Tampa, Florida
June 15, 2019
June 15, 2019
June 19, 2019
Student
Diversity
5
10.18260/1-2--33607
https://strategy.asee.org/33607
401
Pearl Ortega is a PhD student at Texas A&M University, College Station studying Interdisciplinary Engineering with a focus on Engineering Education. Ms. Ortega received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX and a M. Eng. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University with a research focus in remote healthcare. She currently works as a graduate assistant for the Aerospace Engineering Department and research interests include ethnically and racially diverse students.
Dr. Kristi J. Shryock is the Frank and Jean Raymond Foundation Inc. Endowed Instructional Associate Professor and Associate Department Head in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. She also serves as Director of the Craig and Galen Brown Engineering Honors Program. She received her BS, MS, and PhD from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M. Kristi works to improve the undergraduate engineering experience through evaluating preparation in areas, such as mathematics and physics, evaluating engineering identity and its impact on retention, incorporating non-traditional teaching methods into the classroom, and engaging her students with interactive methods.
Studies show that while efforts of increasing retention are being made in schools of engineering, many students are changing majors or leaving the university after their first two years in an engineering program. These early years are crucial as students are introduced to many of their departmental courses during this time and are affirming or shaping their identities as engineers. A deeper look into both the classrooms of U.S. schools and the general workforce is needed to understand why this is occurring and what pedagogies can be added, removed, or enhanced to slow the rapid decline of underrepresented students in engineering. The object of this research is to discover pathways of engineering undergraduate students in their first two years in order to better understand their engineering identity and the relationship to graduation. Assessment of the engineering identity and mindset during the sophomore year will be done to both understand the growing diverse student body and to suggest changes in student and faculty engagement and instructional activities. In this project, the authors will: (1) identify biases formed by students when they choose their major, (2) describe the design and pedagogies used within an engineering course and, (3) evaluate the effect of these practices on underrepresented engineering students. To address the objectives, the authors created a prototype of a competency-based learning module and distributed to a sophomore-level aerospace engineering classroom. By creating a minimum viable product for this classroom, the authors could tailor the module throughout the semester according to the feedback received from students and instructors. Early results showed that, while students benefit from the module academically, the prototype did not address the general student concern of curriculum diversity and perceived career applications. To benefit future semesters in the aerospace program for sophomore classes, the authors are currently developing the competency-based learning module and building a framework for overall degree satisfaction based on prototype results.
Ortega, P. E., & Shryock, K. J. (2019, June), Work in Progress: Discovering Pathways of Engineering Undergraduate Students Related to Engineering Identity Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33607
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