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"Many engineering students from marginalized populations have had negative experiences regarding their identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, etc.) as a result of the culture in engineering. These negative experiences may range from microaggressions regarding a person’s marginalized identity – “It’s impressive for a woman to be in engineering” – to outright discrimination, such as being called a demoralizing slur by a peer. Often associated with these experiences is a lack of support or intervention from faculty, advisors, or staff, as well as difficulty finding mentors that students can identify with. This special session aims to share authentic stories from diverse engineering students to facilitate a discussion of solutions amongst attendees." 

Thought must be given to how individuals from underrepresented groups (URGs) conceptualize their academic engineering identities. Black male students have been shown to face a great challenge in integrating their racial identification into their self-concept. This “balancing act” involves the navigation and negotiation between multiple social spaces. The establishment of a positive identity associated with engineering is critical to how underrepresented students establish their sense of agency and overall “fit” within the institutional and/or professional setting. Yet, because of low numbers in participant populations, many studies fail to disaggregate the experiences of individuals from URGs. Further, if makerspaces represent an avenue of hope for fostering a generation of makers and innovative thinkers prepared to address the needs and challenges of our society, it is quite plausible that without careful attention we could be building another exclusionary system through makerspaces, grounded in the acceptance of Caucasian, male experiences and perceptions as the status quo. As making could potentially impact academic progression, through early exposure and opportunities to develop confidence through building, design, iteration and community, it is critical that we understand how all students, especially those from underrepresented groups, come to affiliate with, become alienated from and/or negotiate the cultural norms within these maker communities. To achieve this, it is necessary to explore the complexities of underrepresented students’ identity development. This study investigated the experiences of Black male engineering students that have also engaged in university-affiliated makerspaces as makers. Seven Black male students from a range of institution types, including Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institutions (AANAPI), participated in narrative interviews to ascertain stories of their personal growth and identity development. Engaging in makerspaces was found to promote agency and engineering identity for Black male undergraduates; however, makerspaces located at PWIs were found to reflect the heteronormative culture of engineering in a way that challenged smooth navigation in and through these spaces for Black men. 

Makerspaces have the potential to revolutionize engineering education by providing a platform for students to nurture their tacit knowledge. This unique space allows for students to work with advanced prototyping equipment, develop specialized skills and create community. Although makerspaces could become an important dimension of engineering education, it is unclear whether these spaces are inclusive for all engineering students, especially those from underrepresented groups. Specifically, this study aims to understand the experiences of diverse female engineering students in makerspaces. For this study, we analyzed interview transcripts of ten women from multiple U.S. universities housing engineering academic makerspaces—those anchored to and supported by the engineering department/school specifically—and found common themes across their stories. These themes include the perception of gender bias, as well as an intimidating, hostile, and non-inclusive environment. Although the results of this study demonstrate gender bias and marginalization occur in makerspaces, female engineering students still find value in the makerspace through access to resources, opportunities to learn, increased confidence, and female makerspace staff. 

"Abstract—The need for increasing diversity in engineering has paved the road for a rich wealth of literature exploring the experiences of marginalized students in these spaces. Much of this literature utilizes qualitative methodology to understand the experiences of these students, as told through their own words. However, work of this nature can often be influenced by the implicit biases that the researcher carries, as well as the inherent misalignment of power present between researcher and participant. These misalignments may be exacerbated when the researcher is interviewing a marginalized participant, while not identifying as part of a marginalized identity themselves. Students within the LGBTQ+ community may reside at multiple marginalized identities, and as such, the issues surrounding interviewing marginalized identities can be compounded further. Even the most well-intentioned and experienced researcher may find themselves in an interview with a marginalized individual in which implicit biases and unspoken power structures alter the trajectory of the interview. This paper seeks to provide an auto- ethnographic reflection by the first author on the interview of a transgender research participant, while simultaneously providing an opportunity to identify ways in which her interview could have been methodologically improved. This will be accomplished by the first author’s analysis of the interview and meta-data. This analysis is valuable, as the first author identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ engineering community herself." 

