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Redesigning Soil Mechanics as an Inclusive Course

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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

Civil Engineering Division - Integration of Engineering and/or Technical Rigor with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ)

Page Count

21

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41749

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41749

Download Count

409

Paper Authors

biography

Manish Roy University of Connecticut

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Manish Roy is an Assistant Professor in Residence in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering (Hons.) at Jadavpur University in India. He obtained his MS and Doctoral degree in Civil Engineering at the West Virginia University and the University of Connecticut, respectively. He worked for nine years in the industry as an engineer/manager in India and Bangladesh before starting his graduate study in the US. He started his career as a faculty member in 2019 at the University of Connecticut. His research interests lie in the field of concrete technology with a focus on finite element modeling of ultra high performance concrete. He is also interested in educational research. He is presently working on redesigning the Soil Mechanics course, which incorporates inclusive teaching practices considering the experience and needs of neurodivergent learners. This project is a part of an NSF-funded IUSE/PFE:RED grant.

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biography

Maria Chrysochoou University of Connecticut

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Maria Chrysochoou is a Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut.

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biography

Connie Syharat University of Connecticut

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Constance M. Syharat is a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant at the University of Connecticut as a part of two neurodiversity-centered NSF-funded projects, Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (NSF:RED) "Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation" and Innovations in Graduate Education (NSF:IGE) Encouraging the Participation of Neurodiverse Students in STEM Graduate Programs to Radically Enhance the Creativity of the Professional Workforce". In her time at the University of Connecticut she has also has served as Program Assistant for an summer program in engineering for middle school students with ADHD. Previously, she spent eight years as a K-12 teacher in Connecticut, where she maintained a focus on providing a varied learning environment and differentiated instruction for all types of learners. She received her Master’s Degree in Modern Languages from Central Connecticut State University in 2011. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies and her teaching certificate from Connecticut College in 2001. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction at UConn's Neag School of Education.

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Abstract

In its quest to become an inclusive department that uses a strengths-based approach toward neurodiversity to personalize the learning experience for all students, the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department at the University of Connecticut has implemented changes to several core courses within the project “Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation” (abbreviated as INCLUDE), funded through the Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program of the National Science Foundation. One of the objectives of the program is to develop redesigned courses, known as “I-Courses” in the department, that aim to incorporate inclusive teaching practices for an improved educational experience for all students, taking into account the experiences, strengths, and needs of neurodivergent learners.

As a part of the program, the Soil Mechanics course was redesigned as an I-Course in the summer of 2021. Soil Mechanics is a required course in the civil engineering curriculum, that is primarily taken by students in their junior or senior year. It is offered every year in the fall semester and typically has a large enrollment (80 ~ 110 students). The redesigned course was offered in the Fall 2021 semester with an enrollment of 82.

This paper delineates the four different stages of the redesign process: preparation, redesign, implementation, and findings. In the preparation stage, the instructor attended a series of workshops/meetings to get familiarized with the different strengths and challenges of neurodivergent students in undergraduate engineering programs. The course redesign process centered around the use of an I-Course Standards Framework - a set of course design guidelines rooted in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and the strengths-based approach. Instructors tailor design elements to the course to meet each I-standard and undergo a peer review process. Under the ‘implementation’ section, the paper outlines the changes that were made to implement a strengths-based approach to neurodiversity within the course context and increase the accessibility of the course content for a wide range of learners. The ‘findings’ section discusses the effectiveness of the redesigned course based on the student feedback on the mid-semester survey and the annual Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) survey as well as the lessons learned along the way.

Roy, M., & Chrysochoou, M., & Syharat, C. (2022, August), Redesigning Soil Mechanics as an Inclusive Course Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41749

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