Board 380: Self-storytelling Interventions to Promote Engineering Student Success

Krishna Pakala; Eric Jankowski; Sara Hagenah; Anne Hamby; Brooke Ward

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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: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 3
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46965
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46965
Download Count: 93

Paper Authors

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Krishna Pakala Boise State University

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Dr. Krishna Pakala is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University (Boise, Idaho). He was the Director for the Industrial Assessment Center at Boise State University. He served as the Faculty in Residence for the Engineering and Innovation Living Learning Community (2014 - 2021). He was the inaugural Faculty Associate for Mobile Learning and the Faculty Associate for Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning. He was the recipient of the Foundation Excellence Award, David S. Taylor Service to Students Award and Golden Apple Award from Boise State University. He was also the recipient of 2023 National Outstanding Teacher Award, ASEE PNW Outstanding Teaching Award, ASEE Mechanical Engineering division’s Outstanding New Educator Award and several course design awards. He serves as the campus representative and was the past-Chair for the ASEE PNW Section. His academic research interests include innovative teaching and learning strategies, use of emerging technologies, and mobile teaching and learning strategies.

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Eric Jankowski Boise State University orcid.org/0000-0002-3267-1410

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Dr Jankowski's interest in efficiency underpins his research in thermodynamic self-assembly for materials and his research into how to best empower students as effective engineers. He is an assistant professor in Boise State University's Micron School of

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Sara Hagenah

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Anne Hamby Boise State University

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Anne Hamby is an Associate Professor of Marketing. Her research focus is in the area of consumer psychology. Specifically, she studies how emotional and structural aspects of stories engage their audiences, and how engagement in stories influence beliefs and behavior in a marketing context. She is also interested in issues related to consumer well-being and examines the psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence risky consumption practices and prosocial behavior.

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Brooke Ward Boise State University

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Abstract

This IUSE project focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of the impact of a unique storytelling intervention to enhance the self-view of undergraduate engineering students. It explores how telling personal narratives about oneself affects students' engineering professional identity, sense of belonging, and persistence in the major. Collaborating with the non-profit organization The Story Collider and funded by an NSF grant (award #2142137), the research uses a design-based mixed-methods approach to investigate the impact of storytelling on undergraduate engineering students. Incorporated into engineering courses, this intervention targets students during their sophomore year with the goal to develop and refine open-source curricular materials focused on teaching storytelling skills to engineering students. Each iteration of the intervention spans a semester, and involves personal narrative development supported by producers from The Story Collider. The research addresses three key questions: (1) What are the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives written by students about their experiences in engineering education?; (2) How does students’ development and performance of a personal narrative about their experiences in engineering education relate to their professional engineering identity, sense of belonging in the major, and downstream persistence?; (3) How do the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives written by students about their experiences in engineering education relate to their professional engineering identity, sense of belonging in the major, and downstream persistence?

Preliminary findings based on quantitative measures of student identity, sense of belonging, and persistence intentions (collected before and after the storytelling intervention; N = 104) indicate significant positive shifts in engineering professional identity in terms of engineering competence (F(1,87) = 6.16, p < .05) perceived recognition by others (F(1,87) = 2.98, p < .10), considering oneself to be an engineer (F(1,87) = 3.14, p < .10) and sense of belonging (F(1,87) = 5.09, p < .50). Qualitative data (student interviews) reveal several recurring themes. Many expressed a notable boost in confidence, particularly in their writing and public speaking abilities, as a result of sharing their personal stories. The experience also fostered a sense of belonging within the engineering community, especially for commuter students who felt a stronger connection and those students who felt like they hadn't really shared their stories with their peers before. The importance of communication emerged as a crucial skill, with participants recognizing its value in both personal and professional settings. Reflecting on life experiences was seen as a powerful tool for personal growth and a means to navigate uncertainties about the future. The interviews collectively showcased traits of perseverance, persistence, and a strong sense of shared humanity, underlining the participants' shared belief that they are still on a journey toward becoming engineering professionals.

This project expands the existing base of literature on evidence-based instructional practices in engineering education. The research team will generate new knowledge about why storytelling assignments enhance student success, and what type of stories appear to be the most effective in doing so. This will contribute to basic research on narrative identity and inform subsequent efforts to refine storytelling assignments to maximize its influence on aspects of engineering students’ self-view.

Citation
Format

Pakala, K., & Jankowski, E., & Hagenah, S., & Hamby, A., & Ward, B. (2024, June), Board 380: Self-storytelling Interventions to Promote Engineering Student Success Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46965

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This IUSE project focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of the impact of a unique storytelling intervention to enhance the self-view of undergraduate engineering students. It explores how telling personal narratives about oneself affects students&#39; engineering professional identity, sense of belonging, and persistence in the major. Collaborating with the non-profit organization The Story Collider and funded by an NSF grant (award #2142137), the research uses a design-based mixed-methods approach to investigate the impact of storytelling on undergraduate engineering students. Incorporated into engineering courses, this intervention targets students during their sophomore year with the goal to develop and refine open-source curricular materials focused on teaching storytelling skills to engineering students. Each iteration of the intervention spans a semester, and involves personal narrative development supported by producers from The Story Collider. The research addresses three key questions: (1) What are the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives written by students about their experiences in engineering education?; (2) How does students’ development and performance of a personal narrative about their experiences in engineering education relate to their professional engineering identity, sense of belonging in the major, and downstream persistence?; (3) How do the thematic and structural characteristics of personal narratives written by students about their experiences in engineering education relate to their professional engineering identity, sense of belonging in the major, and downstream persistence?

Preliminary findings based on quantitative measures of student identity, sense of belonging, and persistence intentions (collected before and after the storytelling intervention; N = 104) indicate significant positive shifts in engineering professional identity in terms of engineering competence (F(1,87) = 6.16, p &amp;lt; .05) perceived recognition by others (F(1,87) = 2.98, p &amp;lt; .10), considering oneself to be an engineer (F(1,87) = 3.14, p &amp;lt; .10)  and sense of belonging (F(1,87) = 5.09, p &amp;lt; .50). Qualitative data (student interviews) reveal several recurring themes. Many expressed a notable boost in confidence, particularly in their writing and public speaking abilities, as a result of sharing their personal stories. The experience also fostered a sense of belonging within the engineering community, especially for commuter students who felt a stronger connection and those students who felt like they hadn&#39;t really shared their stories with their peers before. The importance of communication emerged as a crucial skill, with participants recognizing its value in both personal and professional settings. Reflecting on life experiences was seen as a powerful tool for personal growth and a means to navigate uncertainties about the future. The interviews collectively showcased traits of perseverance, persistence, and a strong sense of shared humanity, underlining the participants&#39; shared belief that they are still on a journey toward becoming engineering professionals. 

This project expands the existing base of literature on evidence-based instructional practices in engineering education. The research team will generate new knowledge about why storytelling assignments enhance student success, and what type of stories appear to be the most effective in doing so. This will contribute to basic research on narrative identity and inform subsequent efforts to refine storytelling assignments to maximize its influence on aspects of engineering students’ self-view.
AU  - Krishna Pakala
AU  - Eric Jankowski
AU  - Sara Hagenah
AU  - Anne Hamby
AU  - Brooke Ward
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 380: Self-storytelling Interventions to Promote Engineering Student Success
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/46965
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--46965
ER  -