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Stereotypes and Implicit Biases in Engineering: Will Students Need to "Whistle Vivaldi"?

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Conference

2021 CoNECD

Location

Virtual - 1pm to 5pm Eastern Time Each Day

Publication Date

January 24, 2021

Start Date

January 24, 2021

End Date

January 28, 2021

Conference Session

CoNECD Session : Day 1 Slot 1 Technical Session 4

Tagged Topics

Diversity and CoNECD Paper Submissions

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--36122

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/36122

Download Count

461

Paper Authors

biography

Medha Dalal Arizona State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-5705-1800

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Medha Dalal is a postdoctoral scholar at Arizona State University. She received her Ph. D. in Learning, Literacies, and Technologies with an emphasis on engineering education from the Arizona State University. Her research seeks to build capacity for engineering education stakeholders at the grassroots, while also informing policy. Three thrusts that define her research interests at the intersections of engineering, technologies, and education include, ways of thinking that address complex educational challenges, democratization of K-12 engineering education, and online and technology-based learning.

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biography

Stacy S. Klein-Gardner Vanderbilt University

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Stacy Klein-Gardner's career focuses on P-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, particularly as it relates to increasing interest in and participation by females and URMs and teacher professional development. She is an Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University where she is serving as the external evaluator on the NSF-funded Engineering For Us All (E4USA) project. Dr. Klein-Gardner serves as the chair of the American Society for Engineering Education Board of Director’s Committee on P12 Engineering Education and is a Fellow of the Society.

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Jennifer Kouo Towson University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-4609-8555

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Jennifer L. Kouo, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Towson University in Maryland. Dr. Kouo received her PhD in Special Education with an emphasis in severe disabilities and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the University of Maryland at College Park. She is passionate about both instructional and assistive technology, as well as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and utilizing inclusive practices to support all students. Dr. Kouo is currently engaged in multiple research projects that involve multidisciplinary collaborations in the field of engineering, medicine, and education, as well as research on teacher preparation and the conducting of evidence-based interventions in school environments.

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Kenneth Reid University of Indianapolis

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Kenneth Reid is the Associate Dean and Director of the R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis and an affiliate Associate Professor in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. He is active in engineering within K-12, serving on the TSA Board of Directors. He and his coauthors were awarded the William Elgin Wickenden award for 2014, recognizing the best paper in the Journal of Engineering Education. He was awarded an IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award in 2013 for designing the nation's first BS degree in Engineering Education. He was named NETI Faculty Fellow for 2013-2014, and the Herbert F. Alter Chair of Engineering (Ohio Northern University) in 2010. His research interests include success in first-year engineering, engineering in K-12, introducing entrepreneurship into engineering, and international service and engineering. He has written texts in design, general engineering and digital electronics, including the text used by Project Lead the Way.

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Cheryl Beauchamp Regent University

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Cheryl Beauchamp serves as the Engineering and Computer Science Department chair of Regent University’s College of Arts and Sciences. She is a PhD student in the Engineering Education program at Virginia Tech. She earned her Master’s of Science degree in Computer Science from George Mason University and her Master’s of Education degree from Regent University. Her research interests include motivation in engineering education, under-represented students in engineering and computer science, teamwork, online learning, and education practices in engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, and STEM.

Currently, she is a research assistant contributing to Engineering for Us All (E4USA) research, curriculum, and professional development.

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Briana O'Neal University of Maryland College Park

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Jackelyn Raquel Lopez Roshwalb University of Maryland, College Park

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Jackelyn Lopez Roshwalb is the Assistant Director of the Keystone Program in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. She serves as the course coordinator and an instructor for the school’s Introduction to Engineering Design course. Previously, Jackelyn taught high school mathematics and physics. She is a curriculum team member of the NSF-funded Engineering For Us All (E4USA) project, an initiative to deliver a nationwide standardized high school course in engineering that is available to and accessible for all high school students.

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Darryll J. Pines University of Maryland College Park

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Darryll Pines became Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Engineering at the Clark School on January 5,
2009, having come to the school in 1995 as an assistant professor and served as chair of the school's
Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006 to 2009.
As dean, Pines has led the development of the Clark School's current strategic plan and achieved notable
successes in key areas such as improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raising student
retention; achieving success in national and international student competitions; giving new emphasis to
sustainability engineering and service learning; promoting STEM education among high school students;
increasing the impact of research programs; and expanding philanthropic contributions to the school. Today,
the school's one-year undergraduate retention rate is 90%, the university's Solar Decathlon team placed first
worldwide in the most recent competition against other leading universities, our Engineers Without Borders
chapter is considered one of the nation's best, and the Engineering Sustainability Workshop launched by
Pines has become a key campus event. Pines has testified before Congress on STEM education and created
the Top 25 Source Schools program for Maryland high schools. He is also leading a national effort to develop
an AP course in Engineering Design in partnership with the College Board. At $144 million, the school's
research expenditures are at a record high, and the school is ranked 11th worldwide by the Academic
Ranking of World Universities, which focuses on research citations. The Clark School has led the university in
achieving and surpassing its $185 million Great Expectations campaign goal, going on to reach $240 million as
of the most recent accounting. Pines also served on the university's strategic planning steering committee.
During Pines' leadership of aerospace engineering, the department was ranked 8th overall among U.S.
universities and 5th among public schools in the U.S. News and World Report graduate school rankings. Pines
has been director of the Sloan Scholars Program since 1996 and director of the GEM Program from 1999-
2011, and served as chair of the Engineering Council, director of the NASA CUIP Program, and director of the
SAMPEX flight experiment.
During a leave of absence from the University (2003-2006), Pines served as Program Manager for the Tactical
Technology Office and Defense Sciences Office of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
While at DARPA, Pines initiated five new programs primarily related to the development of aerospace
technologies, for which he received a Distinguished Service Medal. He also held positions at the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Chevron Corporation, and Space Tethers Inc. At LLNL, Pines worked on
the Clementine Spacecraft program, which discovered water near the south pole of the moon. A replica of
the spacecraft now sits in the National Air and Space Museum.
Pines's current research focuses on structural dynamics, including structural health monitoring and
prognosis, smart sensors, and adaptive, morphing and biologically-inspired structures, as well as the
guidance, navigation, and control of aerospace vehicles. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and
has received an NSF CAREER Award.
Pines received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

Despite numerous calls to increase representation of women and minorities, the engineering education system is still challenged to be more inclusive of women and underrepresented minorities. Scholars have suggested that the imbalance is largely related to sociocultural factors and prevalent stereotypes and implicit biases. This study investigated how high school teachers characterize engineering stereotypes, stereotype threat, and implicit biases, and conceive their roles and responsibilities amid calls for inclusivity in the field. Data was collected through focus group interviews during a professional development effort for high school teachers. Thematic analysis revealed teacher perspectives of long-standing issues affecting diversity in engineering especially in the frameworks of social culture. The study has implications for research as well as practice by providing insight into stereotype threats and implicit biases from the K-12 teacher angle and laying out grass roots solutions at the classroom level.

Dalal, M., & Klein-Gardner, S. S., & Kouo, J., & Reid, K., & Beauchamp, C., & O'Neal, B., & Lopez Roshwalb, J. R., & Pines, D. J. (2021, January), Stereotypes and Implicit Biases in Engineering: Will Students Need to "Whistle Vivaldi"? Paper presented at 2021 CoNECD, Virtual - 1pm to 5pm Eastern Time Each Day . 10.18260/1-2--36122

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