Board 119: WIP: Three Scaffolding Approaches to Foster a Tolerance for Ambiguity in an Undergraduate Engineering Statistics Course

Kingsley A. Reeves; Ana Carolina Leo; Jeremi S. London; Julia Machele Brisbane; Natalia Torres Banks

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Industrial Engineering Division (IND) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Industrial Engineering Division (IND)
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42417
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/42417
Download Count: 105

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Paper Authors

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Kingsley A. Reeves Jr. University of South Florida

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Kingsley Reeves is an associate professor at the University of South Florida in the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Department. His current research interests focus on applications of lean six sigma in SMEs and decision-making processes as w

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Ana Carolina Leo University of South Florida

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Jeremi S. London Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Dr. Jeremi London is an Associate Professor in the Engineering Education Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. London is a mixed methods researcher with interests in research impact, broadening participation and instructional change.

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Julia Machele Brisbane Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-9580-0646

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Julia Brisbane (she/her) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Engineering Education Department at Virginia Tech. She has received her M.S. in biomedical engineering from Virginia Tech and her B.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University. Her research interests lie in undergraduate research experiences in engineering, racial health disparities, and broadening participation in engineering.

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Natalia Torres Banks

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Abstract

This work in progress paper briefly describes three approaches to being used to scaffold engineering students’ tolerance for ambiguity in an undergraduate engineering statistics course. Tolerance for Ambiguity (TA) is the ability to search for, savor, and excel in ambiguous tasks. This mindset and skill is necessary for today’s engineering graduates who must be able to address problems that are complex, fraught with uncertainty, and given to conflicting interpretations because of its stakeholders. Existing scholarship states that students with a higher tolerance for ambiguity will be better suited to proactively engage in, enjoy, and excel in finding solutions to the contemporary problems faced by 21st-century engineers. On the contrary, students with a lower tolerance for ambiguity tend to be unmotivated in the modern engineering work environment and struggle to perform well. Given this reality, pedagogical innovations shown to increase students’ tolerance for ambiguity have the potential to better prepare better engineering solutions and excel in their careers. However, there are few examples in the engineering education literature of how to foster this in undergraduate engineering education. The context of this study is an undergraduate engineering statistics course offered by the Industrial Engineering department at a large university located in the southeast. Students have been given a large hypothetical data set that mimics real data the undergraduate student experience (e.g., GPAs, course completion rates), and asked to use the engineering design process to identify and solve a data-rich problem using statistical techniques they have learned in the course. This paper briefly describes three intentional course design decisions that were included in the development of a pedagogical intervention designed to increase their tolerance for ambiguity. Apart from the design project itself, the other two approaches include concept maps and short videos from practicing engineering professionals describing the role and value of a tolerance for ambiguity in their work. The findings of this study will advance our understanding of useful pedagogical strategies for fostering the development of this 21st century skill.

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Reeves, K. A., & Leo, A. C., & London, J. S., & Brisbane, J. M., & Torres Banks, N. (2023, June), Board 119: WIP: Three Scaffolding Approaches to Foster a Tolerance for Ambiguity in an Undergraduate Engineering Statistics Course Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42417

TY - CPAPER
AB - This work in progress paper briefly describes three approaches to being used to scaffold engineering students’ tolerance for ambiguity in an undergraduate engineering statistics course. Tolerance for Ambiguity (TA) is the ability to search for, savor, and excel in ambiguous tasks. This mindset and skill is necessary for today’s engineering graduates who must be able to address problems that are complex, fraught with uncertainty, and given to conflicting interpretations because of its stakeholders. Existing scholarship states that students with a higher tolerance for ambiguity will be better suited to proactively engage in, enjoy, and excel in finding solutions to the contemporary problems faced by 21st-century engineers. On the contrary, students with a lower tolerance for ambiguity tend to be unmotivated in the modern engineering work environment and struggle to perform well. Given this reality, pedagogical innovations shown to increase students’ tolerance for ambiguity have the potential to better prepare better engineering solutions and excel in their careers. However, there are few examples in the engineering education literature of how to foster this in undergraduate engineering education. The context of this study is an undergraduate engineering statistics course offered by the Industrial Engineering department at a large university located in the southeast. Students have been given a large hypothetical data set that mimics real data the undergraduate student experience (e.g., GPAs, course completion rates), and asked to use the engineering design process to identify and solve a data-rich problem using statistical techniques they have learned in the course. This paper briefly describes three intentional course design decisions that were included in the development of a pedagogical intervention designed to increase their tolerance for ambiguity. Apart from the design project itself, the other two approaches include concept maps and short videos from practicing engineering professionals describing the role and value of a tolerance for ambiguity in their work. The findings of this study will advance our understanding of useful pedagogical strategies for fostering the development of this 21st century skill.
AU - Kingsley A. Reeves Jr.
AU - Ana Carolina Leo
AU - Jeremi S. London
AU - Julia Machele Brisbane
AU - Natalia Torres Banks
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 119: WIP: Three Scaffolding Approaches to Foster a Tolerance for Ambiguity in an Undergraduate Engineering Statistics Course
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/42417
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42417
ER -