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1. Translating interdisciplinary knowledge for gender equity: Quantifying the impact of NSF ADVANCE

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13339  

   Gates, Alexander J.; Gold, Jessica R.; Nelson, Laura K.; Zippel, Kathrin (February 2024, Social Science Quarterly)

   Abstract BackgroundInterdisciplinarity is often hailed as a necessity for tackling real‐world challenges. We examine the prevalence and impact of interdisciplinarity in the NSF ADVANCE program, which addresses gender equity in STEM. MethodsThrough a quantitative analysis of authorship, references, and citations in ADVANCE publications, we compare the interdisciplinarity of knowledge produced within the program to traditional disciplinary knowledge. We use Simpon's Diversity Index to test for differences across disciplines, and we use negative binomial regression to capture the potential influences of interdisciplinarity on the long‐term impact of ADVANCE publications. ResultsADVANCE publications exhibit higher levels of interdisciplinarity across three dimensions of knowledge integration, and cross‐disciplinary ties within ADVANCE successfully integrate social science knowledge into diverse disciplines. Additionally, the interdisciplinarity of publication references positively influences the impact of ADVANCE work, while the interdisciplinarity of authorship teams does not. ConclusionsThese findings emphasize the significance of interdisciplinarity in problem‐oriented knowledge production, indicating that specific forms of interdisciplinarity can lead to broader impact. By shedding light on the interplay between interdisciplinary approaches, disciplinary structures, and academic recognition, this article contributes to programmatic design to generate impactful problem‐solving knowledge that also adds to the academic community. 

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2. Interpersonal Interactions that Foster Inclusion: Building Supports for Diversity in Engineering Teams

   Rodríguez-Simmonds, Héctor E.; Jackson, Benjamin P.; Pearson, Nelson S.; Langus, Tara C.; Major, Justin C.; Kirn, Adam; Godwin, Allison (January 2018, ASEE annual conference & exposition)

   Teaming is a core part of engineering education, especially in the first and last years of engineering when project work is a prevalent focus. The literature on the effects of working in diverse teams is mixed. Negative findings include decreased affect, increased frustration, and sustained conflict in teams. Positive findings include increased productivity, production of high quality products, and divergent-thinking and idea generation. Given these mixed findings, it becomes important to not only understand the practical outputs of working in diverse teams, but also how the experience of working in diverse teams influences whether students see themselves as engineers and whether or not they feel they belong in engineering. Our project, Building Supports for Diversity through Engineering Teams, investigates how students’ attitudes towards diversity influence how students experience work in diverse teams through addressing two main research questions: 1) What changes occur in students’ diversity sensitivity, multicultural effectiveness, and engineering practices as a result of working in diverse teams? 2) How do students’ perceptions of diversity, affect, and engineering practices change because of working on diverse teams? Using a multi-method approach, we deployed survey instruments to determine changes in student’s attitudes about teaming, diversity sensitivity, and openness attitudes. We also observed students working in teams and interviewed these students about their perceptions of diversity and experiences in their teams. Preliminary results of the quantitative phase show that variance in students’ attitudes about diversity significantly increase over the semester, further reflecting the mixed results that have been seen previously in the literature. Additionally, Social Network Analysis was used to characterize the social structure practices of a multi-section, large-enrollment first-year engineering course. This reveals the underlying social structure of the environment, its inclusiveness, and how diverse students work with others on engineering. Initial results indicate that students are included in social networks regardless of gender and race. Preliminary results of the qualitative phase, using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, have yielded relationships between student’s definitions, valuation, and enactment of diversity in engineering spaces. Individual student’s incoming attitudes of diversity and previous experiences interact with practical needs in first-year engineering classrooms to create different microclimates within each team. These microclimates depict tensions between what instructors emphasize about diversity, stereotypes of engineering as focused on technical instead of social skills, and pragmatic forces of “getting the job done.” This knowledge can help explain some of the complexity behind the conflicting literature on diversity in teams. Ultimately, this research can help us understand how to build inclusive and diverse environments that guide students to learn how to understand their own complex relationship, understanding, and enactment of diversity in engineering. By understanding how students make sense of diversity in engineering spaces, educators and researchers can figure out how to introduce these concepts in relevant ways so that students can inclusively meet the grand challenges in engineering. This curriculum integration, in turn, can improve team interactions and the climate of engineering for underrepresented groups. 

