Engineering Education Commons^™

The Influence Of Connecting Funds Of Knowledge To Beliefs About Performance, Classroom Belonging, Dina Verdín, Jessica Smith, Juan Lucena

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

First-generation college students in engineering accumulate bodies of knowledge through their working-class families. In our ethnographic data of first-generation college students, we identified tinkering knowledge from home and from work, perspective taking, mediational ability, and connecting experiences as knowledge sources brought to engineering. The purpose of this paper was to understand how first-generation college students’ accumulated bodies of knowledge (i.e., funds of knowledge) support their beliefs about performing well in engineering coursework, feeling a sense of belonging in the classroom, and certainty of graduating. Data for this study came from a survey administered in the Fall of 2018 from ten …

Debugging: The Key To Unlocking The Mind Of A Novice Programmer?, Anthony A. Lowe

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Novice programmers must master two skills to show lasting success: writing code and, when that fails, the ability to debug it. Instructors spend much time teaching the details of writing code but debugging gets significantly less attention. But what if teaching debugging could implicitly teach other aspects of coding better than teaching a language teaching debugging? This paper explores a new theoretical framework, the Theory of Applied Mind for Programming (TAMP), which merges dual process theory with Jerome Bruner’s theory of representations to model the mind of a programmer. TAMP looks to provide greater explanatory power in why novices struggle …

The Relationship Between Engineering Identity And Belongingness On Certainty Of Majoring In Engineering For First-Generation College Students, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This paper seeks to understand the factors that support first-generation college students’ certainty of majoring in engineering. Data used in this study came from thirty-two four-year ABET- accredited institutions across the United States which has a total sample of 790 first-generation college students. We used the frameworks of engineering role identity and sense of belonging to understand the factors that influence first-generation college students’ certainty of majoring in engineering. Certainty is referred to as the degree of confidence or decisiveness an individual has with regard to their chosen occupational plans. First, we examine how first-generation college students’ engineering role identity …

Board 51: An Initial Step Towards Measuring First-Generation College Students’ Personal Agency: A Scale Validation, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This research paper describes the development of a scale to measure how first-generation college students use engineering as a tool for making a difference in their community and world or personal agency. Personal agency is a capability that every individual holds; it is described by Bandura as an individual’s beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over events that affect their lives through purposeful and reflective actions. Agentic actions allow students to explore, maneuver and impact their environment for the achievement of a goal or set of goals. This study identifies how cognitive processes of forethought, intention, reactivity, and reflection …

Eager: Broadening Participation Of First-Generation College Student, Jessica M. Smith, Dina Verdín, Juan C. Lucena

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

No abstract provided.

Recognizing Engineering Students’ Funds Of Knowledge: Creating And Validating Survey Measures, Dina Verdín, Jessica M. Smith, Juan Lucena

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This research base paper examines students who are the first in their families to attend college. Our research seeks to understand the role students’ funds of knowledge makes in first-generation college students’ undergraduate experience. Funds of knowledge are the set of formal/informal knowledge and skills that students learn through family, friends, and communities outside of academic institutions. This paper reports funds of knowledge themes relevant to first-generation college students in engineering and the process of gathering validity evidence to support the funds of knowledge themes.

Using ethnographic and interview data, six themes emerged: connecting experiences, community networks, tinkering knowledge, perspective …

Misconceptions And The Notional Machine In Very Young Programming Learners, Tony A. Lowe

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This study looks at very young learners make mistakes and possibly form misunderstanding when learning to programming. A variety of national efforts are extending programming education to younger learners who are materials many adults struggle to learn. For decades literature has captured common misconceptions in using programming constructs (e.g. conditionals, loops, and recursion) in older learners, but early learners may wait years before they tackle these complex concepts. Many model misconceptions as a missing or inaccurate notional machine. The notional machine is an individual’s mental model, representing how a programming language executes on a real device. The notional machine aligns …

First-Generation College Students Identifying As Future Engineers, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This paper seeks to understand factors that influence how first-generation college students identify as engineers now and in the future. Data used in this study came from four U.S. institutions obtaining a total first-generation college student sample of 596 participants. We used future possible selves as a lens to understand how first-generation college students’ current views of themselves as engineers shape their future identities as engineers. Two separate analyses were conducted. First, a multiple regression analysis was used to determine which career future satisfaction variables predicted first-generation college students current and future identification as engineers. Second, a hierarchical regression analysis …

