Board 133: Work in Progress - A Pilot Course on Effective and Enduring Advocacy: Leading with Compassion in STEM

Jacqueline Rose Tawney; Meredith Hooper; Harly Ramsey; Morgan Hooper

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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: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46691
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46691
Download Count: 66

Paper Authors

biography

Jacqueline Rose Tawney California Institute of Technology

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Jacqueline Tawney is a Ph.D. candidate in GALCIT (Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology). Jacque is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and a leader and organizer for many student groups. In the Kornfield group within Caltech's Chemical Engineering department, Jacque researches associative polymers, their rheological properties, and their potential for agricultural and industrial applications. She is passionate about creating positive change within her communities and being a compassionate scientist and leader.

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Meredith Hooper California Institute of Technology

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Meredith Hooper is an Aeronautics PhD student studying under Professor Mory Gharib and Co-Director of the Caltech Project for Effective Teaching (CPET). Her PhD research uses a combination of machine learning and experimental techniques to investigate optimal modes of propulsion, spanning interests in both bioinspired propulsion and classical aviation. In her role as Co-Director of CPET, Meredith works closely with the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach to coordinate and lead a variety of workshops, speakers, discussions, and more. These events support a community of graduate students and postdocs passionate about becoming effective educators through an improved understanding of research-based pedagogy.

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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 and the Associate Director of the Engineering in Society Program at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in English, and her training in narrative theory, cultural studies, and rhetoric informs her teaching and scholarship. Her current research investigates students' perspectives on their transition to the workforce; she also studies student metacognition and self-regulation. She developed and continues to work on Engineering Moment, a co-curricular podcast project about the social role of engineering, and Vision Venture, a video series exploring students’ engineering identities, agency, and purpose after graduation.

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Morgan Hooper University of Toronto

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After completing her PhD at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), Morgan Hooper is now an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the University of Toronto. There, her teaching focuses on building community within hands-on Engineering Design courses and beyond. She encourages students to engage with multi-faceted, trans-disciplinary engineering projects to learn the complex ways in which engineering, design, and community interact.

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Abstract

Introduction: Advocacy within Engineering Actively transforming the lived experiences of people and the planet we reside on, as well as allowing ourselves to be transformed in turn, is central to the practice of engineering. Despite this, a perceived lack of emphasis on communal goals (helping others) may dissuade students from pursuing STEM, particularly those from minoritized groups [1,2]. In parallel, many students who do persist in STEM fields experience diminishing drive to meaningfully impact their communities as their education progresses [3]. STEM training prioritizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and analyzing complex systems, which uniquely positions STEM students to become effective advocates. Supporting students in integrating advocacy work into their engineering identity and practice may empower them to become more effective and enduring advocates, while building a community of compassionate leaders within STEM.

Project Goals: Critical Pedagogy and the Balance of Reflection and Action We have developed a pilot program to help students become more effective and enduring advocates. The program has two goals, following the themes of Action and Reflection: - Action: We will develop a pilot program, grounded in critical pedagogy, to help students in STEM embrace their role as active participants in shaping our world, and integrate advocacy on a topic of their choosing into their engineering identity and practice. - Reflection: We will study the ongoing and future impacts of the program on students, so that their experiences, insights and feedback can be actively integrated into the course as it runs, as well as directly shaping future iterations.

We have developed the following Learning Objectives. By participating, students will: - Articulate the value of critical consciousness, and how it relates to their scientific and/or engineering identity and their unique potential to shape the world. - Identify individual interests and strengths to integrate advocacy into their practice. - Develop, evaluate, and begin to execute a plan for maintaining a balance of both reflection and action in their advocacy work. - Develop critical communication skills via dialog with peers and facilitators. - Practice compassion towards themselves and others.

Assessments will align with these learning outcomes, especially to emphasize the critical skills of active listening, providing feedback, collaboration, and self-evaluation. To support ongoing reflective practice within the program, we will intentionally co-create some portions of the curriculum directly with students, and adjust material dynamically to align with student needs. We will also explore the role of community and compassion in helping students meet the Learning Objectives, and evaluate whether participating in the program promotes more effective and enduring advocacy efforts beyond the conclusion of the course. We will employ a mixed methodology in the program evaluation.

Purpose for ASEE: Building Community within STEM Pedagogy This project provides a framework for integrating critical pedagogy and student-led advocacy directly into an engineering curriculum. We will share our motivation and approach to curriculum development within a truly multi-disciplinary team, integrating a range of perspectives on both STEM education and advocacy. Importantly, we also seek feedback from the broader community, embracing the potential to improve, adapt, and collaborate across institutes.