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3. Team Diversity and Contribution Equity in Engineering Design Education: Exploring Collaborative Dynamics

   Weaver, Maddie; She, Jinjuan; Bautista, Nazan; Li, Yue (August 2025, ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference)

   Collaboration is highly emphasized in engineering design education. While it offers various advantages in fostering learning and professional development, it is imperative to acknowledge the adverse factors that can disrupt collaborative efforts. By far, one of the most frequently cited challenges in student teamwork is perceived contribution inequity, which often leads to frustration during collaboration and strains peer relationships. Much work has been done to investigate effective team collaboration. Still, few studies have empirically delved into perceived contribution fairness or contribution equity from the lens of team diversity in engineering design. This study aims to investigate the complex relationship between team diversity (in terms of differences in gender composition and self-perceptions about one’s ability and interests) and contribution equity in student teams. Data were collected from 26 teams in a sophomore-level engineering design course across two semesters. Findings suggest that gender-diverse teams demonstrated a higher tendency for contribution fairness, whereas teams with greater homogeneity in design interests and teamwork preferences were more likely to contribute fairly. These results highlight the importance of a strategic approach to team formation, considering diversity dimensions to promote equitable collaboration in engineering design education. 

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4. The impact of gender on individual perceptions and team psychological safety in engineering design teams

   https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2022-89910  

   Cole, C.; Jablokow, K.; Simkins, S.; Miller, S. (August 2022, International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference)

   Improving team interactions in engineering to model gender inclusivity has been at the forefront of many initiatives in both academia and industry. However, there has been limited evidence on the impact of gender-diverse teams on psychological safety. This is important because psychological safety has been shown to be a key facet for the development of innovative ideas, and has also been shown to be a cornerstone of effective teamwork. But how does the gender diversity of a team impact the development of psychological safety? The current study was developed to explore just this through an empirical study with 38 engineering design student teams over the course of an 8-week design project. These teams were designed to be half heterogeneous (either half-male and half-female, or majority male) or other half homogeneous (all male). We captured psychological safety at five time points between the homogenous and heterogenous teams and also explored individual dichotomous (peer-review) ratings of psychological safety at the end of the project. Results indicated that there was no difference in psychological safety between gender homogenous and heterogenous teams. However, females perceived themselves as more psychologically safe with other female team members compared to their ratings of male team members. Females also perceived themselves to be less psychologically safe with male team members compared to male ratings of female team members, indicating a discrepancy in perceptions between genders. These results point to the need to further explore the role of minoritized groups in psychological safety research and to explore how this effect presents itself (or is covered up) at the team level. 

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5. A Diversity Index to assess college engineering team performance

   Rodriguez, Joaquin; Dukes, April; Keith, John A. (January 2022, 2022 ASEE - North Central Section Conference)

   A Diversity Index (DI) was developed to quantify eight minority categories (“Women”, “Non Male/Female”, “Afro-American”, “Hispanic”, “Asian/other ethnicity” “LGBQT”, “Disabilities”, and “First Generation”) in contrast to the standard “White American male”. This index is compared with a Minority Index (MI) based only on the ratio of “Non White American male” to the total of group members, which exhibits poor representation for diversity when teams are heavily conformed by minority representatives. In addition, the Diversity Index includes a tuning parameter to adjust for the impact of multiple diversities on the same individual. The Diversity Index has been calculated for four junior courses on Reactive Process Engineering and four senior capstone courses on Process Control and Process Design during the last three years (2019-21). Each course included at least two semester-long projects for 4-6 member teams. The Diversity Index was used to assess the performance of 69 self-selected teams, performing 37 technical projects and 101 outreach projects total. Assessments included relations with grades, peer-grading, team experience, and scope of activities. The analysis provides a quantitative approach to the impact of diversity on team performance. Reliability on some data is still difficult to validate. This study has relied mainly on the instructor interactions with students. In order to protect the students’ personal information, the proposed Diversity Index outputs a quantitative value without exposing the diversity source, and thus promoting more honest, secure and respectful participation. A new step is in progress to offer a “diversity rewarded” option to motivate students to select team members providing for larger inclusion and diversity. 

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