Assessing Leadership Development through a Leadership Practice Project: A Work in Progress

Kim Graves Wolfinbarger; Javeed Kittur

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Engineering Leadership Development Division (LEAD) Technical Session: Innovative Approaches to Teaching & Developing Engineering Leadership
Tagged Division: Engineering Leadership Development Division (LEAD)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46607

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Paper Authors

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Kim Graves Wolfinbarger University of Oklahoma orcid.org/0000-0002-4595-5674

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Kim Graves Wolfinbarger, director of the Jerry Holmes Leadership Program for Engineers and Scientists, designs and delivers leadership development curricula tailored to the needs of collegiate engineering and science students. An assistant professor in the Engineering Pathways Program, she teaches leadership and professional development courses, supports student organizations, manages the engineering leadership certificate program, and provides advice and counsel to Holmes Leadership Associates and their professional mentors. Her research focuses on leadership development and teamwork among engineering and science students. She holds a PhD in industrial & systems engineering, an MS in industrial engineering, and a BBA in marketing, all from OU. She is the 2023-24 chair of ASEE’s Engineering Leadership Development Division.

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Javeed Kittur University of Oklahoma orcid.org/0000-0001-6132-7304

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Dr. Kittur is an Assistant Professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering at The University of Oklahoma. He completed his Ph.D. in Engineering Education Systems and Design program from Arizona State University, 2022. He received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s in Power Systems from India in 2011 and 2014, respectively. He has worked with Tata Consultancy Services as an Assistant Systems Engineer from 2011–2012 in India. He has worked as an Assistant Professor (2014–2018) in the department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, KLE Technological University, India. He is a certified IUCEE International Engineering Educator. He was awarded the ’Ing.Paed.IGIP’ title at ICTIEE, 2018. He is serving as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET).

He is interested in conducting engineering education research, and his interests include student retention in online and in-person engineering courses/programs, data mining and learning analytics in engineering education, broadening student participation in engineering, faculty preparedness in cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning, and faculty experiences in teaching online courses. He has published papers at several engineering education research conferences and journals. Particularly, his work is published in the International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education (ICTIEE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Computer Applications in Engineering Education (CAEE), International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE), Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET), and IEEE Transactions on Education. He is also serving as a reviewer for a number of conferences and journals focused on engineering education research.

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Abstract

Objective: This work-in-progress practice paper describes the assessment of learning via a leadership practice project and supports LEAD’s strategic initiatives “Design” and “Assess.” The engineering leadership course at a large midwestern public university features a mix of theory and practical application. The course is designed to teach skills students can use immediately, as well as concepts they may need later in their careers. Learning is assessed through written reflections, a “managing oneself” paper, and a leadership practice project.

Motivation: This course has no exams, so the project serves as the midterm and final assessments. For many years, the project was typical of many in the university curriculum: Students were placed into groups, assigned two topics, and asked to present those topics to the class. While this structure did allow students to explore the topics in depth, it did not provide an effective way to assess learning of the course material as a whole. It also provided no mechanism for assessing individual learning or leadership development.

The Leadership Practice Project assignment was designed to help students apply their learning in real time. Rather than adding an entirely new project, we ask each student to identify a team-based project on which they are already participating and that requires application of their leadership skills. Typical examples include design competitions, capstone projects, and service activities through campus organizations. In an effort to accommodate students with family and professional demands, we also accept nontraditional projects, such as coaching a child’s soccer team. Students must actively participate on the project during the current semester, and their involvement must span a minimum of eight weeks.

The project consists of four key assignments: a proposal, a midterm report, a final presentation, and a final report. Each student writes individual reports. For the midterm and final submissions, students assess the project’s progress and/or outcomes and describe how they have applied skills and concepts learned through the course. Students are free to discuss any material, technique, or concept covered in the course material. For the midterm report, students also discuss the application of their strengths to the project and identify necessary personal and team-level improvements. On the final report, students also discuss their growth as a leader through execution of the project.

Methodology: Between 120–180 reports have been submitted annually since 2017. A subset of these reports representing a cross-section of course participants will be thematically coded and analyzed using both structured and inductive coding procedures. In particular, we are interested in the topics chosen for discussion, how students applied the concepts, indicators of understanding, and the leadership skills and identity development trajectories described.

Theoretical Frameworks: Leadership identity development theory (Komives et al., 2005, 2006), the Team Leadership Framework (Burke et al., 2006), and Functional Leadership (Fleishman et al., 1991) will inform the analysis.

Results: Some results will be ready in time for the draft paper submission deadline. Additional results will be included in the final paper.

Citation
Format

Wolfinbarger, K. G., & Kittur, J. (2024, June), Assessing Leadership Development through a Leadership Practice Project: A Work in Progress Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46607

TY - CPAPER
AB - Objective: This work-in-progress practice paper describes the assessment of learning via a leadership practice project and supports LEAD’s strategic initiatives “Design” and “Assess.” The engineering leadership course at a large midwestern public university features a mix of theory and practical application. The course is designed to teach skills students can use immediately, as well as concepts they may need later in their careers. Learning is assessed through written reflections, a “managing oneself” paper, and a leadership practice project.

Motivation: This course has no exams, so the project serves as the midterm and final assessments. For many years, the project was typical of many in the university curriculum: Students were placed into groups, assigned two topics, and asked to present those topics to the class. While this structure did allow students to explore the topics in depth, it did not provide an effective way to assess learning of the course material as a whole. It also provided no mechanism for assessing individual learning or leadership development.

The Leadership Practice Project assignment was designed to help students apply their learning in real time. Rather than adding an entirely new project, we ask each student to identify a team-based project on which they are already participating and that requires application of their leadership skills. Typical examples include design competitions, capstone projects, and service activities through campus organizations. In an effort to accommodate students with family and professional demands, we also accept nontraditional projects, such as coaching a child’s soccer team. Students must actively participate on the project during the current semester, and their involvement must span a minimum of eight weeks.

The project consists of four key assignments: a proposal, a midterm report, a final presentation, and a final report. Each student writes individual reports. For the midterm and final submissions, students assess the project’s progress and/or outcomes and describe how they have applied skills and concepts learned through the course. Students are free to discuss any material, technique, or concept covered in the course material. For the midterm report, students also discuss the application of their strengths to the project and identify necessary personal and team-level improvements. On the final report, students also discuss their growth as a leader through execution of the project.

Methodology: Between 120–180 reports have been submitted annually since 2017. A subset of these reports representing a cross-section of course participants will be thematically coded and analyzed using both structured and inductive coding procedures. In particular, we are interested in the topics chosen for discussion, how students applied the concepts, indicators of understanding, and the leadership skills and identity development trajectories described.

Theoretical Frameworks: Leadership identity development theory (Komives et al., 2005, 2006), the Team Leadership Framework (Burke et al., 2006), and Functional Leadership (Fleishman et al., 1991) will inform the analysis.

Results: Some results will be ready in time for the draft paper submission deadline. Additional results will be included in the final paper.

AU - Kim Graves Wolfinbarger
AU - Javeed Kittur
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Assessing Leadership Development through a Leadership Practice Project: A Work in Progress
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46607
ER -