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Identifying Opportunities for Peer Mentors as Student Social Support Catalyst within a Multidisciplinary First-Year Design Course

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) Technical Session 9

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

20

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43431

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43431

Download Count

192

Paper Authors

biography

Pamela L. Dickrell University of Florida

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Dr. Pamela Dickrell is the Associate Chair of Academics in the Department of Engineering Education, in the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. Her role focuses on researching and implementing effective teaching methods and hands-on education for undergraduate student engagement and retention in engineering.

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biography

Estefany Soto University of Central Arkansas

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I am a Counseling Psychology doctoral student at the University of Central Arkansas, working as a graduate assistant on makerspace research and other STEM related projects.

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biography

Louis S. Nadelson University of Central Arkansas Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-6007-6555

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Louis S. Nadelson, PhD. holds a B.S in biological and physical sciences from Colorado State University, a B.A. with a concentration in mathematics and computer science from The Evergreen State College, a M.Ed. in education leadership and instructional technology from Western Washington University, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology – emphasis on research methods and measurement from UNLV. His scholarly interests include teaching and learning, leadership, preservice and inservice teacher professional development, program evaluation, multidisciplinary research, and educational innovation. He uses his over 35 years of high school and college math, science, engineering, and computer science teaching and various K-12 and IHE leadership roles to frame his research. Dr. Nadelson has published over 150 research reports and has published in collaborated with over 100 students and 85 different faculty members across an array of disciplines.

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Abstract

Many engineering programs offer a hands-on first-year design course where students learn and practice engineering design skills. Although first-year design courses commonly have integrated learning support and technical training, it is less common for the courses to focus on the social aspects of engineering, such as collaboration, communication, and cultural sensitivity. Social learning is a critical variable influencing first-year students' personal growth and sense of belonging. We argue that student engagement with classroom-based peer mentoring can accelerate and accentuate social learning. Our research focused on the outcome of the social support offered to students transitioning to college as they interact in a design course experience facilitated in part by peer mentors. We researched the first-year student perceptions of the benefits of peer mentor learning facilitation in a makerspace-based team project-centered engineering design course. Our exploratory research involved collecting input from first-year design students to identify areas of current social support by peer mentors and the areas of need within a makerspace course environment. We analyzed the student responses to identify categories of support that peer mentors currently provide. We also categorize areas of needed support through the lens of longer-term student success, students' sense of belonging, and retention of first-year design students. We found the students perceived the mentors as positively influencing their learning, working groups, and sense of belonging. The students had few recommendations for enhancing the mentors’ effectiveness. Overall, the results indicate that the mentors positively supported student learning and enhanced their success in their first-year design course.

Dickrell, P. L., & Soto, E., & Nadelson, L. S. (2023, June), Identifying Opportunities for Peer Mentors as Student Social Support Catalyst within a Multidisciplinary First-Year Design Course Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43431

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