Asset-Based Approaches to Transformative Learning: Community and Culture in an Undergraduate Engineering Research Program at a Hispanic Serving Institution

Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre; Patricia Nicole Delgado; Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo

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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: Innovating Inclusivity: Rethinking Access and Empowerment in STEM Education
Tagged Divisions: Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46625

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Paper Authors

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Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre New Mexico State University orcid.org/0000-0002-8602-6345

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Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre, EdD is a STEM education researcher at New Mexico State University. She focuses her research on qualitative/mixed methods studies addressing minority and underrepresented student college performance and persistence through high-impact practices, particularly in STEM disciplines. Her main lines of inquiry examine best practices in mentoring and promotion of undergraduate research in STEM. She also collaborates with the local Community College to improve graduation and transfer rates. Lastly, she is currently the Principal Investigator of the Research-Oriented Learning Experiences Engineering program and the Latinidad STEM Mentoring Program, both funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Patricia Nicole Delgado New Mexico State University

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I am a first-year Ph.D. student at New Mexico State University in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. I currently work on a sponsored project that supports Latinx undergraduate sophomore, junior, and senior-level students in developing research, technical, interpersonal, academic, and professional skills that are transferable in their decisions to enter into graduate studies or the professional world

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Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo New Mexico State University orcid.org/0000-0003-0713-512X

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Luis Rodolfo GARCIA CARRILLO received the PhD. degree in Control Systems from the University of Technology of Compiègne, France. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center of Control, Dynamical systems and Computation at UC Santa Barbara, USA. He currently holds an Assistant Professor position with the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Mexico State University, USA.

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Abstract

Educational experiences in rigorous Engineering programs are deeply influential on a student’s lived experience and future in terms of identity, sense of purpose, and professional opportunities. In this article, we argue that Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) can make use of culturally relevant approaches influencing their academics and programs to create meaningful learning environments. To increase interest and persistence among Hispanic students enrolled in Engineering programs at New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Research-Oriented Learning Experiences (ROLE) program was created. ROLE is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program whose goal is “to improve Latinx research skills while building strong connections with other peers and near-peer mentors” [1]. ROLE also aims at building community through peer and faculty interaction, teamwork, and Latino culturally relevant experiences.

The purpose of this study is to understand and explore how ROLE is challenging the status quo of engineering education through the development and implementation of a learning community that utilizes an asset-based pedagogical model of instruction. ROLE centralizes collaboration, community, and culture in student-centered programming to encourage retention and degree completion for Latinx participants. The research questions framing this study investigated: 1. How does a collaborative learning environment like ROLE promote asset-based pedagogical practices in engineering education at NMSU? 2. How does the centralization of culture and community in ROLE contribute to supporting student success in rigorous engineering programs at NMSU? The asset-based approach to learning is a theoretical framework that focuses on identifying and leveraging the strengths and existing knowledge of learners to promote effective learning. This approach recognizes that individuals come into the learning environment with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills [2]. Instead of solely focusing on deficits or gaps in knowledge, the asset-based approach highlights the valuable assets learners possess and seeks to build upon them to enhance the learning process. Author [3] explores the concepts of culturally relevant teaching proposed by Author [4] and the need to take this concept a step further to be a sustaining process for people of color. The wide-ranging implication of this concept is that education is increasingly becoming multiethnic and multilingual, so educational practices should reflect the social evolution happening in society.

ROLE participants include three annual cohorts with an average of eight students per cohort. Most participants identified as junior and senior students pursuing Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Participants completed pre- and post-experience surveys and took part in two sets of interviews. The data collected yielded that as students participate in ROLE, they reinforce their ethnic identity as engineers and benefit from an asset-based pedagogical model of instruction, where peers take a crucial role in such learning. In addition, by creating a culturally relevant research space, students perceive a meaningful connection with their peers and mentors, and remind them that they can also find -una familia- family-type relationships in college. ROLE has helped students fill the gaps, absences, and limitations commonly found in engineering academic programs.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through the Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) Program.

Citation
Format

Contreras Aguirre, H. C., & Delgado, P. N., & Garcia Carrillo, L. R. (2024, June), Asset-Based Approaches to Transformative Learning: Community and Culture in an Undergraduate Engineering Research Program at a Hispanic Serving Institution Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46625

TY - CPAPER
AB - Educational experiences in rigorous Engineering programs are deeply influential on a student’s lived experience and future in terms of identity, sense of purpose, and professional opportunities. In this article, we argue that Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) can make use of culturally relevant approaches influencing their academics and programs to create meaningful learning environments. To increase interest and persistence among Hispanic students enrolled in Engineering programs at New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Research-Oriented Learning Experiences (ROLE) program was created. ROLE is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program whose goal is “to improve Latinx research skills while building strong connections with other peers and near-peer mentors” [1]. ROLE also aims at building community through peer and faculty interaction, teamwork, and Latino culturally relevant experiences.

The purpose of this study is to understand and explore how ROLE is challenging the status quo of engineering education through the development and implementation of a learning community that utilizes an asset-based pedagogical model of instruction. ROLE centralizes collaboration, community, and culture in student-centered programming to encourage retention and degree completion for Latinx participants. The research questions framing this study investigated: 1. How does a collaborative learning environment like ROLE promote asset-based pedagogical practices in engineering education at NMSU? 2. How does the centralization of culture and community in ROLE contribute to supporting student success in rigorous engineering programs at NMSU? The asset-based approach to learning is a theoretical framework that focuses on identifying and leveraging the strengths and existing knowledge of learners to promote effective learning. This approach recognizes that individuals come into the learning environment with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills [2]. Instead of solely focusing on deficits or gaps in knowledge, the asset-based approach highlights the valuable assets learners possess and seeks to build upon them to enhance the learning process. Author [3] explores the concepts of culturally relevant teaching proposed by Author [4] and the need to take this concept a step further to be a sustaining process for people of color. The wide-ranging implication of this concept is that education is increasingly becoming multiethnic and multilingual, so educational practices should reflect the social evolution happening in society.

ROLE participants include three annual cohorts with an average of eight students per cohort. Most participants identified as junior and senior students pursuing Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Participants completed pre- and post-experience surveys and took part in two sets of interviews. The data collected yielded that as students participate in ROLE, they reinforce their ethnic identity as engineers and benefit from an asset-based pedagogical model of instruction, where peers take a crucial role in such learning. In addition, by creating a culturally relevant research space, students perceive a meaningful connection with their peers and mentors, and remind them that they can also find -una familia- family-type relationships in college. ROLE has helped students fill the gaps, absences, and limitations commonly found in engineering academic programs.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through the Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) Program.

AU - Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre
AU - Patricia Nicole Delgado
AU - Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Asset-Based Approaches to Transformative Learning: Community and Culture in an Undergraduate Engineering Research Program at a Hispanic Serving Institution
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46625
ER -