Promoting Empathy in Engineering Undergraduates: An Assessment of the Efficacy of an Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Design Course

Heidi Lynn Morano; Matthew L. Cole

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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: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Empowering Students and Strengthening Community Relationships
Tagged Division: Community Engagement Division (COMMENG)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47892

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Paper Authors

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Heidi Lynn Morano Lawrence Technological University

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Associate Professor of Practice at Lawrence Technological University
Graduated from University of Michigan in 1995 with a Master of Mechanical Engineering - Applied Mechanics.
Taught solid mechanics courses as an adjunct instructor in the A. Leon Linton ME department at Lawrence Technological University for 11 years.
Began a full-time teaching position at Lawrence Tech in 2015. Co-developed an entrepreneurial and engineering design curriculum within the College of Engineering. Currently, teaches and coordinates these courses as the Director of the Entrepreneurial Engineering Design Curriculum.

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Matthew L. Cole Lawrence Technological University orcid.org/0000-0002-4444-8750

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Matthew L. Cole, PhD is Interim Dean in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University, and the chair of the Lawrence Tech Assessment Committee and the Institutional Review Board. He served as Director of Lawrence Tech's Psychology Program from 2009-2011. He is a strong proponent of inter-disciplinary research collaborations at Lawrence Tech and manages the annual Research Day and Presidential Colloquium.

Dr. Cole, a graduate of Cleveland Institute of Music and Eastern Michigan University, holds a PhD in Integrated Social and Cognitive Psychology from Wayne State University. Cole teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in human resource management (HRM), principles of management, and business statistics.

Cole is an NSF grant recipient and has published over 40 journal articles and book chapters on the science of teams, team conflict, team leadership, entrepreneurship, research methods and models, the neuroscience of the self, positive organizational scholarship, Appreciative Inquiry, SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results), SOAR-based strategic thinking, planning, and leading, and engineering education. Cole is the Associate Editor for the Positive Psychology section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology,

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Abstract

Empathy is a phenomenon comprising affective processes and cognitive experiences. Empathy is a vital trait for engineers, facilitating a nuanced understanding of complex global challenges by integrating diverse stakeholder perspectives. How to best develop undergraduate engineering students’ empathy over their coursework remains a focused area of study. This study examines the effects of an interdisciplinary service-learning engineering design course, “Entrepreneurial Engineering Design Studio,” in fostering empathy among engineering sophomore-senior level undergraduates at a private technological university. The course integrates design thinking, service learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration, encouraging students to identify design opportunities and engage with customers to foster end-user empathy. A key feature of the course is a service-learning component executed in partnership with local non-profit organizations aiding individuals with disabilities. Before customer interactions, students participate in an accessibility simulation activity to better comprehend the daily experiences of individuals with disabilities, thereby fostering empathy in design. Amidst the pandemic, the shift to remote interactions offered a distinctive lens to evaluate empathy development in three cohorts of students (N = 118) who completed the 40-item Empathy Quotient (EQ) self-report questionnaire pre- and post-course. Results compare EQ scores from students who received virtual service-learning experiences (cohorts 1 and 2) versus students who received in-person service-learning experiences (cohort 3). Results at pre-course found female engineering students had higher EQ compared to males, seniors had higher EQ compared to juniors and sophomores, and biomedical engineering students had higher EQ compared to civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering students. Results of repeated measures ANOVA found a general increase in EQ across Time (Pre and Post) for sophomores and juniors in cohort 3. To further cultivate empathy among engineering students, we recommended integrating similar interdisciplinary, service-learning experiences throughout their education. Such initiatives should not only occur at specific academic levels but be embedded across the curriculum to ensure a consistent development of empathetic skills, essential for addressing complex global challenges. We also suggest future research investigating empathy in engineering students utilize using other measures of empathy is necessary to differentiate cognitive processes from affective experiences.

Citation
Format

Morano, H. L., & Cole, M. L. (2024, June), Promoting Empathy in Engineering Undergraduates: An Assessment of the Efficacy of an Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Design Course Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47892

TY - CPAPER
AB - Empathy is a phenomenon comprising affective processes and cognitive experiences. Empathy is a vital trait for engineers, facilitating a nuanced understanding of complex global challenges by integrating diverse stakeholder perspectives. How to best develop undergraduate engineering students’ empathy over their coursework remains a focused area of study. This study examines the effects of an interdisciplinary service-learning engineering design course, “Entrepreneurial Engineering Design Studio,” in fostering empathy among engineering sophomore-senior level undergraduates at a private technological university. The course integrates design thinking, service learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration, encouraging students to identify design opportunities and engage with customers to foster end-user empathy. A key feature of the course is a service-learning component executed in partnership with local non-profit organizations aiding individuals with disabilities. Before customer interactions, students participate in an accessibility simulation activity to better comprehend the daily experiences of individuals with disabilities, thereby fostering empathy in design.
Amidst the pandemic, the shift to remote interactions offered a distinctive lens to evaluate
empathy development in three cohorts of students (N = 118) who completed the 40-item
Empathy Quotient (EQ) self-report questionnaire pre- and post-course. Results compare EQ
scores from students who received virtual service-learning experiences (cohorts 1 and 2) versus students who received in-person service-learning experiences (cohort 3).
Results at pre-course found female engineering students had higher EQ compared to males,
seniors had higher EQ compared to juniors and sophomores, and biomedical engineering
students had higher EQ compared to civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial
engineering, and mechanical engineering students. Results of repeated measures ANOVA found a general increase in EQ across Time (Pre and Post) for sophomores and juniors in cohort 3.
To further cultivate empathy among engineering students, we recommended integrating similar interdisciplinary, service-learning experiences throughout their education. Such initiatives should not only occur at specific academic levels but be embedded across the curriculum to ensure a consistent development of empathetic skills, essential for addressing complex global challenges. We also suggest future research investigating empathy in engineering students utilize using other measures of empathy is necessary to differentiate cognitive processes from affective experiences.
AU - Heidi Lynn Morano
AU - Matthew L. Cole
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Promoting Empathy in Engineering Undergraduates: An Assessment of the Efficacy of an Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Design Course
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47892
ER -