Assessing the Spectrum of International Undergraduate Engineering Educational Experiences
- Conference
- Location
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New Orleans, Louisiana
- Publication Date
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June 26, 2016
- Start Date
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June 26, 2016
- End Date
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June 29, 2016
- ISBN
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978-0-692-68565-5
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
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13
- DOI
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10.18260/p.26322
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/26322
- Download Count
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539
Paper Authors
Mary E. Besterfield-Sacre University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Mary Besterfield-Sacre is an Associate Professor and Fulton C. Noss Faculty Fellow in Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the Director for the Engineering Education Research Center (EERC) in the Swanson School of Engineering, and serves as a Center Associate for the Learning Research and Development Center. Her principal research is in engineering education assessment, which has been funded by the NSF, Department of Ed, Sloan, EIF, and NCIIA. Dr. Sacre’s current research focuses on three distinct but highly correlated areas – innovative design and entrepreneurship, engineering modeling, and global competency in engineering. She is currently associate editor for the AEE Journal.
Larry J. Shuman
University of Pittsburgh
orcid.org/0000-0001-6884-7070
Larry J. Shuman is Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Distinguished Service Professor of industrial engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on improving the
engineering education experience with an emphasis on assessment of design and problem solving, and the study of the ethical behavior of engineers and engineering managers. A former Senior Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education, Shuman is the Founding Editor of Advances in Engineering Education. He has published widely in engineering education literature, and is co-author of Engineering Ethics: Balancing Cost, Schedule and Risk - Lessons Learned from the Space Shuttle (Cambridge University Press). He received his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University in Operations Research and a B.S.E.E. from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Shuman is an ASEE Fellow.
Cheryl Matherly
Dr. Cheryl Matherly is Vice Provost for Global Education at The University of Tulsa, where she has responsibility for the strategic leadership of the university’s plan for comprehensive internationalization. Dr. Matherly’ co-directs the NanoJapan program, funded by the National Science Foundation in order to expand international research opportunities for students in STEM fields. She is the recipient of two Fulbright grants for international education administrators (Germany and Japan.) She has an Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Culture Studies from the University of Houston.
Gisele Ragusa University of Southern California
Gisele Ragusa is a Professor of Engineering Education at the University of Southern California. She conducts research on college transitions and retention of underrepresented students in engineering and also research about engineering global preparedness and engineering innovation. She also has research expertise in STEM K-12 and in STEM assessment. She chairs USC's STEM Consortium.
Lisa Benson Clemson University
Lisa Benson is an Associate Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University, with a joint appointment in Bioengineering. Her research focuses on the interactions between student motivation and their learning experiences. Her projects involve the study of student perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards becoming engineers and scientists, and their problem solving processes. Other projects in the Benson group include effects of student-centered active learning, self-regulated learning, and incorporating engineering into secondary science and mathematics classrooms. Her education includes a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Vermont, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Clemson University.
Abstract
International experiences are viewed as important components of undergraduate engineering education. Yet little has been done to define global preparedness, specify alternatives for achieving it, or determine to what degree being globally prepared is the result of personal attributes, prior experiences (including pre-college), or specific educational experiences.
A collaboration of investigators from four universities (Pittsburgh, Southern California, Tulsa, and Clemson) are investigating how the broad spectrum of international experiences both in and outside of formal curricula impact engineering students’ global preparedness. Now in its fourth year, we have conducted two primary studies and are engaging in our third. The first study was an extensive Delphi survey with subject matter experts. The second study consisted of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of students at our four institutions. The third study being initiated this spring is a much larger survey of engineering students at representative universities across the U.S..
For the second and third studies, we developed and tested a comprehensive survey instrument that captures demographics, experiences and a measure of each student’s global preparedness and incorporates the nationally normed Global Perspective Inventory developed by Braskamp and colleagues. This is enabling us to identify changes in global awareness, knowledge and thinking over the course of the students’ transition from incoming freshman to graduating senior. The resultant information and tools will provide insight to engineering administrators and faculty as they consider how to best prepare students for the global economy through three linked studies. This paper offers an overview of the progress to date of our NSF funded research initiative that investigates how the various internationally focused learning experiences within engineering (both curricular and co-curricular) impact students’ global preparedness.
Besterfield-Sacre, M. E., & Shuman, L. J., & Matherly, C., & Ragusa, G., & Benson, L. (2016, June), Assessing the Spectrum of International Undergraduate Engineering Educational Experiences Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26322
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