This paper explores the ways that students experience university-affiliated makerspaces as captured in interviews and during observations. Our research questions are focused on understanding the ways that engineering students have experienced makerspaces in a variety of institutions and institution-types, and their suggested ways of improving these makerspaces. In particular, we are interested in the ways that students from underrepresented groups have experienced these makerspaces and their suggestions for improvements to the makerspaces. Data collected for this study was gathered using semi-structured interviews with a diverse set of students from seven different institutions. An a priori codebook was developed to analyze transcribed interview data. The codes that are the focus in this study are the following: “experiences that shape identity,” “pathways to engineering,” and “recommendations for makerspaces” and the emergent patterns are around equipment-focused, logistical, curricular, and social recommendations for makerspaces. It was generally found that women and ethnic minorities tended to recommend social change in makerspaces, while men of all ethnicities tended to recommend equipment and technology changes. The implications of this study are to establish student makerspace recommendations in order to create more inclusive and welcoming environments in makerspaces and other engineering spaces. 

This Work in Progress Paper presents an NSF-funded study focused on understanding the role that makerspaces play in the identity development of engineering students from underrepresented groups (URGs). In recent years, makerspaces have become a popular addition to universities, with an implicit assumption that makerspaces will increase students choosing to major in STEM disciplines. The research question that guided this work is the following: How well do I-poems and thematic analysis help us uncover complex and nuanced understandings of the identities of engineering students and makers who are from URGs? For this paper, we share a passage from an interview and conduct an analysis of that passage using the I-poem analytic strategy and thematic analysis. In particular, we explore the possibilities inherent in using these analytic approaches to understand identity development. We discuss how the I-poem was effective in developing a more complex and nuanced understanding of the identity development of engineering student makers. Further implications of this novel approach are that I-poems show promise to resonate better with the reader and position the researcher and reader as ‘standing alongside’ the participant, instead of a more traditional approach of ‘gazing at’ our participants. 

In this NSF-funded Research in the Formation of Engineering (RFE) project, we are exploring the unique experiences of students from underrepresented groups (URGs) at community colleges who have the opportunity to transfer to engineering programs. We are specifically investigating how their experiences in community college influence their plans for future education and careers. While the diversity of 4-year universities has remained stagnant, the diversity of community college student populations is actually increasing. Therefore, community colleges represent a potential source of talent for future engineers from diverse backgrounds. We are currently in the first year of data collection where we have piloted the study at one of the data collection sites. Five students from traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering have been interviewed. We use a narrative inquiry methodology to understand these students’ experiences at community colleges. This paper shares 3 lessons learned during this pilot phase of research, which include allowing sufficient time for institutional access, the criticality of a willingness to iterate on participant recruitment procedures, and the need for constant consideration of the broader political climate when recruiting participants. 

In this NSF-funded Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) project, we are broadly interested in understanding how makerspace engagement influences the identity formation of engineering students, with a focus on students from underrepresented groups (URGs). Makerspaces are becoming very popular and have started to become much more common in K-12 schools, libraries, community centers, and universities. Makerspaces differ from traditional shops or labs in that Makersor those engaged in building or making in the spaceare typically given free rein to build products related to their interests in addition to pedagogical deliverables. It is implicitly assumed that makerspaces promote pathways to STEM majors, and, ultimately, STEM careers. In this project, we are therefore interested in developing an understanding of how engaging in university-affiliated makerspaces impacts the engineering identity development of students. We are currently midway in our data collection and analysis phases of the project, also known as the ‘making the data’ phase of our project [1]. In this paper, we will describe our preliminary work and focus the discussion on lessons learned. We will conclude the paper with brief descriptions of three journal articles in preparation or press, as we wrap up the ‘making the data’ phase of our project.