Sketching with Students: An Arts-informed Qualitative Analysis of First-year Engineering Students

Desen Sevi Özkan; Cherie D. Edwards; Sreyoshi Bhaduri; Diana Bairaktarova

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: First-year Programs Division: Self Efficacy
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--30967
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/30967
Download Count: 540

Paper Authors

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Desen Sevi Özkan Virginia Tech orcid.org/0000-0002-1996-7719

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Desen is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University.

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Cherie D. Edwards Virginia Tech

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Dr. Cherie D. Edwards is a Postdoctoral Associate in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Research and Evaluation from Virginia Tech. Her research and scholarship are focused on exploring the implementation of mixed methods, qualitative, and arts-informed research designs in studies examining issues of social justice and educational equity. Currently, she is on a research team examining the impacts of an out-of-school STEM summer program for racially underrepresented youth.

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Sreyoshi Bhaduri Virginia Tech

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Sreyoshi Bhaduri recently graduated with a Ph.D.in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. She has an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and an M.A. in Data Analytics and Applied Statistics (DAAS) both from Virginia Tech. Sreyoshi's research interests include working on innovative research designs for analyzing varied datasets and presenting the results of these analyses to various stakeholders through meaningful and easily interpretable visualizations. Sreyoshi was recognized during her time at Virginia Tech as a Diversity Scholar, was a part of the Global Perspectives Program (GPP-2013), served as a Fellow of the Academy for Graduate Teaching Excellence (VT-GrATE), and was inducted into the prestigious Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.

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Diana Bairaktarova Virginia Tech

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Diana Bairaktarova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and the Director of the Abilities, Creativity and Ethics in Design [ACE(D)]Lab. Bairaktarova's ongoing research interest spans from engineering to psychology to learning sciences, as she uncovers how individual performance and professional decisions are influenced by aptitudes and abilities, interest, and manipulation of physical and virtual objects.

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Abstract

This Complete Research paper seeks to examine possible changes in the identities of first-year engineering students. Based on pre-and post-student drawings, we will examine how the engineering identities of first-year students change over the course of a semester. Sketching as a practice can be applied in various ways. Additionally, the practice itself changes based on its intended purpose or application. Engineering sketches have a variety of uses, in that they can be used for brainstorming ideas or for social and communicative practices. This differs slightly from other fields as sketching in engineering is used for field related practices as well as exploratory purposes. Each of these purposes offers a critical piece of learning that may need to be used in conjunction with one another. Why not combine self-expressive sketches with communicative sketches in order to enhance their communicative ability? Or to combine reflective sketches with brainstorming sketches to better frame and reframe engineering problems, such that we do not let our students take them out of real-world contexts?

With the versatility of sketching practices, there are inevitable challenges when determining the appropriate times and contexts to employ these methods. Additionally, for students who do not consider themselves artistic, there can be more hesitation associated with using sketching as a way to think and communicate due to the fear of judgment that can be associated with expressing oneself. Therefore, when we begin to bring sketching back into the engineering classroom (studio), we also need to help our students overcome this mental obstacle and become comfortable using sketching as a tool. In this study, first-year engineering students from a remedial spatial visualization class were tasked with sketching themselves at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester. Through these sketches, we seek to understand the differences in their pre-and post-sketches of themselves as well as any differences across gender.

To analyze these drawings, we will use a theoretical coding approach. Employing Gee’s four categories of identity (nature-identity, institution-identity, discourse-identity, and affinity-identity), we will code all relevant features of the sketches to the appropriate category. Second-tier codes were also developed based on the specific characteristics of each of Gee’s four categories of identity. Participant reflection statements will be coded using the same approach. Once participant drawings and reflection statements are coded, we will examine the codes and categories to identify any emergent themes. It is important to note that we are not using these pre-and post-sketches to uncover an identity change that can be attributed to the spatial visualization class. They serve as a holistic representation of how the students identify themselves in the first and final week of their first semester.

Citation
Format

Özkan, D. S., & Edwards, C. D., & Bhaduri, S., & Bairaktarova, D. (2018, June), Sketching with Students: An Arts-informed Qualitative Analysis of First-year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30967

TY - CPAPER
AB - This Complete Research paper seeks to examine possible changes in the identities of first-year engineering students. Based on pre-and post-student drawings, we will examine how the engineering identities of first-year students change over the course of a semester. Sketching as a practice can be applied in various ways. Additionally, the practice itself changes based on its intended purpose or application. Engineering sketches have a variety of uses, in that they can be used for brainstorming ideas or for social and communicative practices. This differs slightly from other fields as sketching in engineering is used for field related practices as well as exploratory purposes. Each of these purposes offers a critical piece of learning that may need to be used in conjunction with one another. Why not combine self-expressive sketches with communicative sketches in order to enhance their communicative ability? Or to combine reflective sketches with brainstorming sketches to better frame and reframe engineering problems, such that we do not let our students take them out of real-world contexts?

With the versatility of sketching practices, there are inevitable challenges when determining the appropriate times and contexts to employ these methods. Additionally, for students who do not consider themselves artistic, there can be more hesitation associated with using sketching as a way to think and communicate due to the fear of judgment that can be associated with expressing oneself. Therefore, when we begin to bring sketching back into the engineering classroom (studio), we also need to help our students overcome this mental obstacle and become comfortable using sketching as a tool. In this study, first-year engineering students from a remedial spatial visualization class were tasked with sketching themselves at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester. Through these sketches, we seek to understand the differences in their pre-and post-sketches of themselves as well as any differences across gender.

To analyze these drawings, we will use a theoretical coding approach. Employing Gee’s four categories of identity (nature-identity, institution-identity, discourse-identity, and affinity-identity), we will code all relevant features of the sketches to the appropriate category. Second-tier codes were also developed based on the specific characteristics of each of Gee’s four categories of identity. Participant reflection statements will be coded using the same approach. Once participant drawings and reflection statements are coded, we will examine the codes and categories to identify any emergent themes. It is important to note that we are not using these pre-and post-sketches to uncover an identity change that can be attributed to the spatial visualization class. They serve as a holistic representation of how the students identify themselves in the first and final week of their first semester.
AU - Desen Sevi Özkan
AU - Cherie D. Edwards
AU - Sreyoshi Bhaduri
AU - Diana Bairaktarova
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Sketching with Students: An Arts-informed Qualitative Analysis of First-year Engineering Students
UR - https://peer.asee.org/30967
DO - 10.18260/1-2--30967
ER -