Beyond the Vanishing Point: Using Future Self Theory and Student-Alumni Interviews to Expand Student Perspectives on Engineering Education and Engineering Work

Harly Ramsey; Yee Lan Elaine Wong

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference
Location: Vancouver
Publication Date: May 12, 2022
Start Date: May 12, 2022
End Date: May 14, 2022
Conference Session: Innovation In Teaching - II
Tagged Topics: Diversity and Conference Submission
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44721
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44721
Download Count: 76

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Paper Authors

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Harly Ramsey University of Southern California orcid.org/0000-0002-3809-9312

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Harly Ramsey is an Associate Professor of Technical Communication Practice in the Engineering in Society Program at the University of Southern California. She holds a Ph.D. in English, and her training in narrative theory, cultural studies, and rhetoric informs her teaching. Her teaching and scholarship foreground the concept of the citizen engineer and the formation of professional engineering identities. She developed and continues to work on Engineering Moment, a classroom-based podcast project about the social role of engineering, and Vision Venture, a co-curricular interactive video series exploring students’ engineering identities, agency, and purpose after graduation.

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Yee Lan Elaine Wong

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Yee Lan Elaine Wong is a Master of Visual Anthropology student at the University of Southern California and is investigating emotions in the modern workplace through her thesis film. She holds a BSc in Anthropology from University College London and previously created content for WNJ Ventures - a Hong Kong-based boutique research house educating investors about the latest trends inspiring Millennials and Gen Zs. She is co-producing Vision Venture, a co-curricular interactive video series exploring USC engineering students’ identities, agency, and purpose after graduation. In pursuit of her strong interest in bridging the conversational gaps between humans, technology and the natural world through multimedia, Elaine is aspiring to become a cultural critic of the modern condition.

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Abstract

Ocular Odyssey: Perspectives on Engineering Education and Engineering beyond the Vanishing Point

This paper describes a co-curricular project, Ocular Odyssey, at a large research university on the west coast, and it contextualizes the project in terms of enlarging both engineering education and engineering.

The premise of Ocular Odyssey is simple: current engineering students interview alumni who reflect on life transformative aspects of their education; these interviews are curated into a series of videos shared on the project’s website.

Just as the ocular vanishing point presents a convergence of lines where a road, for instance, disappears into the horizon, students may confront a vanishing point when imagining their professional journey beyond education. While each student will have their own unique professional future and the unseen multiplicity of potential paths for this journey, or Odyssey, are to be celebrated, hearing stories of those who have traveled the same educational path can inspire and motivate students. Indeed, in the midst of their educational journey, students may not realize the life transformative nature of their education. As alumni reflect on the educational path they share with current students and impart their transformative experiences, students’ imaginations can expand to see their current self from the perspective of their future self. This future-self perspective is supported by narrative theory, and in essence the interviews and curated videos are a narrative project—making sense of the past, present, and future through storytelling and shared cultural (in this case engineering education) touch points.

Student self-reflexivity is promoted through a series of faculty led seminar-style workshops. The students engage with assigned texts and discuss short-term and long-term perspectives and the alignment of personal and professional values; students are also coached on interviewing skills. This dual focus—philosophical and practical—enriches students’ ability to thoughtfully interview the alumni and promotes self-efficacy.

Ultimately, the goal of the Ocular Odyssey project is to broaden engineering education by facilitating students’ exploration of their engineering identities in terms of character, agency, and purpose; this co-curricular experience contextualizes professional competencies achieved through traditional coursework. Through broadening their educational experience, students gain self-awareness of their professional identity and may forge new paths. The alumni, too, benefit through the process of narrating their journey. The videos are posted online to increase the scope of impact.

Both the presentation and the paper will provide examples from the project and present workshop materials so other engineering educators can implement similar projects.

Citation
Format

Ramsey, H., & Wong, Y. L. E. (2022, May), Beyond the Vanishing Point: Using Future Self Theory and Student-Alumni Interviews to Expand Student Perspectives on Engineering Education and Engineering Work Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver. 10.18260/1-2--44721

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Ocular Odyssey: Perspectives on Engineering Education and Engineering beyond the Vanishing Point

This paper describes a co-curricular project, Ocular Odyssey, at a large research university on the west coast, and it contextualizes the project in terms of enlarging both engineering education and engineering.

The premise of Ocular Odyssey is simple: current engineering students interview alumni who reflect on life transformative aspects of their education; these interviews are curated into a series of videos shared on the project’s website. 

Just as the ocular vanishing point presents a convergence of lines where a road, for instance, disappears into the horizon, students may confront a vanishing point when imagining their professional journey beyond education.  While each student will have their own unique professional future and the unseen multiplicity of potential paths for this journey, or Odyssey, are to be celebrated, hearing stories of those who have traveled the same educational path can inspire and motivate students. Indeed, in the midst of their educational journey, students may not realize the life transformative nature of their education.  As alumni reflect on the educational path they share with current students and impart their transformative experiences, students’ imaginations can expand to see their current self from the perspective of their future self.  This future-self perspective is supported by narrative theory, and in essence the interviews and curated videos are a narrative project—making sense of the past, present, and future through storytelling and shared cultural (in this case engineering education) touch points.

Student self-reflexivity is promoted through a series of faculty led seminar-style workshops.  The students engage with assigned texts and discuss short-term and long-term perspectives and the alignment of personal and professional values; students are also coached on interviewing skills.  This dual focus—philosophical and practical—enriches students’ ability to thoughtfully interview the alumni and promotes self-efficacy.

Ultimately, the goal of the Ocular Odyssey project is to broaden engineering education by facilitating students’ exploration of their engineering identities in terms of character, agency, and purpose; this co-curricular experience contextualizes professional competencies achieved through traditional coursework.  Through broadening their educational experience, students gain self-awareness of their professional identity and may forge new paths.  The alumni, too, benefit through the process of narrating their journey. The videos are posted online to increase the scope of impact.

Both the presentation and the paper will provide examples from the project and present workshop materials so other engineering educators can implement similar projects.


AU  - Harly Ramsey
AU  - Yee Lan Elaine Wong
CY  - Vancouver
DA  - 2022/05/12
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Beyond the Vanishing Point: Using Future Self Theory and Student-Alumni Interviews to Expand Student Perspectives on Engineering Education and Engineering Work
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/44721
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44721
ER  -