Toy Adaptation in a Laboratory Course: An Examination of Laboratory Interests and Career Motivations

Alyssa Catherine Taylor; Molly Y. Mollica

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division (DELOS) Technical Session 4: Bring Your Own Experiments +
Tagged Division: Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division (DELOS)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 29
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44510
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44510
Download Count: 109

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Paper Authors

biography

Alyssa Catherine Taylor University of California, San Diego

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Dr. Alyssa Taylor is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Taylor has twelve years of experience teaching across bioengineering laboratory, introductory, and capstone design classes.
Through work such as toy adaptation described in this paper, Dr. Taylor seeks to prepare students to engage in Universal Design and consider accessibility in their engineering and design work.

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biography

Molly Y. Mollica University of Maryland, Baltimore County

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Molly Y. Mollica (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Dr. Mollica earned her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Ohio State University (OSU), M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from OSU, and Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Washington. She also trained as a postdoctoral scholar-fellow at Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute. Molly's wetlab research interests are at the intersection of engineering mechanics, mechanobiology, and health equity. Her educational research interests are in community-engaged learning, project-based learning, and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom.

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Abstract

Curricula containing accessibility topics with positive societal impact are useful in career training and have shown promise in engagement of students from groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in engineering. Toy adaptation makes toys accessible to kids with disabilities and is a hands-on process that involves toy disassembly, circuitry assessment, and addition of an accessible switch. Previous work incorporating toy adaptation into curriculum has demonstrated that it is well-received by students and is especially impactful to women. However, it is unknown how student response to toy adaptation is connected to career interests and motivation of students, including those who are Pell-eligible and/or first-generation college students. Here, we incorporated toy adaptation into an undergraduate laboratory course and examined student response, laboratory interests, and career interests. We found that students responded extremely positively to the toy adaptation activity, including that they enjoyed toy adaptation, that it was useful, and that it increased appreciation for the positive effects of engineering. Additionally, we found that women felt significantly more empowered as a result of the experience as compared to men. Conversely, while Pell-eligible students also responded favorably to the module, they expressed significantly less agreement that the experience solidified their choice of studying engineering as compared to their non-Pell-eligible peers. All groups indicated that “interesting work” was most important to them in career selection and that “doing something impactful that helps others” was their favorite part of toy adaptation. Interestingly, we observed statistically significant connections between career interests and laboratory interests, wherein students who selected the technical, hands-on aspects of toy adaptation as most enjoyable were more likely to select “interesting work” as their most important career consideration. Ultimately, identifying curricular laboratory activities that are educational, engaging to all students, and that meet students’ career interests is valuable in supporting a positive engineering educational experience.

Citation
Format

Taylor, A. C., & Mollica, M. Y. (2023, June), Toy Adaptation in a Laboratory Course: An Examination of Laboratory Interests and Career Motivations Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44510

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Curricula containing accessibility topics with positive societal impact are useful in career training and have shown promise in engagement of students from groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in engineering. Toy adaptation makes toys accessible to kids with disabilities and is a hands-on process that involves toy disassembly, circuitry assessment, and addition of an accessible switch. Previous work incorporating toy adaptation into curriculum has demonstrated that it is well-received by students and is especially impactful to women. However, it is unknown how student response to toy adaptation is connected to career interests and motivation of students, including those who are Pell-eligible and/or first-generation college students. Here, we incorporated toy adaptation into an undergraduate laboratory course and examined student response, laboratory interests, and career interests. We found that students responded extremely positively to the toy adaptation activity, including that they enjoyed toy adaptation, that it was useful, and that it increased appreciation for the positive effects of engineering. Additionally, we found that women felt significantly more empowered as a result of the experience as compared to men. Conversely, while Pell-eligible students also responded favorably to the module, they expressed significantly less agreement that the experience solidified their choice of studying engineering as compared to their non-Pell-eligible peers. All groups indicated that “interesting work” was most important to them in career selection and that “doing something impactful that helps others” was their favorite part of toy adaptation. Interestingly, we observed statistically significant connections between career interests and laboratory interests, wherein students who selected the technical, hands-on aspects of toy adaptation as most enjoyable were more likely to select “interesting work” as their most important career consideration. Ultimately, identifying curricular laboratory activities that are educational, engaging to all students, and that meet students’ career interests is valuable in supporting a positive engineering educational experience.
AU  - Alyssa Catherine Taylor
AU  - Molly Y. Mollica
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Toy Adaptation in a Laboratory Course: An Examination of Laboratory Interests and Career Motivations
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/44510
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44510
ER  -