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Reflection on the Road: How Recent First Year Students Exhibit Reflection During a Short-Term Study Abroad Experience

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Conference

2019 FYEE Conference

Location

Penn State University , Pennsylvania

Publication Date

July 28, 2019

Start Date

July 28, 2019

End Date

July 30, 2019

Conference Session

T1A: Readiness 1

Tagged Topics

Diversity and FYEE Conference - Paper Submission

Page Count

6

DOI

10.18260/1-2--33724

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/33724

Download Count

421

Paper Authors

biography

Natalie C.T. Van Tyne P.E. Virginia Tech Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-7058-9098

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Natalie Van Tyne is an Associate Professor of Practice at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she teaches first year engineering design as a foundation course for Virginia Tech's undergraduate engineering degree programs. She holds bachelors and masters degrees from Rutgers University, Lehigh University and Colorado School of Mines, and studies best practices in pedagogy, reflective learning and critical thinking as aids to enhanced student learning.

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biography

Lisa D. McNair Virginia Tech

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Lisa D. McNair is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she also serves as Director of the Center for Research in SEAD Education at the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT). Her research interests include interdisciplinary collaboration, design education, communication studies, identity theory and reflective practice. Projects supported by the National Science Foundation include exploring disciplines as cultures, liberatory maker spaces, and a RED grant to increase pathways in ECE for the professional formation of engineers.

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Abstract

Reflection on the Road: How Recent First Year Students Exhibit Reflection During a Short-Term Study Abroad Experience

Abstract Study abroad experiences augment college and university curricula and expose students to an international setting with lectures, tours, and cultural activities. These studies raise awareness of professional, social and cultural differences among countries. Students recognize global challenges to the engineering profession when they discover that another country faces similar technical, social, cultural and resource-limiting challenges. They also learn that solutions to similar challenges in the U.S. may, or may not, be suitable in another country. Reflection provides the meaning behind the experience, which leads to our research question: how did first year students exhibit reflection during a two-week study abroad experience? Our institution offers a second semester international studies course to first year engineering students, followed by a two-week early summer trip abroad. Students keep a travel journal describing their activities, thoughts, and impressions. They are prompted and encouraged to record new information, interesting or exciting experiences, uncomfortable or confusing situations, and key cultural differences found during their international travels. These journals are an instrument to facilitate the formation of meaning through reflection about events, observations and impressions, and their comparison to prior experiences and beliefs. Under our four-stage model, reflection emerges first as an early attempt to find meaning without comparison to prior experience or potential application, expands to include links to prior experience or external ideas with self-questioning, and culminates in the validation of alternative views and potential transformation of beliefs. However, improvement in reflection may not be continuous, since the nature of particular events and the student’s state of mind can influence their depth of reflection, as well as the details of the daily schedules. Moreover, prior studies with first year students and reflective journal writing have revealed that reflection is often embedded within a largely narrative context. Therefore, instructors need to evaluate what the student expresses through direct or indirect evidence involving feelings as well as logic. Preliminary results suggest that students will uncover more meaningful impressions with increased practice, especially if and when they adhere to the suggested reflection prompts. Our results will also serve as a formative assessment of the effectiveness of the journal prompts in promoting reflection, as well as feedback about what students found to be the most meaningful aspects of their trip. Finally, the similarities and differences among the technical and cultural challenges faced in both the U.S. and other countries, as revealed through reflection, contribute deeper meaning to student self-awareness and identity within the engineering profession.

Van Tyne, N. C., & McNair, L. D. (2019, July), Reflection on the Road: How Recent First Year Students Exhibit Reflection During a Short-Term Study Abroad Experience Paper presented at 2019 FYEE Conference , Penn State University , Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--33724

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