The Power of ProTAsTM: Work in Progress Paper Assessing the Impact of Industry Professionals as Teaching Assistants and Mentors to Advance Engineering Design Education Innovations

Lindy Hamilton Mayled; Ryan J. Meuth; Brent James Sebold; Eric Prosser

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Design Across the Curriculum 2
Tagged Division: Design in Engineering Education
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 21
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35358
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35358
Download Count: 487

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Paper Authors

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Lindy Hamilton Mayled Arizona State University

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Lindy Hamilton Mayled is the Director of Instructional Effectiveness for the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. She has a PhD in Psychology of Learning, Education, and Technology from Grand Canyon University. Her research and areas of interest are in improving educational outcomes for STEM students through the integration of active learning and technology-enabled frequent feedback. Prior to her role and Director of Instructional Effectiveness, she worked as the Education Project Manager for the NSF-funded JTFD Engineering faculty development program, as a high school math and science teacher, and as an Assistant Principal and Instructional & Curriculum Coach.

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Ryan J. Meuth Arizona State University

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Dr. Ryan Meuth is a Freshmen Engineering Senior Lecturer in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and also teaches courses in Computer Engineering for the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering at Arizona State University.

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Brent James Sebold Arizona State University

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Dr. Brent Sebold is an expert faculty designer and administrator of university-based entrepreneurship and innovation programs. Brent's expertise also includes the design and leadership of impactful collegiate engagement programs for universal learners.

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Eric Prosser Arizona State University orcid.org/0000-0002-9214-6298

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Eric Prosser is the Engineering and Entrepreneurship Librarian with the ASU Library. Eric is the liaison to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and provides research services for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students along with instruction in critical analysis and information literacy, including the legal and ethical use of information. Eric has a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Harvey Mudd College, a Master of Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona, and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego.

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Abstract

Abstract This Work in Progress study investigates the effects of Professional Teaching Assistants ‘ProTAs’ on student achievement in Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering Capstone courses. In a survey of 444 ABET-accredited engineering institutions, capstone courses were typically one or two semesters long, with parallel class and project requirements, that used extensive team-based activities, and culminated in a final project that often originated from industry or faculty research. There are a variety of challenges associated with teaching capstone design courses, including how to effectively mentor teams through the capstone design process and this problem is compounded when operating at scale. Research has shown that quality mentoring is crucial to student success; however, providing adequate numbers of skilled mentors to capstone students in large programs remains challenging. Beginning in the fall of 2018, capstone instructors at a large, R1 university in the southwest began to address this challenge through the use of ProTAs. ProTAs are defined as industry professionals (not undergraduates or graduate students) recruited via their interest in mentoring the next cohort of engineers, and formally contracted by the university as Academic Associates (or equivalent). These ProTAs are able to provide superior mentoring to capstone students, as compared to graduate students or mentors who are outside of the project discipline. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of ProTA mentors by investigating student achievement outcomes of students working on similar projects before and after inclusion of the ProTAs. During the Spring 2019 semester, 183 students completed the Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering Capstone courses, working in teams of 4-5 on a variety of design projects. Of the 183 students, approximately 150 of the students were in groups mentored by a graduate student or a mentor who was outside of the project discipline. During the Fall 2019 academic semester, a new cohort of 373 students completed the capstone course, and again worked in teams of 4-5 on various design projects. During this second year, ProTAs were used to replace the student and faculty mentors for specifically chosen projects, resulting in 132 students receiving mentorship from a ProTA. Student achievement data was collected for all 556 students over the two-semester study and data collected included: (a) grade distribution reports and (b) failure rates. Data will be analyzed to answer three research questions: 1) Did ProTA-mentored students experience higher grades and lower failure rates than students mentored by graduate students from the previous year? 2) Did ProTA-mentored students experience higher grades and lower failure rates than students mentored by faculty mentors from the previous year? 3) When ProTA-mentored student data were compared to non-ProTA student data from the same year, were the grades similar between the groups? In addition to student data, best practices and lessons learned around the identification, recruitment, training, and management of ProTAs is summarized as a resource for other instructors and universities who are considering adoption of a similar ProTA mentoring model for their capstone design courses.

Citation
Format

Mayled, L. H., & Meuth, R. J., & Sebold, B. J., & Prosser, E. (2020, June), The Power of ProTAsTM: Work in Progress Paper Assessing the Impact of Industry Professionals as Teaching Assistants and Mentors to Advance Engineering Design Education Innovations Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35358

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Abstract 
This Work in Progress study investigates the effects of Professional Teaching Assistants ‘ProTAs’ on student achievement in Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering Capstone courses. In a survey of 444 ABET-accredited engineering institutions, capstone courses were typically one or two semesters long, with parallel class and project requirements, that used extensive team-based activities, and culminated in a final project that often originated from industry or faculty research.  There are a variety of challenges associated with teaching capstone design courses, including how to effectively mentor teams through the capstone design process and this problem is compounded when operating at scale.  Research has shown that quality mentoring is crucial to student success; however, providing adequate numbers of skilled mentors to capstone students in large programs remains challenging.
Beginning in the fall of 2018, capstone instructors at a large, R1 university in the southwest began to address this challenge through the use of ProTAs. ProTAs are defined as industry professionals (not undergraduates or graduate students) recruited via their interest in mentoring the next cohort of engineers, and formally contracted by the university as Academic Associates (or equivalent).  These ProTAs are able to provide superior mentoring to capstone students, as compared to graduate students or mentors who are outside of the project discipline.  The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of ProTA mentors by investigating student achievement outcomes of students working on similar projects before and after inclusion of the ProTAs. During the Spring 2019 semester, 183 students completed the Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering Capstone courses, working in teams of 4-5 on a variety of design projects.  Of the 183 students, approximately 150 of the students were in groups mentored by a graduate student or a mentor who was outside of the project discipline.  During the Fall 2019 academic semester, a new cohort of 373 students completed the capstone course, and again worked in teams of 4-5 on various design projects.  During this second year, ProTAs were used to replace the student and faculty mentors for specifically chosen projects, resulting in 132 students receiving mentorship from a ProTA.
Student achievement data was collected for all 556 students over the two-semester study and data collected included: (a) grade distribution reports and (b) failure rates. Data will be analyzed to answer three research questions: 1) Did ProTA-mentored students experience higher grades and lower failure rates than students mentored by graduate students from the previous year?  2) Did ProTA-mentored students experience higher grades and lower failure rates than students mentored by faculty mentors from the previous year? 3) When ProTA-mentored student data were compared to non-ProTA student data from the same year, were the grades similar between the groups?   In addition to student data, best practices and lessons learned around the identification, recruitment, training, and management of ProTAs is summarized as a resource for other instructors and universities who are considering adoption of a similar ProTA mentoring model for their capstone design courses. 

AU  - Lindy Hamilton Mayled
AU  - Ryan J. Meuth
AU  - Brent James Sebold
AU  - Eric Prosser
CY  - Virtual On line 
DA  - 2020/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - The Power of ProTAsTM: Work in Progress Paper Assessing the Impact of Industry Professionals as Teaching Assistants and Mentors to Advance Engineering Design Education Innovations
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/35358
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--35358
ER  -