A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project- and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering... more
A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project- and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High is one of the more well-regarded and widely implemented. Yet, the evidence based on if and how participation in such programs shapes student intentions and commitment to STEM pathways is currently limited, most especially for pre-college programming. This study asks: How do high school students' engineering mindsets and their views of engineering/engineers change as they participate in project-service learning (as implemented through an EPICS High curriculum)? This study employed a mixed method design, combining pre- and post-test survey data that were collected from 259 matched students (63\% minority, 43\% women) enrolling in EPICS High (total of 536 completed pre-tests, 375 completed post-tests) alongsid...
Writing practices are seen to be essential for professional engineers, yet many engineering students and academics struggle with communicating in writing. This is despite the best efforts over many years of engineering educators and... more
Writing practices are seen to be essential for professional engineers, yet many engineering students and academics struggle with communicating in writing. This is despite the best efforts over many years of engineering educators and writing experts to develop writing strategies within or adjunct to the engineering curriculum. Much has been written about the importance of getting engineering students to write, but there has been little investigation of engineering academics’ perceptions of writing practices in the curriculum, and the extent to which these practices are visible to the students and to the academics. The study uses activity theory to focus on interactions between individuals, writing practices and the engineering curriculum, to investigate what inhibits writing in the engineering curriculum at the level of engineering academics. The study identifies a number of tensions and contradictions in the development and practice of writing within the engineering curriculum.
A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project-and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering... more
A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project-and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High is one of the more well-regarded and widely implemented. Yet, the evidence based on if and how participation in such programs shapes student intentions and commitment to STEM pathways is currently limited, most especially for pre-college programming. This study asks: How do high school students' engineering mindsets and their views of engineering/engineers change as they participate in project-service learning (as implemented through an EPICS High curriculum)? This study employed a mixed method design, combining pre-and post-test survey data that were collected from 259 matched students (63% minority, 43% women) enrolling in EPICS High (total of 536 completed pre-tests, 375 completed post-tests) alongside systematic ethnographic analysis of participant observation data conducted in the same 13 socioeconomically diverse schools over a two-year period. Statistical analyses showed that participants score highly on engineering-related concepts and attitudes at both pre-and post-test. These did not change significantly as a result of participation. However, we detected nuanced but potentially important changes in student perspectives and meaning, such as shifting perceptions of engineering and gaining key transversal skills. The value of participation to participants was connected to changes in the meaning of commitments to pursue engineering/STEM.
A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project- and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering... more
A major goal in Engineering training in the U.S. is to continue to both grow and diversify the field. Project- and service-based forms of experiential, problem-based learning are often implemented with this as a goal, and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) High is one of the more well-regarded and widely implemented. Yet, the evidence based on if and how participation in such programs shapes student intentions and commitment to STEM pathways is currently limited, most especially for pre-college programming. This study asks: How do high school students’ engineering mindsets and their views of engineering/engineers change as they participate in project–service learning (as implemented through an EPICS High curriculum)? This study employed a mixed method design, combining pre- and post-test survey data that were collected from 259 matched students (63% minority, 43% women) enrolling in EPICS High (total of 536 completed pre-tests, 375 completed post-tests) alongside syst...
