Award Abstract # 1544233
PFE: Research Initiation - Using Digital Badging and Design Challenge Modules to Develop Professional Identity

NSF Org: EEC
Division of Engineering Education and Centers
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Initial Amendment Date: August 31, 2015
Latest Amendment Date: August 31, 2015
Award Number: 1544233
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Julie Martin
EEC
 Division of Engineering Education and Centers
ENG
 Directorate for Engineering
Start Date: November 1, 2015
End Date: October 31, 2017 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $149,998.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $149,998.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2015 = $149,998.00
History of Investigator:
  • Abhaya Datye (Principal Investigator)
    datye@unm.edu
  • Vanessa Svihla (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Jamie Young (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of New Mexico
1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE
NM  US  87131-0001
(505)277-4186
Sponsor Congressional District: 01
Primary Place of Performance: University of New Mexico
Albuquerque
NM  US  87131-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): F6XLTRUQJEN4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): EngEd-Engineering Education
Primary Program Source: 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 110E, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 134000
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.041

ABSTRACT

Students entering engineering schools generally have a very limited understanding of what engineers do in their careers. Students often do not know the interesting work that lies ahead, hence they may drop out of engineering when they encounter the difficult math and science courses in their early years in college. This dropout rate disproportionately impacts those underrepresented in engineering because they may not have family members who are engineers and who can help them gain an appreciation for engineering careers. To address this problem, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) at the University of New Mexico (UNM), which serves a very diverse population, is introducing 'Design Challenge Modules' in two core classes. These design challenges will originate from research projects in the department, from local industry, from national laboratories, and from the community. Community engagement is critically important for attracting diverse, native, and rural populations into engineering. The department is also piloting the use of digital badges - much like merit badges - which allow students to publically display their credentials and connect what they are learning to the professional work of engineers. The badges also enable faculty to monitor and assess student outcomes and to engage in research on their teaching. The project is directed by a team that includes the chair of the CBE department, one lecturer in CBE, and a faculty member from the Learning Sciences.

This project addresses the significant decrease in the fraction of minority and non-traditional students at UNM in the graduating class, compared to the students in the freshman engineering class. The team is testing the hypothesis that compelling design challenges introduced early in the curriculum will help increase the fraction of students matriculating into the chemical engineering department. Research and societal challenges will be introduced into the classroom because their value in terms of enhancing the motivation and learning of students is unquestionable. It is well known that there is significant attrition in engineering during the first two years, especially at urban institutions that serve a diverse population. Design challenges in the freshmen and sophomore classes could help enhance the motivation and learning of the diverse student population and contribute to student success. Local industry will participate in presenting the design challenges, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking. Engagement in the communities will further support improved recruitment and retention. The project will also test the use of a digital badging system to monitor student accomplishments. Digital badges support students to see the program as coherent and to connect what they are learning in their classes to the work of professional engineers, supporting them to develop professional identities as engineers. The project is guided by a research framework that involves a mixed methods design that first establishes a baseline for students' design process skills, understanding of design, and intent to persist. Case studies of students' experiences provide deeper understanding of how particular aspects of the program foster professional engineering identity formation and intent to persist, particularly for students traditionally underrepresented in engineering. Regression modeling is used to predict students' intent to persist and the degree to which their solutions to design challenges are viewed as innovative. The project contributes new understanding of how to engage faculty to support diverse students to be successful in engineering. It will lead to sustained change in the teaching of core chemical engineering classes including the ability to prepare diverse engineers ready to solve the challenges of tomorrow. The design challenge modules and digital badges are transferrable to many intermediate to large institutions.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Svihla, V., Gomez, J., Bowers, S., James, J., Prescott, P., & Datye, A "Asset-based design projects in a freshman level course" Proceedings of the ASEE 124th Annual Conference and Exhibition , 2017 https://peer.asee.org/27645
Svihla, V., Gomez, J., Datye, A., Law, V., & Bowers, S. "Mapping Assets of Diverse Groups for Chemical Engineering Design Problem Framing Ability" Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education 123rd Annual Conference and Exhibition , 2016 15562

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Engineering programs across the US are engaged in efforts to increase the diversity of their student populations. Despite these efforts, students from groups underrepresented in engineering are still less likely to persist, relative to their peers. We see introductory-level engineering courses as having the potential to play a critical role at universities like ours that serve a large percentage of students from groups that are underrepresented in engineering. As a Hispanic-serving research university, our demographics are similar to the future US demographics, making our research future-ready.

A common approach many programs have taken to support student retention is to provide design experiences earlier in the program. However, faculty sometimes doubt that first-year students have the capacity to design. Furthermore, the students themselves may not realize they already possess skills and beliefs that are valuable for engineering design.

We sought to uncover the hidden potential and discover the engineering attributes, skills, and beliefs that our diverse students hold. We first collected baseline data in our first-year, 1-credit introductory chemical engineering course. Students completed surveys about their engineering design beliefs, self-confidence, and experiences, as well as the Design Skills Test, which measures how they begin a design problem.

We found that women were significantly likelier than men to hold accurate views of design process. Our first generation college attendees were significantly more likely to agree, accurately, that design is a learning activity. Surprisingly, students who rated their pre-college knowledge of and confidence in engineering lower actually show better initial design skills. Our findings led us to see strengths our students bring and helped our faculty build on these strengths, rather than focusing on deficits.

With this in mind, we redesigned our introductory chemical engineering course to include a sequence of design challenges. Students completed the same assessments as in the baseline year, allowing us to investigate the impact of our redesign. We analyzed student responses to understand how they perceived the original and redesigned course.

Students in the redesigned course reported significantly more positive and also more specific reflections about the design challenges in the redesigned course. They more commonly described active roles, positioning themselves as doing engineering and expressing excitement about becoming engineers. The design challenges provided an opportunity for students to begin developing professional engineering identities without sacrificing their existing identities.

 


Last Modified: 11/14/2017
Modified by: Vanessa Svihla

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