as our theoretical foundation, this work focuseson the development and validation of the Advisor Support and Self-efficacy for Thesiscompletion (ASSET) instrument with graduate students pursuing master’s and doctoraldegrees in engineering disciplines.Our resultant construct of Thesis Self-efficacy measures the confidence that a student has in theirabilities to complete specific tasks that are key to the writing of their dissertation, thesis, orapplied project report, while our Advisor Support construct measures a student’s perception
passion for increasing Hispanic representation in STEM. She currently lives with her husband Andr´es, their two sons David and Sebasti´an, and their minia- ture schnauzer Lucca in Winter Garden, Florida.Esther Gonzalez Esther Gonz´alez, MPA, MBA, ABD is a PhD Candidate at University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy with subject matter expertise in organization behavior and diversity management. Her research is multidisciplinary and applies methods and fields in public policy and management. She is a published author in several peer reviewed journals with media mentions in Forbes. Previously, she served as Director on the Research and Innovation team at the Society of Hispanic Professional
board for WEPAN from 2012-2014. She earned her M.S. in Youth Development from the University of Nebraska and her B.S. in Family Studies at Kansas State University.Esther Gonzalez Esther Gonz´alez, MPA, MBA, ABD is a PhD Candidate at University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy with subject matter expertise in organization behavior and diversity management. Her research is multidisciplinary and applies methods and fields in public policy and management. She is a published author in several peer reviewed journals with media mentions in Forbes. Previously, she served as Director on the Research and Innovation team at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). She is a multifaceted
as they navigate the complexities ofSTEM education and careers. Through this literature review, we aim to identify gaps in currentmentoring approaches for minority graduate and undergraduate students in STEM fields anddevelop a new mentoring strategy that addresses their specific needs and challenges. Historically, academic mentorship has concentrated on learning rather than careerdevelopment or psychosocial needs (Ensher, 1997; Stromei, 1998). According to research,undergraduate students who are mentored had higher GPAs, greater retention rates, and moreunits finished each semester than their unmentored peers (Campbell and Campbell 1997).Mentoring addresses key aspects of student identification and social integration into
pertaining to financial necessities likeinsurance, which can only be provided to children through the age of 26 in theUnited States. Graduate students often have their own expenses, and may beginto have their own families that rely on them for financial support. Students whoare not financially supported by their department or program may be forced toleave their degree program to find financially stable work. Additionally, stu-dents who do not leave their degree program may be consistently burdened bytheir financial stress due to the limited pay (Levecque et al. 2017). 42.2 Internal FactorsInternal factors affecting students include: motivation, writing skills, and aca-demic identity (Sverdlik et al. 2018, p
recent version of the “Fake Paper”. Theseresults give us some confidence that the case-based approach to teaching and learning aboutreading academic papers has merit.1 IntroductionLearning to read an academic paper is not a formally taught subject, but is an essential skillneeded by senior undergraduates and graduate students as they arrive at the edges of curatedtextbooks and human knowledge, and begin to explore new ideas on the cutting-edge based onresearch and development. For those of us who continue in our respective fields and want tocontribute with our own peer-reviewed academic papers, the skill of reading papers is necessary,but the approaches to teaching students how to read academic papers mainly use ad-hocexperiential learning
develop a community withpeers in the same field.Two faculty members, who are active STEM education researchers, have instituted a newseminar series specifically for these students that is designed to realign the course withengineering education topics, continuously improve the Ph.D. curriculum, and assist students ontheir Ph.D. paths. The group of faculty and students began meeting every other week to discusstopics specifically related to STEM education and the needs of graduate school in lieu ofattending the general engineering seminars. This new seminar series covers multiple topicsapplicable to students in STEM education, including developing a plan of study, writing andpresenting a proposal for a dissertation, and on-campus graduate
preparation programs in both industryand academia. This exploratory study's purpose was to scope existing peer-reviewed and publishedarticles describing the focus and target audience of engineering workforce training programs forgraduate students in industry and academia. The study aimed to explore what existing workforcetrainings exist for graduate engineering students and then, to see what skills they are teachingstudents. The objective was to, using the information from the scoping review, to begin to outlineworkplace reading skills and criteria for a future development of a theory of workplace readinessfor Ph.D. engineering graduate students. This exploratory study used the Virginia WorkplaceReadiness skills framework to classify the skills
Flexibility IP SCAFFOLDING Zone of Learner Assistance Learner Assistance Towards Independence OF Proximal Instructor Active Learning Peer Learning PLP Project or Exam INSTRUCTION Development Weeks 1-4 Weeks 1-4 Week 5 Student: Faculty ASSESSMENT OF • Non-technical core competency • Formative & summative feedback on model PERFORMANCE AND • Improved understanding of • Feedback on student interactions
programs. However, after admission, the problem ofretention becomes salient for underrepresented minority groups (URMs) in academia 1 . As youngBlack engineers continue to enter advanced graduate studies, it becomes important to examine thefactors that impact how they enter and ultimately decide to leave the institution. In this work, weused the autoethnographic method to share our experiences and illustrate the issues faced by BlackPhD students at elite research institutions. We relate our experiences chronologically starting withthe expectations from peers once arriving on campus, moving into the expectation of solving auniversity’s equity problems, and ending with the mental burdens of coping with an unhealthywork environment. All of these
institutions distinct fromstaff and undergraduate students. They are notably subject to elevated levels of stress associatedwith research, teaching, and publishing responsibilities as well as high levels of uncertainty withregards to advisor expectations, financial security, and career prospects [2]. The excessive levelsof stress and uncertainty around graduate school has contributed to a concerning mental healthcrisis, with one study identifying PhD students as nearly twice as likely to be experiencingpsychological distress than highly educated peers in the general public [3]. In graduate studentoriented spaces, negative aspects of academic culture are readily named and critiqued, especiallythrough online communities and anonymous online message
continue their jobs and maintain theirstandard of living while pursuing their educational goals remotely. On the other hand, studentsmust be self-disciplined as there is no schedule other than potential synchronous sessions withtheir peers or professors. Other advantages of in-person education are developing a sense ofcommunity and extracurricular activities which are somewhat more difficult to achieve indistance education, especially at the undergraduate level. In this work, we use the terms “online”and “distance” interchangeably. Similarly, “in-person” and “on-campus” are interchangeable.Literature ReviewA survey of college instructors and administrators involved in online teaching showed thepopularity of online learning, rise of blended
achieve a given goal in an efficient and expeditious manner” [1, p.7]- are criticallyimportant for any STEM career. These skills frequently are expected of those who seek careersin industry. Undergraduate students may be introduced to these skills if they major inengineering or have internship experiences in industry; however, these skills are rarely taught atthe graduate level. Graduate education primarily focuses on developing skills required for theacademy (i.e., research, grant writing) and often overlook other skills that are more critical tosuccess in professions in the industry. Over the past decades, students have increasingly beenseeking positions outside the academy, opting, instead, to work in the industry [2]. STEMemployers seek
, evaluateprogress, advocate for their well-being, and connect them with relevant resources. They helpgraduate students navigate their programs and achieve their academic and career goals byoffering support, encouragement, and constructive feedback. This is why it is essential tocomprehend their opinion of the GRE as a graduate school application component for MS/Ph.D.programs.BackgroundNearly all studies on the GRE as an admissions component have focused on its predictivevalidity for graduate students’ success in terms of grades, time to degree completion, advisorrating, and peer-review publication ratings, among other graduate student success metrics.Kileger et al. [3] adopted a multivariate approach to measuring the predictive validity of the GREand