Understanding How Engineering Identity And Belongingness Predict Grit For First-Generation College Students, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Adam Kirn, Lisa Benson, Geoff Potvin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Increasing the participation of underrepresented students, including first-generation college students, in engineering plays a central role in sustaining the U.S. research and innovation capacity. Diversity continues to be recognized as an asset in engineering. However, we also know that the culture of engineering has an implicit assumption about who can be and who is recognized as an engineer. There is also a complex relationship between participation in a community of practice and identity. Diverse students must not only author an identity as an engineer but also must grapple with how that identity, historically constructed as white and masculine, becomes a …

Engineering Women’S Attitudes And Goals In Choosing Disciplines With Above And Below Average Female Representation, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Adam Kirn, Lisa Benson, Geoff Potvin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Women’s participation in engineering remains well below that of men at all degree levels. However, despite the low enrollment of women in engineering as a whole, some engineering disciplines report above average female enrollment. We used multiple linear regression to examine the attitudes, beliefs, career outcome expectations, and career choice of first-year female engineering students enrolled in below average, average, and above average female representation disciplines in engineering. Our work begins to understand how the socially constructed masculine cultural norms of engineering may attract women differentially into specific engineering disciplines. This study used future time perspective, psychological personality traits, grit, …

Understanding How First-Generation College Students’ Out-Of-School Experiences, Physics And Stem Identities Relate To Engineering Possible Selves And Certainty Of Career Path, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Gerhard Sonnert, Phillip M. Sadler

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This full, research category study examines how out-of-school experiences in Grades 9-12 predict first-generation college students’ engineering possible selves and certainty of career path. The data for this study came from a large-scale survey on outreach programs which was distributed in first- semester English courses to capture an array of responses from students interested in STEM and non-STEM careers. We used structural equation modeling to examine a set of hypotheses: 1) out-of-school experiences would be mediated by interest and recognition in physics and STEM and no direct effect will be found for out-of-school experiences on physics and STEM identities, 2) …

An Operationalized Model For Defining Computational Thinking, Tony A. Lowe, Sean B. Brophy

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The Computational Thinking (CT) conceptual framework is entering its second decade of research yet still lacks a cohesive definition by which the field can coalesce. The lack of clear definition makes assessment tool challenging to formulate, pedagogical efforts difficult to compare, and research difficult to synthesize. This paper looks to operationalize differing definitions of CT enhancing the ability to teach then assess the presence of CT. Expanding upon CT definitions, industry practices and processes, and educational theory, we link existing concepts and propose a new element to model an active definition of CT as a theoretical framework to guide future …

Understanding The Impact Of Strategic Team Formation In Early Programming Education, Tony A. Lowe, Sean B. Brophy

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This evidence based research looks at the impact of a team-based instruction on learning to program in a first year engineering course designed under the Bauhaus studio model. Each team is formulated with a “more knowledgeable other” [1], or for this paper the “ringer” based on selfreported prior learning. The ringer is intended to support the team through early programming challenges. In addition to the professor and teaching assistants, having a peer mentor can yield higher satisfaction and confidence in learners [2]. Our analysis evaluates learning outcomes as student progress through the term, comparing performance based on the performance and …

A Systematized Literature Review: Defining And Developing Engineering Competencies, Hossein Ebrahiminejad

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Essential competencies have been identified for engineers working in industry. These competencies include (but are not limited to) critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication. Engineering education research has shown, however, that engineering undergraduate students often fail to develop these crucial competencies. The industry has also noted that recent graduates exhibit competency gaps. To address these gaps, it is important for higher education institutions to seek to understand the competencies identified as necessary in the industry. Moreover, one could argue educational institutions should develop and assess students’ competencies based on these professional demands. This research systematically reviews literature related to this …

Board # 113 : Eegrc Poster: Characterizing Trade-Off Decisions In Student Designers, Molly Goldstein

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Although design and decision-making are intertwined for practicing engineers, students from elementary school through college and graduate schools are not taught to think through uncertain situations (Howard, 2007) in which information is limited or outcomes are not guaranteed. Trade-offs are a complex element of decision, as the decision-making weighs possible outcomes against their respective costs (Otto &Antonsson, 1991). Although much is understood about how professional designers’ behaviors as compared to novice designers and students (Atmen et al., 2007; Crismond & Adams, 2012; Cross, 2003), there is little research regarding making trade-off decisions from middle school and high school to college. …

Social And Latent Identities That Contribute To Diverse Students’ Belongingness In Engineering, Brianna Benedict, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Thaddeus Milton

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This work-in-progress (WIP) research paper investigates contributing factors for how students describe what it means to be an engineer and what particular characteristics enable students to belong in engineering. We answer the research question, "What are the key contributing factors that influence how diverse students feel that they belong in engineering?" We used a semi-structured protocol to interview 12 diverse engineering students during Fall 2016 about their pathways into engineering, identities, and belongingness in engineering. The participants were selected from a pool of students who completed an attitudinal survey during Fall 2015 as a part of a larger study. They …

