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Dual-Credit Engineering Program in Native American Serving School District: Best Practices and Findings

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

July 12, 2024

Conference Session

Principal Skinner's Secrets: Cultivating STEM in Remote Locations, Steamed Hams!

Tagged Division

Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/47208

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Paper Authors

biography

Monsuru O Ramoni Navajo Technical University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-3726-5371

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Monsuru Ramoni is an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM.
He has M.S. degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and Management and Industrial Engineering from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, respectively.
He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
His research focuses on additive manufacturing, material characterizations, and engineering education. Dr. Ramoni leads various STEM outreach activities in Native American communities. Dr. Ramoni has received funding from NASA, DOE, and USDA and published in high-impact journals.

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biography

Calsey T Nez Navajo Technical University

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Calsey Nez is a pre-engineering instructor at Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Navajo Technical University and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Manufacturing at Purdue University. His research interests include additive manufacturing and engineering education. Calsey Nez is a member of the Navajo Nation and resides in Sanders, Arizona.

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Abstract

Early exposure to engineering is a valuable strategy to ignite interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm among students from a young age. Early exposure to engineering programs - such as after-school activities, career exploration events, guest speakers, and industry visits - can provide engineering concepts and hands-on experiences to help students develop a strong foundation and inspire the next generation of minority engineers, fostering a diverse and innovative workforce. However, implementing most early exposure to engineering programs in the locations where Native American students reside is challenging. Many Native American communities are in remote or geographically isolated areas, making it difficult to access external resources and hold early exposure to engineering programs regularly. One program that stands out is dual-credit engineering, offering a promising opportunity to expose and reinforce engineering concepts to Native American students. Navajo Technical University (NTU), a tribal university, partners with a Native American-serving school district, Gallup-McKinley County School (GMCS), to offer a dual-credit engineering program. In this program, 12th-grade students from GMCS take two NTU first-year engineering courses: ENGR 130 - Engineering Graphics (Engineering Design) in the fall semester and ENGR 103 - Introduction to Engineering (which involves a hands-on engineering project and a project report) in the spring semester. To investigate the program and understand students’ experiences, qualitative analysis of students' reports was conducted using thematic analysis via OpenChatGPT. The results revealed four themes: (1) Fundamental Processes, (2) Challenges in Execution, (3) Teamwork and Collaboration, and (4) Learning and Adaptation. These findings indicate the effectiveness of dual-credit engineering in engaging young Native Americans in engineering and align with ABET students' learning outcomes. The paper details the partnership, course specifics, challenges, and findings from students' perspectives.

Ramoni, M. O., & Nez, C. T. (2024, June), Dual-Credit Engineering Program in Native American Serving School District: Best Practices and Findings Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47208

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