Search for: All records

In engineering education in the United States (as elsewhere), it is widely recognized that the percentage of women and minorities who acquire engineering degrees is significantly lower than their representation in the general population. Many studies have investigated the cause of this lack of representation in engineering and other STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degree programs. It is widely recognized that the percentage of women and minorities who acquire engineering degrees is significantly lower than their representation in the general population. Adolescents' occupational identity development depends in large part on their internalized mental models of what a given type of professional “looks like,” their subjective sense of their own capacity to be successful at certain tasks and with certain types of knowledge, and the degree to which they feel as if they belong to a community of practice. This paper considers how the concept of “hidden curriculum” can be applied to how underrepresented students experience engineering education uniquely. The concept of the “hidden curriculum” is used to describe the set of structured learning experiences or conditions that occur beyond the design intent of the learning journey established by the explicit curriculum. The hidden curriculum is typically unintentional, unplanned, and less “controllable” than the explicit curriculum. Despite the difficulty in assessing hidden learning expectations, hidden curriculum consistently places expectations on students beyond the explicit curriculum. It is critical to understand not just what variables prevent underrepresented students from persisting, but also what factors encourage their persistence, as such persistence is critical to ensuring a more diverse engineering workforce. This work focuses on how minoritized groups specifically develop professional identity through the hidden curriculum. We consider their perception of belonging in engineering, their experiences of exclusion in various forms, and the mechanisms by which exclusion transpires. By better understanding the cultural dimensions of exclusion, we hope to advance efforts toward inclusion. 

This paper considers the cultivation of ethical identities among future engineers and computer scientists, particularly those whose professional practice will extensively intersect with emerging technologies enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). Many current engineering and computer science students will go on to participate in the development and refinement of AI, machine learning, robotics, and related technologies, thereby helping to shape the future directions of these applications. Researchers have demonstrated the actual and potential deleterious effects that these technologies can have on individuals and communities. Together, these trends present a timely opportunity to steer AI and robotic design in directions that confront, or at least do not extend, patterns of discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion. Examining ethics interventions in AI and robotics education may yield insights into challenges and opportunities for cultivating ethical engineers. We present our ongoing research on engineering ethics education, examine how our work is situated with respect to current AI and robotics applications, and discuss a curricular module in “Robot Ethics” that was designed to achieve interdisciplinary learning objectives. Finally, we offer recommendations for more effective engineering ethics education, with a specific focus on emerging technologies.