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Abstract BackgroundParticipating in undergraduate research experiences (UREs) supports the development of engineering students' technical and professional skills. However, little is known about the perceptions of research or researchers that students develop through these experiences. Understanding these perceptions will provide insight into how students come to understand knowledge evaluation and creation, while allowing research advisors to better support student development. PurposeIn this paper, we explore how undergraduate engineering students perceive what it means to do research and be a researcher, using identity and epistemic cognition as sensitizing concepts. Our goal is to explore students' views of UREs to make the benefits of these experiences more accessible. Design/MethodWe created and adapted open‐ended survey items from previously published studies. We collected responses from mechanical and biomedical engineering undergraduates at five institutions (n= 154) and used an inductive approach to analyze responses. ResultsWe developed four salient themes from our analysis: (a) research results in discovery, (b) research includes dissemination such as authorship, (c) research findings are integrated into society, and (d) researchers demonstrate self‐regulation. ConclusionsThe four themes highlight factors that students perceive as part of a researcher identity and aspects of epistemic cognition in the context of UREs. These results suggest structuring UREs to provide opportunities for discovery, dissemination, societal impact, and self‐regulation will help support students in their development as researchers.
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(Un)equal demands and opportunities: Conceptualizing student navigation in undergraduate engineering programs
Abstract BackgroundIt is well known that earning a bachelor's degree in engineering is a demanding task, but ripe with opportunity. For students from historically excluded demographic groups, this task is exacerbated by oppressive circumstances. Although considerable research has documented how student outcomes differ across demographic groups, much less is known about the dynamic processes that marginalize some students. PurposeThe purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual model of student navigation in the context of undergraduate engineering programs. Our goal is to illustrate how localized, structural features unjustly shape the demands and opportunities encountered by students and influence how they respond. Scope/MethodWe developed our model using an iterative, four‐stage process. This process included (1)clarifyingthe purpose of the development process; (2)identifyingconcepts and insights from prior research; (3)synthesizingthe concepts and insights into propositions; and (4)visualizingthe suspected relationships between the salient constructs in the propositions. ResultsOur model focuses on the dynamic interactions between the characteristics of students, the embedded contexts in which they are situated, and the support infrastructure of their learning environment. ConclusionThe resulting model illustrates the influence of structural features on how students a) respond to demands and opportunities and b) navigate obstacles present in the learning environment. Although its focus is on marginalized students in undergraduate engineering programs, the model may be applicable to STEM higher education more broadly.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1943811
- PAR ID:
- 10442089
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Engineering Education
- Volume:
- 112
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1069-4730
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 890-917
- Size(s):
- p. 890-917
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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