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1. Engineering Identity Profiles of Low-SES, High-Achieving Incoming Engineering Students

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028555  

   Revelo, Renata A.; Omitoyin, Janet; Cardona, Martin; Nazempour, Rezvan; Darabi, Houshang (October 2019, 2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE))

   null (Ed.)

   This work-in-progress research paper explores the way in which low-socioeconomic status (SES), first-year undergraduate engineering students develop their engineering identity. Identification with the field of engineering, or engineering identity development, is an ongoing process for students. While scholars have used retrospective studies to understand the developmental aspect of this process, a longitudinal study that follows students' engineering identity development could provide an advantageous viewpoint. In this study, we investigate the engineering identity profiles of incoming low-SES, high-achieving engineering students. We interviewed 13 students using a protocol focused on understanding the students' engineering identity profiles before entering engineering school. An integrated model of engineering identity development was used to frame the research and guide the analysis. Our preliminary results show existing pre-college identity-related patterns across students as well as initial ways of identifying with their major and engineering as a field. This work has contributions to research in the areas of engineering identity development as well as broadening understanding of engineering students who are both low-income and high-achieving. Our work has practical implications for academic and professional support programs for low-income engineering students and programs that aim to support engineering identity development. 

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2. “Maybe If I Put My Mind To It": 5th Graders’ Receptivity to Pursuing Engineering Careers (Fundamental)

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--31924  

   Miel, Karen; Portsmore, Merredith; Fuller, Emily; Paul, Kelli; Sung, Euisuk; Maltese, Adam (June 2019, ASEE Conferences)

   As educators strive to broaden representation in engineering, it is important to take into account how youth perceive themselves in relation to engineering careers. Youth as young as ten years of age are assessing the appeal and achievability of engineering as a career. This study explores preadolescents’ perceptions of the desirability of engineering careers and the self-assessed characteristics which impact students’ interest in engineering. In particular, this work unpacks what attracts elementary students to engineering careers and what these students believe it takes to be an engineer. Drawing from a set of 56 student interviews, this work addresses the research question In what ways are elementary school students thinking about careers in engineering? Existing research indicates that students’ interest in engineering careers declines as students enter middle school; this study contributes to understanding influences on students’ interests when they are on the cusp of deciding whether to pursue engineering study and careers. As part of a study of a university-led engineering education outreach program in elementary classrooms, 5th grade students participated in 15- to 30-minute semi-structured interviews near the end of the academic year. Participants represented four classrooms in two suburban schools in the northeastern United States that had each engaged in 16-18 weeks of hands-on engineering activities led by undergraduate engineering students. Interviews focused on the students’ experiences with engineering and the engineering intervention, students’ role models, and students’ career aspirations. We utilized open coding to analyze the interviews and identified the keywords and themes that students used to describe why an engineering career would be appealing or unappealing and possible or impossible for them. Two themes characterized the interview data; these students’ receptivity to pursuing engineering careers appeared to be mediated by conceptions of engineering careers as involving skill (in idea generation or in creation of technology) or desire (the will to do engineering). This paper utilizes interview data to attend to students’ perspectives and expand our understanding of barriers and gateways to student interest in engineering study and careers. It also discusses the implications of the findings for teaching engineering with an eye on the messages conveyed about the nature of engineering practices, the characteristics of engineers, and how students’ interests intersect with engineering careers. 

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3. Assessing Methods for Developing an Engineering Identity in the Classroom

   Kendall, M. (June 2019, 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Tampa, FL)

   Engineering identity is an attractive lens being used by engineering education researchers to help understand the factors contributing to student retention and persistence in engineering. However, few studies have linked pedagogical approaches for developing an identity to their impact on engineering identity development. This research paper investigates the difference in students’ engineering identity, engineering performance/competence, engineering interest, recognition in engineering, and affect towards six professional engineering practices in two difference engineering departments: a traditional program that implicitly supports engineering identity formation and a non-traditional program that explicitly supports engineering identity formation. Survey data was collected from a total of 184 students (153 from the traditional department and 31 from the non-traditional department). Using independent samples t-tests, results show that engineering identity was higher for students in the traditional department than for students in the non-traditional department. However, students in the non-traditional department showed statistically significantly higher levels of collaboration compared to the traditional department. This work contributes to the ongoing conversation about engineering identity development by beginning to explore the pedagogical approaches that impact students’ engineering attitudes. Implications of results are discussed. 

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4. Assessing Methods for Developing an Engineering Identity in the Classroom

   Kendall, M. R.; Procter, L. M.; Patrick, A. D. (June 2019, ASEE annual conference proceedings)

   Engineering identity is an attractive lens being used by engineering education researchers to help understand the factors contributing to student retention and persistence in engineering. However, few studies have linked pedagogical approaches for developing an identity to their impact on engineering identity development. This research paper investigates the difference in students’ engineering identity, engineering performance/competence, engineering interest, recognition in engineering, and affect towards six professional engineering practices in two difference engineering departments: a traditional program that implicitly supports engineering identity formation and a non-traditional program that explicitly supports engineering identity formation. Survey data was collected from a total of 184 students (153 from the traditional department and 31 from the non-traditional department). Using independent samples t-tests, results show that engineering identity was higher for students in the traditional department than for students in the non-traditional department. However, students in the non-traditional department showed statistically significantly higher levels of collaboration compared to the traditional department. This work contributes to the ongoing conversation about engineering identity development by beginning to explore the pedagogical approaches that impact students’ engineering attitudes. Implications of results are discussed. 

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5. Holistic Engineering: A Concept Exploration in a Cross- Disciplinary Project Course Experience

   Pyrialakou, V. D.; Dey, K.; Martinelli, D.; Deskins, J.; Fraustino, J. D.; Plein, C.; Rahman, M. T.; Rambo-Hernandez, K. E.; Roy, A. (April 2020, 2020 ASEE North Central Section Conference)

   Holistic engineering is an approach to the engineering profession, rather than an engineering discipline such as civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering. It is inspired by the realization that traditional engineering does not adequately harness professional skills in its problem-solving repertoire. Holistic engineering asks engineers to look outward, beyond the fields of math and science, in search of solutions to entire problems. While engineering graduates are well prepared in the technical aspects of the engineering profession, they lack non-technical professional skills (e.g., strategic communication, social science perspective of engineering problems, and others) that can help them think through diverse social aspects posed by current complex engineering grand challenges. In this paper, we review the concept and origins of holistic engineering and we present an application of this concept in a Holistic Engineering Project Course (HEPC) developed as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. HEPC is developed in such a way that engineering students work with social science students on a complex and open-ended engineering grand challenge problem. We hypothesize that such collaborations can significantly improve the professional formation of well-rounded, and effective engineers. The paper also draws lessons learned from the first offering of the course, titled Technology Innovations: Engineering, Economics, and Public Relations, which was offered in the spring semester of 2020 in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in coordination with the John Chambers Department of Economics and the Reed College of Media in West Virginia University. 

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