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1. WIP: The Field of Engineering Education Research as Seen Through the Peer Review Process

   Cutler, Stephanie; Beddoes, Kacey; Croninger, Rachel M.V. (January 2019, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   This Work-In-Progress paper highlights the work being done as part of an on-going project to explore the field of Engineering Education Research (EER) through the perspective of the peer review process. The overarching objective of this project is to identify the kinds of scholarship readily accepted into the field of engineering education research through peer review processes, and the kinds that are not. By identifying what approaches, topics, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies are accepted and not accepted through the peer review process, the field can be more open to discussion of the advancement of EER. More broadly, identifying such boundary knowledge can facilitate new understanding of how the social construction of knowledge occurs in interdisciplinary fields beyond engineering education. As a first step toward these larger objectives, we review relevant literature and outline our participants as well as our analytic plan. 

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2. Inclusive Science Writing about Socioscientific Issues for Diverse Audiences

   https://doi.org/10.31719/pjaw.v7i2.156  

   Kelp, Nicole C; Pisano, Alycia; Alderfer, Sydney; Levinger, Nancy E (July 2023, Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments)

   In this paper, we present a science writing assignment in which students focus on targeting specific audiences when writing about a socioscientific issue as well as participate in a peer review process. This assignment helps students consider inclusive science communication in their writing, focusing on engaging unique audiences about the intersections of science and social justice. Students are introduced to evidence-based tools for formulating communication for unique audiences as well as for assessment of writing quality. This assignment is novel in that it helps students think about inclusion issues in STEM, science writing, and peer review, all of which are key disciplinary skills that are not always included in STEM courses. While this assignment was piloted in chemistry and environmental engineering courses, this assignment could easily be modified for other disciplines. 

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3. Learning the ropes: How do mentors support students through the scientific publication process?

   Tanya Bhagatwala, Trisha Minocha (March 2024, National Association for Research in Science Teaching)

   In the last two decades, research experiences for pre-college students have gone from the exception of a typical experience of a high school student, to the norm. Often, these research experiences include distinct disciplinary literacy outputs that mimic those of professionals. And while much attention has been paid to supporting students in scientific writing, other disciplinary literacy practices, such as peer-review and publication, are often part of the hidden-curriculum of science research, thus excluding students from fully understanding ways in which scientific knowledge is constructed, refined, and disseminated (Authors, 2022). As more students participate in research experiences and the dissemination of their work, it is important to understand how mentors support the development of disciplinary literacies, including those that are deemed “professional”. To this end, we used a mixed-methods study of interviews and surveys to examine the experience and conceptions of the mentors who guided precollege students through the writing and publication of their scientific research projects. Using the construct of cognitive apprenticeship to evaluate our findings, we find that although mentors highly value peer-review and publication within science, they are not intentional about bringing these practices to the forefront of the research process for their student. Additionally, mentors report a range of involvement level in guiding students through the publication process. Our findings suggest that more work is needed to help reveal professional disciplinary literacy practices to students. mentors could benefit from resources to help them more intentionally involve students in such disciplinary literacy practices. 

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4. History Can Be Open Source: Democratic Dreams and the Rise of Digital History

   https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhab534  

   Locke, Joseph L.; Wright, Ben (December 2021, The American Historical Review)

   Abstract In an ongoing commitment to experimentation, the AHR invited an “open peer review” of a submitted manuscript, “History Can Be Open Source: Democratic Dreams and the Rise of Digital History,” by Joseph L. Locke (University of Houston–Victoria) and Ben Wright (University of Texas at Dallas). Given that Locke and Wright argued for the coexistence of transparency alongside formal academic peer review, subjecting their submission to an open review made sense. The peer review process itself tested the propositions about the democratization of scholarship they put forth in their submission. Their article appears in a new section of the AHR, “Writing History in a Digital Age,” overseen by consulting editor Lara Putnam (https://ahropenreview.com/). The maturation of digital history has propelled historians’ embrace of open educational resources. But, this article argues, open access licensing is not enough. Digital history’s earliest practitioners promised not just more accessible digital materials, but a broader democratization of history itself. This article therefore moves beyond questions of technological innovation and digital access in the rise of digital history to engage more fundamental and intractable questions about inequality, community, and participatory historical inquiry. 

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5. Critical Literature Review on the Diversity and Inclusion of Women and Ethnic Minorities in Construction and Civil Engineering Industry and Education

   NikkhahManesh, S.; Choi, J.; Shrestha, P. (March 2020, Construction Research congress 2020)

   Research about diversity in Construction and Civil Engineering (CCE) has been conducted from both the academic and industrial points of view. Researchers have suggested several strategies to further attract women and ethnic minorities (WEMs) to CCE at both academic and industry levels, mainly due to the skilled labor shortage, as well as to preserve the future success of the U.S. economy. Accordingly, this literature review aims to present the current levels of diversity and inclusion of minorities in CCE at academic and industry levels, while it identifies effective strategies for increasing diversity, recognizes knowledge gaps, and suggests recommendations for future research. The review is conducted by searching relevant papers from leading construction management and engineering education peer-reviewed publications. The findings indicate that although the low participation of minorities in CCE industries and education has been studied a few times from a gender point of view, it has not received adequate attention from the ethnicity perspective, especially at the academic level. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by bringing together information related to the underrepresentation of WEMs in CCE academia and workforce environments and identifying the potential reasons for this low participation. 

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