"Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary School Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering Self-Belief assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal

Noah Bezanson; Nafissa Maïga; Dhinesh Radhakrishnan; Jennifer Deboer

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: International Division Technical Session 3 - Humanitarian Design
Page Count: 20
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40922
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40922
Download Count: 596

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Paper Authors

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Noah Bezanson

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I am an undergraduate student at Purdue University, studying Multidisciplinary Engineering with a concentration in Humanitarian Engineering.

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Dhinesh Radhakrishnan Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)

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Dhinesh Radhakrishnan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University.

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Jennifer Deboer Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)

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Dr. Jennifer DeBoer is currently Associate Professor of Engineering Education and Mechanical Engineering (courtesy) at Purdue University. Dr. DeBoer conducts education research and supports diverse students around the world as they are empowered to access, develop, and meaningfully apply engineering skills in their own communities. She has won multiple awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Education Research Association, the Spencer Foundation, and the US Department of State. During her first year as assistant professor, she received the NSF’s prestigious Early CAREER Award, and in 2017, she received the American Society for Engineering Education Mara Wasburn Women in Engineering Early Engineering Educator Award.

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Nafissa Maïga

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Abstract

In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss our approach to contextualizing engineering learning in a cross-national girls' education program. In the program, the girl learners are equal stakeholders in the design of their learning model and in implementation of the engineering design process. Our learning ecosystem is designed using an asset-based mindset; this focuses on the strengths of the learners and allows for sustainable partnerships. Thus, it is necessary for international actors to understand what learners know and how they think prior to launching a collaborative education program. To achieve this, we designed and implemented a Recognition of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment for girl learners in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal. Our assessment recognizes students' prior knowledge relevant to the engineering curriculum and explores their self-beliefs. The assessment is used to better understand and challenge assumptions around the context, the language, and how students engage with technical projects in each setting. In many sub-Saharan countries, girls are not encouraged to pursue technical education. This negatively impacts their engineering beliefs, including motivation, self-efficacy, and self-concepts. In this research, we develop, contextualize, and validate an assessment tool to evaluate the engineering self-beliefs of girls before launching an engineering learning program. The assessment uses a combination of Draw an Engineer Test (DAET), and questions on STEM knowledge, design process, and teamwork. The assessments were first developed for Zimbabwean context, and then contextualized for Senegalese context, given the unique experiences of learners in each setting. In this paper, we first discuss the contextualization process for the assessments, and their implementation. We then present the findings from the analysis of the assessments. Finally, we discuss that prior knowledge recognition assessments are critical components of rigorous curriculum contextualization, especially when the program aims at building a multinational, reciprocal partnership.

Citation
Format

Bezanson, N., & Radhakrishnan, D., & Deboer, J., & Maïga, N. (2022, August), "Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary School Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering Self-Belief assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40922

TY - CPAPER
AB - In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss our approach to contextualizing engineering learning in a cross-national girls' education program. In the program, the girl learners are equal stakeholders in the design of their learning model and in implementation of the engineering design process. Our learning ecosystem is designed using an asset-based mindset; this focuses on the strengths of the learners and allows for sustainable partnerships. Thus, it is necessary for international actors to understand what learners know and how they think prior to launching a collaborative education program. To achieve this, we designed and implemented a Recognition of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment for girl learners in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal.
Our assessment recognizes students' prior knowledge relevant to the engineering curriculum and explores their self-beliefs. The assessment is used to better understand and challenge assumptions around the context, the language, and how students engage with technical projects in each setting. In many sub-Saharan countries, girls are not encouraged to pursue technical education. This negatively impacts their engineering beliefs, including motivation, self-efficacy, and self-concepts. In this research, we develop, contextualize, and validate an assessment tool to evaluate the engineering self-beliefs of girls before launching an engineering learning program. The assessment uses a combination of Draw an Engineer Test (DAET), and questions on STEM knowledge, design process, and teamwork. The assessments were first developed for Zimbabwean context, and then contextualized for Senegalese context, given the unique experiences of learners in each setting.
In this paper, we first discuss the contextualization process for the assessments, and their implementation. We then present the findings from the analysis of the assessments. Finally, we discuss that prior knowledge recognition assessments are critical components of rigorous curriculum contextualization, especially when the program aims at building a multinational, reciprocal partnership.
AU - Noah Bezanson
AU - Dhinesh Radhakrishnan
AU - Jennifer Deboer
AU - Nafissa Maïga
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - "Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary School Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering Self-Belief assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal
UR - https://peer.asee.org/40922
DO - 10.18260/1-2--40922
ER -