WIP: Perceptions of Instructional Practices among Engineering College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Xiaping Li; Nolgie O. Oquendo-Colón; Musabbiha Zaheer; Cynthia J. Finelli

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: February 9, 2025
Start Date: February 9, 2025
End Date: February 11, 2025
Conference Session: Track 5: Technical Session 7: WIP: Perceptions of Instructional Practices among Engineering College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Tagged Topics: Diversity and 2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions
Page Count: 36
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/54130
Download Count: 3

Paper Authors

biography

Xiaping Li University of Michigan orcid.org/0000-0002-2620-1690

visit author page

Xiaping Li is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education Research at the University of Michigan. Her research interests encompass faculty development and change, neurodiverse college student learning experiences and outcomes, international students in engineering, and cognitive sciences. She holds a B.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering and an M.S. in Geological Sciences.

visit author page

biography

Nolgie O. Oquendo-Colón University of Michigan orcid.org/0000-0003-2369-6103

visit author page

Nolgie O. Oquendo-Colon is an Engineering Education Research PhD student at the University of Michigan. He holds a MS and BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

visit author page

author page

Musabbiha Zaheer

biography

Cynthia J. Finelli University of Michigan orcid.org/0000-0001-9148-1492

visit author page

Dr. Cynthia J. Finelli is the David J. Munson, Jr. Professor of Engineering, a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, a professor of Education, and and Director and Graduate Chair of Engineering Education Research at University of Michigan In her research she focuses on increasing faculty adoption of evidence-based instruction, identifying ways to better support students with neurodiversities, and promoting students'’ sense of social responsibility through engineering coursework.

Professor Finelli is a fellow of both the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). She previously served as deputy editor for the Journal of Engineering Education, associate editor for the European Journal of Engineering Education, and associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Education. She founded the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering at University of Michigan in 2003 and served as its Director for 12 years.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

An instructional transition from traditional lecturing to active learning strategies has been increasingly advocated to adopt in engineering higher education. Here, active learning refers to evidence-based instructional strategies using individual or group activities to engage students in their learning, such as solving problems in small groups or doing a think-pair-share exercise. Existing research indicates that personal characteristics (e.g., gender, race, and previous experiences) and sociocultural contexts (e.g., instructional methods and classroom environments) significantly influence students’ learning experiences and academic achievements. Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, as a personal characteristic) process information differently than their peers, which may lead to unique experiences and challenges in learning, such as staying focused during class, and further impact their academic achievements. However, very limited research has been conducted on how ADHD influences engineering college students’ perceptions of various classroom teaching practices and related impacts on these students’ learning experiences and outcomes. This WIP study aims to understand how college engineering students with ADHD describe their instructional practices (including both lecture-based and active learning strategies). To answer this question, we collected data through eleven focus groups and six individual interviews. During the interviews, we invited participants to reflect on classroom teaching practices of specific courses they had taken and their corresponding experiences (e.g., what they did and how they felt). We employed Saldaña’s (2018) coding methodology to systematically analyze fifteen anonymized transcripts, initiating with a deductive approach guided by Terenzini and Reason’s framework (2005), and then using an inductive process to determine emergent themes and subthemes. The preliminary results of instructional practices illustrate three themes: teaching methods (with six sub-themes), class format and policies (five sub-themes), and instructor behaviors (with seven sub-themes). We also found that, from the participants’ perspective: 1) They preferred courses that included homework with fixed deadlines and mandatory attendance; 2) There were two main types of lecture-based courses: instructors either talked through slides or wrote on the board; 3) Asking questions and knowing students by name were effective strategies for motivating students to learn; and 4) When students sensed their instructors' efforts and positive attitudes in teaching, they were more likely to be engaged in learning. Our project, emphasizing the lived experiences and perceptions of engineering students with ADHD, provides a student-centered approach to educational research and puts the voices of the underrepresented students directly affected by instructional practices into perspective. This work will offer practical suggestions for creating more inclusive and supportive learning environments, thereby fostering a more equitable engineering education.

Citation
Format

Li, X., & Oquendo-Colón, N. O., & Zaheer, M., & Finelli, C. J. (2025, February), WIP: Perceptions of Instructional Practices among Engineering College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Paper presented at 2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD), San Antonio, Texas. https://peer.asee.org/54130

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - An instructional transition from traditional lecturing to active learning strategies has been increasingly advocated to adopt in engineering higher education. Here, active learning refers to evidence-based instructional strategies using individual or group activities to engage students in their learning, such as solving problems in small groups or doing a think-pair-share exercise. Existing research indicates that personal characteristics (e.g., gender, race, and previous experiences) and sociocultural contexts (e.g., instructional methods and classroom environments) significantly influence students’ learning experiences and academic achievements. Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, as a personal characteristic) process information differently than their peers, which may lead to unique experiences and challenges in learning, such as staying focused during class, and further impact their academic achievements.
However, very limited research has been conducted on how ADHD influences engineering college students’ perceptions of various classroom teaching practices and related impacts on these students’ learning experiences and outcomes. This WIP study aims to understand how college engineering students with ADHD describe their instructional practices (including both lecture-based and active learning strategies).
To answer this question, we collected data through eleven focus groups and six individual interviews. During the interviews, we invited participants to reflect on classroom teaching practices of specific courses they had taken and their corresponding experiences (e.g., what they did and how they felt). We employed Saldaña’s (2018) coding methodology to systematically analyze fifteen anonymized transcripts, initiating with a deductive approach guided by Terenzini and Reason’s framework (2005), and then using an inductive process to determine emergent themes and subthemes.
The preliminary results of instructional practices illustrate three themes: teaching methods (with six sub-themes), class format and policies (five sub-themes), and instructor behaviors (with seven sub-themes). We also found that, from the participants’ perspective: 1) They preferred courses that included homework with fixed deadlines and mandatory attendance; 2) There were two main types of lecture-based courses: instructors either talked through slides or wrote on the board; 3) Asking questions and knowing students by name were effective strategies for motivating students to learn; and 4) When students sensed their instructors&#39; efforts and positive attitudes in teaching, they were more likely to be engaged in learning.
Our project, emphasizing the lived experiences and perceptions of engineering students with ADHD, provides a student-centered approach to educational research and puts the voices of the underrepresented students directly affected by instructional practices into perspective. This work will offer practical suggestions for creating more inclusive and supportive learning environments, thereby fostering a more equitable engineering education.
AU  - Xiaping Li
AU  - Nolgie O. Oquendo-Colón
AU  - Musabbiha Zaheer
AU  - Cynthia J. Finelli
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2025/02/09
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - WIP: Perceptions of Instructional Practices among Engineering College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/54130
ER  -