Quantifying And Assessing Trends On The National Science Foundation’S Broader Impact Criterion, Dina Verdín

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (S.3084) reapproved the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) merit review criteria i.e. Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts, called for an update of the policy guidelines for NSF staff members and merit review process participants, and emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability. Evaluating Project Summaries based on Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts has been the standard of maintaining excellence and accountability since 1997. Intellectual merit consists of proposing activities that advance knowledge, while Broader Impacts statements, “describe the potential of the proposed activity to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal …

Testing For Measurement Invariance In Engineering Identity Constructs For First-Generation College Students, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This work-in-progress research study examines the response patterns of first-generation college students (FGCS) to the engineering identity measures compared to non-first- generation college students (non-FGCS). This work answers the following research question, “Do FGC and non-FGC engineering students interpret the engineering identity measurement items in a conceptually different manner?” We explore if FGCS respond to engineering identity items similarly to non-FGCS and the fairness of using these instruments for FGCS to make claims about this group. The data for this work are from a survey instrument completed by 2,916 first-year engineering college students from four U.S. institutions. We hypothesize that …

Physics Identity Promotes Alternative Careers For First-Generation College Students In Engineering, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This research study explored first-generation college students’ in engineering post-graduation career intentions based on responses to a quantitative survey. In this paper, we answer the following research questions: 1) How do first-generation college students’ measures of physics, mathematics, and engineering identity constructs differ compared to non-first-generation college students? and 2) How does a physics identity influence first-generation college student’s choice of an engineering major and career aspirations? The data came from the Intersectionality of Non- normative Identities in the Cultures of Engineering (InIce) survey. InIce was completed by 2,916 first-year engineering college students enrolled in four institutions across the United …

Systematic Review Of The Funds Of Knowledge Framework In Stem Education, Dina Verdin, Allison Godwin, Brenda Capobianco

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This theory paper examines literature on the construct, funds of knowledge, as it has been applied in STEM education, with an emphasis on engineering and explores if and how funds of knowledge has been used to understand first-generation college students in engineering. Using a systematic literature review, we describe how the framework of funds of knowledge has been adopted in the engineering education literature. Funds of knowledge is a conceptual framework that has been concerned with social justice issues around validity and impacts of deficit theorizing (a theory that points to the underachievement of minority groups on perceived deficiencies related …

A Qualitative Study Investigating How First-Year Engineering Students' Value Beliefs Influence Their Choice Of Selecting An Engineering Major, Juan D. Ortega-Alvarez, S. Zahra Atiq, Hector E Rodriguez-Simmonds

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

First year engineering (FYE) programs are gaining popularity across universities in the United States. In addition to providing general engineering knowledge and skills to undergraduate freshmen, FYE programs also provide students with diverse opportunities to help them select the engineering discipline they will further pursue. The 2014 cohort of the FYE program of a large Midwestern university was the sample used for a two-phased study. The aim of the study was to understand how students make informed decisions of which engineering major to pursue and to help FYE administration to improve the resources they provide students. The first phase of …

Voicing The Indescribable - Using Photo Elicitation As A Method To Uncover Belonging And Community, Nicole P Pitterson, Juan D. Ortega-Alvarez, Ruth Streveler, Robin Adams

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Eleven years ago two NSF-funded programs aimed at fostering the development of a Community of Practice (CoP) among engineering education researchers, the Rigorous Research in Engineering Education (RREE) and the Institute for Scholarship on Engineering Education (ISEE), were initiated. The RREE and ISSE programs involved approximately 200 (147 RREE and 48 ISEE) faculty members in workshops and other professional development learning experiences that helped them become aware of and learn how to navigate the nuances of conducting engineering education research (EER) that met the standards of any scholarly field.

While big-data analytics can be applied to show evidence of a …

More Comprehensive And Inclusive Approaches To Demographic Data Collection, Todd Fernandez, Allison Godwin, Jacqueline Doyle, Dina Verdin, Hank Boone, Adam Kirn, Lisa Benson, Geoff Potvin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

In this evidence-based practice paper, we discuss ways for researchers and educators to more sensitively, accurately, and effectively collect demographic information on surveys. Identifying variables that capture diversity more broadly is vital in understanding the variety of ways in which students participate in and experiencing engineering education. We frame this discussion through publically available statistics that suggest the potential error in common approaches employed for demographic collection. While basic questions about participants’ sex and ethnicity are standard items in assessment and data collection, these questions only develop a limited representation and potentially present an inaccurate accounting of students’ social identities …

Systematic Literature Review Of The Use Of Rich Media In Stem And Related Education, Tony A. Lowe

