“Everything sucked . . . for everyone”: Narrative of a Student Journeying Through Engineering Before COVID-19, During COVID-19, and Beyond
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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17
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--42021
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/42021
- Download Count
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366
Paper Authors
H. Ronald Clements III Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Brianna McIntyre Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)
Dr. Brianna Benedict McIntyre is a research associate in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her research focuses on understanding how hybrid spaces influence engineering students’ identity development, belonging, and agency in interdisciplinary engineering education. She leads the ASEE CDEI virtual workshop team focused on building a community of educators passionate about expanding their knowledge concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering education.
Jacqueline Rohde Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Jacqueline Rohde is a PhD candidate at Purdue University and is the recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Her research interests in engineering education include the development student engineering identity and professional development
Heather Perkins Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)
I entered the Applied Science & Community Psychology program in the fall of 2014, after completing my Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Cincinnati, and graduated in Spring 2021. I'm currently a member of the STRIDE lab at Purdue University as a Postdoctoral Researcher, and will be joining Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences as a Visiting Assistant Professor. I’ve participated in various research projects, most of which focus on identity and stereotypes. My current primary research interests are identity processes, STEM education, and the influence of stereotypes.
Sherry Chen
Andrea Castillo University of California, Irvine
A.Lili Castillo is a graduating senior at the University of California, Irvine majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. Her research interests include engineering identity formation, high-impact learning experiences, and Latino/a/x & first-generation college student pathways in engineering. Through her research, Castillo hopes to amplify the voices of historically underrepresented populations in engineering to improve the accessibility of engineering education for diverse students. Upon graduating, Castillo will be attending Arizona State University to pursue a Ph.D. in Engineering Education Systems and Design as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow.
Joana Marques Melo Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Joana Marques Melo, PhD worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Engineering Education at Purdue University. Dr. Marques Melo graduated from Penn State University with a Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering, and B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Her research interests rely on understanding how different languages and cultures impact students' learning engineering in the US.
Allison Godwin Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Allison Godwin, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education and of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. She is also the Engineering Workforce Development Director for CISTAR, the Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. Her research focuses on how identity, among other affective factors, influences diverse students to choose engineering and persist in engineering. She also studies how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belonging and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning to understand engineering students’ identity development.
Abstract
This paper reports on the final year of the project, CAREER: Actualizing Latent Diversity: Building Innovation through Engineering Students’ Identity Development (NSF EEC 1554057). Engineering has a history of attracting and graduating look-a-like and think-a-like engineers. Those who look or think like a “stereotypical engineer” may feel more welcome in engineering and may be why engineering has attracted and graduated similar students. This research project considered the unique ways of being, thinking, and knowing—what we call latent diversity—that can be highlighted and valued. Students' latent diversity may or may not align with the values in engineering education that focus on a social/technical dualism, meritocracy, and rigor, which are built-in Whiteness and masculinity. Students, particularly minoritized students (i.e., women, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students), may feel pushed out of engineering or they may feel the need to conform to these values to fit in. These messages create an engineering education that limits who can be an engineer as well as how these engineers are prepared to solve complex engineering problems. In this paper, we use an example of one student, John, and how he navigated his experiences through engineering over four years. We discuss how key themes of mental health and neurodiversity intersect with his identity development as an engineer over time as well as overlap and were complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We use this rich, single case as an example of how the mixed methods research in this study provides a nuanced understanding of students' trajectories in engineering. We also discuss the implications of this work for inclusive teaching and provide connections to existing resources and tools developed from the research project.
Clements, H. R., & McIntyre, B., & Rohde, J., & Perkins, H., & Chen, S., & Castillo, A., & Marques Melo, J., & Godwin, A. (2022, August), “Everything sucked . . . for everyone”: Narrative of a Student Journeying Through Engineering Before COVID-19, During COVID-19, and Beyond Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--42021
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