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Building an Identity in the Makerspace

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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

First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 5: Identity & Belonging

Tagged Division

First-Year Programs Division (FYP)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--48423

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/48423

Download Count

96

Paper Authors

biography

Danielle Francine Usinski University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

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Danielle Usinski is an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Engineering Education at the University at Buffalo. She is currently in her final year and is set to graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering in May 2024. Next year, she will be graduating with her Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering in May 2025.

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Jessica E. S. Swenson University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

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Jessica Swenson is an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo. She was awarded her doctorate and masters from Tufts University in mechanical engineering and STEM education respectively, and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan. Her research work aims to improve the learning experience for undergraduate students by examining conceptual knowledge gains, affect, identity development, engineering judgment, and problem solving.

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Emma Treadway Trinity University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2986-7674

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Emma Treadway received the B.S. degree in Engineering Science from Trinity University in 2011, and her M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2017 and 2019, respectively. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Science at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

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Alyndra Mary Plagge Trinity University

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Alyndra Plagge is an undergraduate Psychology student at Trinity University. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education and set to graduate in May 2025. After graduation she plans to pursue her master's degree.

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Shea E. Lape

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Abstract

The purpose of this complete research paper is to analyze the impacts of an open makerspace on the development of students’ engineering identities. This paper seeks to build upon current belonging analyses about makerspaces and shift the focus towards students’ engineering identities. Our team interviewed 17 first-year engineering students attending a small, private university located in the American southwest. During the interviews, they were asked to reflect on their experiences in classes and involvement in engineering related activities. Some of the interview questions are influenced by previous models of engineering identity.

Our research team noticed a pattern of students spending personal time using the Makerspace in their engineering department. This is an open workshop where students have access to free supplies to do what we’ve called “make” which is the act of problem solving, designing, and building using the tools provided. The high rate at which this space is mentioned in tandem with the students’ successes during the two semesters exemplifies the impact it has on student retention rates. We noticed a trend that students who have strong engineering identities tend to spend time making in the Makerspace.

Any mention of the Makerspace itself or any connective context pieces relating to activities of the Makerspace spoken by the group of students were collected by our research team. This paper will examine how heavy of an impact, if at all, the Makerspace has on the further development of a student's ability to recognize themselves as an engineer if they came into college with an initial interest in making. Our analysis suggests the Makerspace provides an opportunity for students to display performance when making. This in turn causes students to see themselves as engineers when they experience internal and external recognition from being in the Makerspace. The results of this analysis will aid in the creation of effective intervention methods universities can implement during the first year engineering curriculum to increase retention rates.

Usinski, D. F., & Swenson, J. E. S., & Treadway, E., & Plagge, A. M., & Lape, S. E. (2024, June), Building an Identity in the Makerspace Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--48423

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