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The use of video in pedagogy is well established in the modern classroom with researched understanding of its benefits. Prior literature reviews provide a foundation for the impacts within a wide scope of environments and subjects. These reviews primarily have looked at students and faculty attitudes, learning outcomes, and the impact on attendance. The impact has been spread over general subject matter with little focus on the often challenging topics of STEM education. Many topics in STEM education are highly procedural, such as mathematical proofs or writing code or conducting experiments. Understanding the costs and benefits of using video to …

Identifying Sources Of Information That Students Use In Deciding Which Engineering Major To Pursue, Héctor E. Rodríguez-Simmonds, Juan D. Ortega-Alvarez, S. Zahra Atiq, Stephen R. Hoffmann

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This study explores the sources of information that first year engineering students use to decide which engineering major to pursue for their undergraduate studies. The purposes of this study are twofold: (1) to understand how students make an informed decision of which engineering major to pursue and (2) to help the First Year Engineering (FYE) program administration improve the informational resources they provide the students. This study was framed within the FYE population of a large Midwestern university and was commissioned by the FYE program.

FYE administration conducts regular student surveys for feedback and improvement purposes. We analyzed different survey …

Academic Outcomes Of Cooperative Education Participation, Nichole Ramirez, Joyce Main, Matthew Ohland

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Academic Outcomes of Cooperative Education ParticipationOutcomes and benefits of cooperative education (co-op) participation have been welldocumented; however, they have focused primarily on grade point averages (GPA) and careeroutcomes. Previous work on predictors of participation shows no significant differences bygender in the aggregate, but there are significant differences by ethnicity and major. Women inMechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering (especially Hispanic women) persist athigher rates than men, possibly indicating that gender becomes significant in academicoutcomes. One reason students may not participate in co-op is the perception of increased time tograduation; however, other benefits may outweigh that. This research furthers the literature byexamining …

Mathematics As A Gatekeeper To Engineering: Preliminary Findings From The Interview Data, Delean Tolbert, Monica Cardella

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Mathematics as a Gatekeeper to Engineering: Preliminary Findings from the Interview DataResearch suggests that students’ pre-college experience may support or hinder future success inengineering. The experiences that students have had with engineering may shape their perceptionof engineering curriculum at the college level. It may also cause cognitive and learningdissonance, when the ways that a student engaged with engineering activities at the pre-collegelevel do not align with the student’s experiences in the engineering classroom. At a largeMidwestern University with a unique first-year engineering program, first-year engineering andsenior mathematics, engineering, and design students were invited to participate in an openended design task. …

Special Session: Building Intentional Community Partnerships, Julia D. Thompson, Juan C. Lucena, Marybeth Lima, Brent Jesiek

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Recent growth in community engagement programs in engineering education clearly reveals the importance of understanding partnerships between the engagement programs and the community they work with. However, there has been minimal research and reflection on engineering education partnerships. In this special session, the participants will learn about theoretical frameworks that categorize different types of interactions within partnerships and practical implications on how to structure programs that make the community an integral part of the community engagement experience. The special session will be highly interactive, and will be grounded in the Transactional, Cooperative, and Communal (TCC) Framework that categorizes interactions within …

Development Of Entrepreneurial Attitudes Assessment Instrument For Freshman Students, Todd M. Fernandez, Genisson Sliva Coutinho, Michael D. Wilson, Stephen R. Hoffmann

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

An increasing population of university programs and quantity of curricular content focused on entrepreneurship poses both enormous opportunities for student growth, and numerous practical challenges. Prior work has largely focused on pre-post assessment of student learning, shifts in‘mindset’, activity effectiveness, mapping of student outcomes, and implications of student learning on career success. A baseline of freshman student attitudes towards entrepreneurship,outside of specifically focused entrepreneurial leaning, has significant potential to identify and inform programming in entrepreneurship, as well as general curriculums and pedagogy. An improved understanding of student’s constructive and cognitive influences in entrepreneurial education will serve to better inform the …

First In The Family: A Comparison Of First-Generation And Non-First-Generation Engineering College Students, Dina Verdin, Allison F. Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This study investigates first-generation and non-first-generation engineering undergraduates’ math/science identities, subject-related interests, and career plans. First-generation students are an understudied, but growing population. Understanding how these self-beliefs and background factors affect students’ engineering choice can help widen pathways into engineering which continues to be defined as “pale and male.” Additionally, identity has predictive value for practical outcomes like engineering choice in college. The data for this study comes from the nationally representative Sustainability and Gender in Engineering (SaGE) survey completed by 6,772 college students who enrolled in first-year English courses at 2- and 4-year colleges across the U.S. …