Work in Progress: Common Reading Experience: Assessing the Impact on Perceptions, Identity, and Belonging Among First-year Engineering Students

Laura Hirshfield; Michael Dailey; Stacie Edington

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: First-year Programs Division Postcard Session 2: Identity and Sense of Belonging
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 18
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--31277
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/31277
Download Count: 375

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Paper Authors

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Laura Hirshfield University of Michigan

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Laura Hirshfield is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Michigan. She received her B.S. from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. from Purdue University, both in chemical engineering. She then transitioned into the engineering education field with postdoctoral positions at Oregon State University, Olin College of Engineering and University of Michigan. Her research interests lie in assessing and amending curricula to help students transition from undergraduate to professional practice.

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Michael Dailey University of Michigan

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Mike is a Program Specialist in the Engineering Honors & Engagement Programs office at the University of Michigan. He received his B.B.A. from Eastern Michigan University in Business Management and M.A. from Sam Houston State University in Higher Education Administration. Mike has worked in advising, recruiting and outreach, student life, and engaged learning.

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Stacie Edington University of Michigan

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Stacie Edington is the Director of Honors and Engagement Programs, within the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.

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Abstract

The Common Reading Experience (CRE) is a program for incoming first-year engineering students. Each student receives a copy of the selected book in the summer prior to starting classes. After reading the book over the summer, students participate in a 1.5 hour discussion session led by upper-level engineering students during the first month of classes. These discussions cover important themes in the book, and how these topics relate to engineering and the experiences of first-year students. By having a shared experience, we know students build community with one another. We want to expose students to what it means to be an engineer, both the technical aspects, as well as non-technical competencies, such as creativity & innovation, intercultural intelligence, and a collaborative spirit. Finally, we hope students want to engage in the many intellectual opportunities provided during their time here, whether it is Common Reading Experience events, or other programs.

In this work-in-progress paper, we present results from assessment done on the Common Reading Experience to determine how the CRE impacts first-year students’ sense of community, feelings of belonging, engineering identity, and perceptions of diversity and of engineering. The study participants included students entering the College of Engineering in the fall of 2017, who participated in the CRE, and a comparative group of non-engineering students, who did not participate in the CRE. Students were invited to complete a pre-CRE survey, sent out before the books were distributed and a post-CRE survey, taken after they participated in the discussion sessions. The surveys consisted of items gauging students sense of community, feelings of belonging, engineering identity, and perceptions of diversity and of engineering. Student demographic information was also collected. While data collection is still ongoing at the time of abstract submission, the paper will present a comparison of the student data from each survey to elucidate how the Common Reading Experience impacts first-year students as they assimilate into the College of Engineering.

Citation
Format

Hirshfield, L., & Dailey, M., & Edington, S. (2018, June), Work in Progress: Common Reading Experience: Assessing the Impact on Perceptions, Identity, and Belonging Among First-year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31277

TY - CPAPER
AB - The Common Reading Experience (CRE) is a program for incoming first-year engineering students. Each student receives a copy of the selected book in the summer prior to starting classes. After reading the book over the summer, students participate in a 1.5 hour discussion session led by upper-level engineering students during the first month of classes. These discussions cover important themes in the book, and how these topics relate to engineering and the experiences of first-year students. By having a shared experience, we know students build community with one another. We want to expose students to what it means to be an engineer, both the technical aspects, as well as non-technical competencies, such as creativity &amp; innovation, intercultural intelligence, and a collaborative spirit. Finally, we hope students want to engage in the many intellectual opportunities provided during their time here, whether it is Common Reading Experience events, or other programs.

In this work-in-progress paper, we present results from assessment done on the Common Reading Experience to determine how the CRE impacts first-year students’ sense of community, feelings of belonging, engineering identity, and perceptions of diversity and of engineering. The study participants included students entering the College of Engineering in the fall of 2017, who participated in the CRE, and a comparative group of non-engineering students, who did not participate in the CRE. Students were invited to complete a pre-CRE survey, sent out before the books were distributed and a post-CRE survey, taken after they participated in the discussion sessions. The surveys consisted of items gauging students sense of community, feelings of belonging, engineering identity, and perceptions of diversity and of engineering. Student demographic information was also collected. While data collection is still ongoing at the time of abstract submission, the paper will present a comparison of the student data from each survey to elucidate how the Common Reading Experience impacts first-year students as they assimilate into the College of Engineering.
AU - Laura Hirshfield
AU - Michael Dailey
AU - Stacie Edington
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: Common Reading Experience: Assessing the Impact on Perceptions, Identity, and Belonging Among First-year Engineering Students
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/31277
DO - 10.18260/1-2--31277
ER -