[1] Amanda B. Diekman, Mansi P. Joshi, and Tessa M. Benson-Greenwald. “Chapter Four – Goal congruity theory: Navigating the social structure to fulfill goals”. In: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. ed. by Bertram Gawronski. Vol. 62. Academic Press, 2020, pp. 189–244. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2020.04.003.

[2] Thoman, D. B., Muragishi, G. A., & Smith, J. L. (2017). Research Microcultures as Socialization Contexts for Underrepresented Science Students. Psychological Science, 28(6), 760-773. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617694865

[3] Cech, E. A. (2014). Culture of disengagement in engineering education?. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 39(1), 42-72.

Citation
Format

Tawney, J. R., & Hooper, M., & Ramsey, H., & Hooper, M. (2024, June), Board 133: Work in Progress - A Pilot Course on Effective and Enduring Advocacy: Leading with Compassion in STEM Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46691

TY - CPAPER
AB - Introduction: Advocacy within Engineering
Actively transforming the lived experiences of people and the planet we reside on, as well as allowing ourselves to be transformed in turn, is central to the practice of engineering. Despite this, a perceived lack of emphasis on communal goals (helping others) may dissuade students from pursuing STEM, particularly those from minoritized groups [1,2]. In parallel, many students who do persist in STEM fields experience diminishing drive to meaningfully impact their communities as their education progresses [3].
STEM training prioritizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and analyzing complex systems, which uniquely positions STEM students to become effective advocates. Supporting students in integrating advocacy work into their engineering identity and practice may empower them to become more effective and enduring advocates, while building a community of compassionate leaders within STEM.

Project Goals: Critical Pedagogy and the Balance of Reflection and Action
We have developed a pilot program to help students become more effective and enduring advocates. The program has two goals, following the themes of Action and Reflection:
- Action: We will develop a pilot program, grounded in critical pedagogy, to help students in STEM embrace their role as active participants in shaping our world, and integrate advocacy on a topic of their choosing into their engineering identity and practice.
- Reflection: We will study the ongoing and future impacts of the program on students, so that their experiences, insights and feedback can be actively integrated into the course as it runs, as well as directly shaping future iterations.

We have developed the following Learning Objectives. By participating, students will:
- Articulate the value of critical consciousness, and how it relates to their scientific and/or engineering identity and their unique potential to shape the world.
- Identify individual interests and strengths to integrate advocacy into their practice.
- Develop, evaluate, and begin to execute a plan for maintaining a balance of both reflection and action in their advocacy work.
- Develop critical communication skills via dialog with peers and facilitators.
- Practice compassion towards themselves and others.

Assessments will align with these learning outcomes, especially to emphasize the critical skills of active listening, providing feedback, collaboration, and self-evaluation.
To support ongoing reflective practice within the program, we will intentionally co-create some portions of the curriculum directly with students, and adjust material dynamically to align with student needs. We will also explore the role of community and compassion in helping students meet the Learning Objectives, and evaluate whether participating in the program promotes more effective and enduring advocacy efforts beyond the conclusion of the course. We will employ a mixed methodology in the program evaluation.

Purpose for ASEE: Building Community within STEM Pedagogy
This project provides a framework for integrating critical pedagogy and student-led advocacy directly into an engineering curriculum. We will share our motivation and approach to curriculum development within a truly multi-disciplinary team, integrating a range of perspectives on both STEM education and advocacy. Importantly, we also seek feedback from the broader community, embracing the potential to improve, adapt, and collaborate across institutes.

[1] Amanda B. Diekman, Mansi P. Joshi, and Tessa M. Benson-Greenwald. “Chapter Four – Goal congruity theory: Navigating the social structure to fulfill goals”. In: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. ed. by Bertram Gawronski. Vol. 62. Academic Press, 2020, pp. 189–244. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2020.04.003.

[2] Thoman, D. B., Muragishi, G. A., &amp;amp; Smith, J. L. (2017). Research Microcultures as Socialization Contexts for Underrepresented Science Students. Psychological Science, 28(6), 760-773. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617694865

[3] Cech, E. A. (2014). Culture of disengagement in engineering education?. Science, Technology, &amp;amp; Human Values, 39(1), 42-72.
AU - Jacqueline Rose Tawney
AU - Meredith Hooper
AU - Harly Ramsey
AU - Morgan Hooper
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 133: Work in Progress - A Pilot Course on Effective and Enduring Advocacy: Leading with Compassion in STEM
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46691
DO - 10.18260/1-2--46691
ER -