Board 357: Psychosocial and Skills-Based Outcomes of Participating in Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP)

Craig O. Stewart; Chrysanthe Preza; Stephanie S Ivey

Download Paper | Permalink

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: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46940
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46940
Download Count: 83

Paper Authors

biography

Craig O. Stewart University of Memphis orcid.org/0000-0002-6843-795X

visit author page

Dr. Craig O. Stewart is a professor of Communication at the University of Memphis.

visit author page

biography

Chrysanthe Preza The University of Memphis

visit author page

Chrysanthe Preza is the Kanuri Professor and Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Memphis, where she joined 2006. She received her D.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 1998. She leads the research in the Computational Imaging Research Laboratory at the University of Memphis. Her research interests are imaging science, estimation theory, computational imaging enabled by deep learning, and computational optical sensing and imaging applied to multidimensional multimodal light microscopy and hyperspectral imaging. She received a CAREER award by the National Science Foundation in 2009, the Herff Outstanding Faculty Research Award in 2010 and 2015, and she was the recipient of the Ralph Faudree Professorship at the University of Memphis 2015-2018. She was named Fellow of the SPIE in 2019 and Fellow of the Optica (OSA) in 2020. She serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging, Topical Editor for Optica’s Applied Optics, and as Executive Editor for Biological Imaging, Cambridge University Press.

visit author page

biography

Stephanie S Ivey The University of Memphis

visit author page

Dr. Stephanie Ivey is the Associate Dean for Research with the Herff College of Engineering and a Professor with the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis. She directs the U of Mâ€™s Southeast Transportation Workforce Center and th

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Challenge or problem-based learning help students develop deeper content understanding and enhanced STEM skillsets and provide opportunities for learning across multiple contexts. Educational interventions that include active learning, mentoring, and role modeling are particularly important in recruiting and retaining female and minority students in STEM. With this framework in mind, we implemented the Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) model at a public urban research university in the 2022-2023 academic year with the goal of helping participating students increase engineering and STEM identity and other psychosocial outcomes. This paper reports the results from the first year of our VIP program.

At the beginning and end of the academic year, participants completed measures of engineering identity; engineering self-efficacy; engineering mindset; intention to remain in the engineering major; intention to have a career in engineering; and STEM professional identity. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks (N=10) tests showed no statistically significant differences on any of these measures. Participants also responded to 20 items assessing their perceptions of their level of knowledge and skills in a variety of areas relevant to their experience in the VIP program. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests (N=10) revealed some statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test. Specifically, students tended to see themselves as having greater knowledge or skills in planning a long-term project, communicating technical concepts and designs to others, designing systems, components, or processes to meet practical or applied needs, understanding computer hardware and systems, working on a multidisciplinary team, and making ethical decisions in engineering/research. Finally, at the end of the Spring semester, participants rated the extent to which they perceived the VIP program helped them to develop their skills on the same 20 items. Most participants believed the VIP program helped them to develop each skill either somewhat or a great deal.

Overall, while participation in the VIP program did not influence student engineering identity, self-efficacy, mindset, or major/career intentions, it was associated with increased self-perceived abilities on six specific skills. Additionally, most participants agreed that the VIP program helped them develop 20 skills at least “somewhat.”

Citation
Format

Stewart, C. O., & Preza, C., & Ivey, S. S. (2024, June), Board 357: Psychosocial and Skills-Based Outcomes of Participating in Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46940

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Challenge or problem-based learning help students develop deeper content understanding and enhanced STEM skillsets and provide opportunities for learning across multiple contexts. Educational interventions that include active learning, mentoring, and role modeling are particularly important in recruiting and retaining female and minority students in STEM. With this framework in mind, we implemented the Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) model at a public urban research university in the 2022-2023 academic year with the goal of helping participating students increase engineering and STEM identity and other psychosocial outcomes. This paper reports the results from the first year of our VIP program.

At the beginning and end of the academic year, participants completed measures of engineering identity; engineering self-efficacy; engineering mindset; intention to remain in the engineering major; intention to have a career in engineering; and STEM professional identity. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks (N=10) tests showed no statistically significant differences on any of these measures. Participants also responded to 20 items assessing their perceptions of their level of knowledge and skills in a variety of areas relevant to their experience in the VIP program. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests (N=10) revealed some statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test. Specifically, students tended to see themselves as having greater knowledge or skills in planning a long-term project, communicating technical concepts and designs to others, designing systems, components, or processes to meet practical or applied needs, understanding computer hardware and systems, working on a multidisciplinary team, and making ethical decisions in engineering/research. Finally, at the end of the Spring semester, participants rated the extent to which they perceived the VIP program helped them to develop their skills on the same 20 items. Most participants believed the VIP program helped them to develop each skill either somewhat or a great deal.

Overall, while participation in the VIP program did not influence student engineering identity, self-efficacy, mindset, or major/career intentions, it was associated with increased self-perceived abilities on six specific skills. Additionally, most participants agreed that the VIP program helped them develop 20 skills at least “somewhat.”

AU  - Craig O. Stewart
AU  - Chrysanthe Preza
AU  - Stephanie S Ivey
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 357: Psychosocial and Skills-Based Outcomes of Participating in Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP)
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/46940
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--46940
ER  -