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Using Directional Graphs to Explore the Engineering Co-curricular Navigation Profiles of Student Groups

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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

Student Teams and Teamwork

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44573

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/44573

Download Count

135

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Paper Authors

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Bahar Memarian University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-0671-3127

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Dr. Bahar Memarian is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator with more than 10 years of research and teaching experience at the intersection of applied and social sciences. She has designed and executed research projects as both a team leader and a member. She has also developed and delivered learning modules and courses in the areas of STEM, design, and engineering education at the secondary and undergraduate levels.

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biography

Andrew Olewnik University at Buffalo

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Andrew Olewnik is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at the University at Buffalo. His research includes undergraduate engineering education with focus on engineering design, problem-based learning, co-curricular involvement and its impact on professional formation, and the role of reflection practices in supporting engineering undergraduates as they transition from student to professional.

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Abstract

The goal of this work-in-progress (WIP) paper is to explore the use of a visual method to synthesize the co-curricular navigation profiles of student groups over time. Specifically, we compare the navigation profiles of three groups each comprising five students who continually scored low, medium, and high-Grade Point Averages or GPAs over four years. Prior research in engineering education confirms that higher student co-curricular participation leads to more practice and achievement. However, student time is also bounded by their curricular duties and performance. This duality urges our research question: What are the co-curricular navigation characteristics of student groups who continually score low, medium, and high GPAs over their undergraduate studies? We use directional graphs for the visual representation of the movement of students from one co-curricular activity to another through the use of nodes (filled-in circles that encapsulate the co-curricular type) and edges (arrows that connect nodes and can signify the chronology of participation). Each student has a directed graph which may vary in the number of nodes and edges. This work shares a) a visual analysis of student co-curricular involvement across the three GPA groups, b) issues in co-curricular programming and representation derived from the visual analysis, as well as c) limitations of visual analysis and considerations for future work.

Memarian, B., & Olewnik, A. (2023, June), Using Directional Graphs to Explore the Engineering Co-curricular Navigation Profiles of Student Groups Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44573

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