Humanitarian engineering, global sociotechnical competency, and student confidence: A comparison of in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning environments
- 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
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Community Engagement Division Technical Session 4- COVID and Virtual Learning
- Page Count
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15
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41735
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41735
- Download Count
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271
Paper Authors
Jessica Smith Colorado School of Mines
Jessica M. Smith is Professor in the Engineering, Design & Society Department at the Colorado School of Mines and Director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Science graduate program. She is an anthropologist with two major research areas: 1) the sociocultural dynamics of extractive and energy industries, with a focus on corporate social responsibility, social justice, labor, and gender and 2) engineering education, with a focus on socioeconomic class and social responsibility. She is the author of Extracting Accountability: Engineers and Corporate Social Responsibility (MIT Press, 2021) and Mining Coal and Undermining Gender: Rhythms of Work and Family in the American West (Rutgers University Press, 2014), which were funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the British Academy. In 2016 the National Academy of Engineering recognized her Corporate Social Responsibility course as a national exemplar in teaching engineering ethics. Professor Smith holds a PhD in Anthropology and a certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan and bachelor’s degrees in International Studies, Anthropology and Latin American Studies from Macalester College.
Juan Lucena Colorado School of Mines
Dr. Juan Lucena is Professor of Engineering Studies and Director of Humanitarian Engineering Undergraduate Programs at the Colorado School of Mines. Juan has a Ph.D. in Science & Technology Studies from Virginia Tech and two engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His books include Engineering & Sustainable Community Development (Morgan & Claypool, 2010), Engineering Education for Social Justice: Critical Explorations and Opportunities (Springer, 2013), and Engineering Justice: Transforming Engineering Education and Practice (IEEE-Wiley, 2017). Born in Colombia, he learned to value and learn from the poorest people in Colombian society. As an engineering student, he learned the strengths and limitations of engineering assumptions and methods for engaging communities, particularly those neglected by engineering. In his Ph.D., he learned that engineering has culture that can be studied and transformed for the wellbeing of communities, social justice, and sustainability.
Angelina Rivera Colorado School of Mines
Abstract
The PIRE Responsible Mining, Resilient Communities (RMRC) project is a multi-country, interinstitutional, and interdisciplinary global research collaboration whose goal is to co-design socially responsible and sustainable gold mining practices with communities, engineers, and social scientists. This paper will investigate two key research questions. The first question considers how participating in the summer session influences students’ global sociotechnical competency with the second question analyzing how the changes in sociotechnical competency impact the students’ confidence in their engineering ability. The project hosted three intensive summer field sessions that each enrolled a different group of students. In 2019, the students conducted research in the field in Colombia while in 2020, the students completed the research completely virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the students participated in the project in a hybrid format with time split between the field and virtual work. To assess changes in students’ learning and attitudes, we collected data from the students before and after the summer sessions in the form of interviews, surveys, and essays. The data will be analyzed to investigate whether the format of the summer session (in person, virtual, and hybrid) differently influenced students’ global sociotechnical competency and their confidence as engineers. Other research has shown that service learning increases engineering students’ confidence in their engineering ability. The data analyzed from this project describes how this may be context-specific. This paper will shed light on broader concerns in engineering education about if and how specific kinds of service learning can enhance students’ global sociotechnical competency and their confidence as engineers.
Smith, J., & Lucena, J., & Rivera, A. (2022, August), Humanitarian engineering, global sociotechnical competency, and student confidence: A comparison of in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning environments Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41735
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