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1. Prediction of Engineering Identity in Engineering Graduate Students

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2019.2901777  

   Choe, Nathan Hyungsok; Borrego, Maura (March 2019, IEEE Transactions on Education)

   Contribution: This study shows that identification with engineering for engineering graduate students is positively and significantly predicted by engineering interest, competence, recognition, and interpersonal skills competence. Background: Prior studies of engineering identity on undergraduates identified several factors (e.g., engineering interest, engineering recognition) as positive predictors of identification of engineering. Engineering competence, achieved by participating in design projects, is a crucial part of students’ efforts to become more innovative engineers. Identity theory is used to understand undergraduates’ persistence in engineering, as students with stronger engineering identification are more likely to persist. More work is needed focusing on graduate students. Research Questions: Do engineering identity measurement frameworks studied for undergraduate students also apply to graduate students? Do they correlate with intention to complete the degree? What predicts the engineering identity of engineering Master's and doctoral students? Methodology: Interviews informed development and adaptation of a multi-scale survey instrument. Factor analyses identified four factors that relate to graduate engineering identity: engineering interest, engineering recognition, engineering competence, and interpersonal skills competence. Three sequential multiple linear regression models were used to predict engineering graduate students’ engineering identity. Findings: The final regression model, which includes student characteristics and the four factors resulting from Confirmatory Factor Analysis, predicts 60% of the variance in engineering identity—substantially more than similar undergraduate engineering identity models. All four factors were significant and positive predictors of graduate students’ engineering identity. The engineering recognition factor in particular needed adaptation to emphasize peers and faculty members over family, although family remained important. 

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2. Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Intention to Integrate Engineering through a Multi-Disciplinary Partnership (Evaluation)

   Cima, F; Pazos, P; Kidd, JJ; Gutierrez, KS; Ringleb, SI; Ayala, OM; Kaipa, K (January 2021, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Though elementary educators recognize the importance of integrating engineering in their classrooms, many feel challenged and unprepared to teach engineering content. The absence of effective engineering instruction in teacher preparation programs leaves future educators unprepared for this challenge. Ed+gineering is an NSF-funded partnership between education and engineering aimed at increasing preservice teacher (PST) preparation, confidence, and intention to integrate engineering into their teaching. Ed+gineering partners education and engineering students in multidisciplinary teams within the context of their respective university courses. As part of their coursework, the teams plan and deliver culturally responsive engineering lessons to elementary school students under the guidance of one engineering and one education faculty. This paper investigates the impact of Ed+gineering on PSTs’ knowledge of engineering practices, engineering pedagogical knowledge, self-efficacy to integrate engineering, and beliefs about engineering integration. The impact of Ed+gineering on participating PSTs was assessed using three collaborations involving students in engineering and education during Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. Preliminary results suggest that the Ed+gineering partnership positively impacted engineering-pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of engineering practices, and self efficacy for integrating engineering. The specific magnitude of the impact and its implications are discussed. 

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3. The “Soft” Argument for Engineering Professional Identity Courses: A Case Study

   Villanueva, Idalis; Nadelson, Louis; Bouwma-Gearhart, Jana. (April 2018, American Educational Research Association)

   Introduction The increasing demands for a 21st century postsecondary education-- that incorporates the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences--in contrast to the stasis of engineering curriculum, has catalyzed an engineering education “identity crisis” [1]-[9]. Without an understanding of the engineering norms, practices, and worldviews that engineering students and instructors carry from their courses, there is an increased risk that underrepresentation in engineering will continue to persist. This work aims to expand a previously developed study on engineering professional identity by exploring two unique engineering courses (serving as case studies) at a college of engineering at a western institution in the U.S. One course focused on helping engineering students develop technical communication skills while the other course aimed to help underrepresented women in engineering to understand about and plan for careers in engineering. Both cases are uniquely positioned to help engineering education researchers elucidate how professionally-focused and career-planning engineering courses could guide students’ perceptions about engineering. 

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4. 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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5. 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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