Collaborative Research (HBCU-DCL EAGER): Broadening participation and strengthening capacity in interdisciplinary engineering model development

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It is important to understand how doctoral scholars of color are able to integrate cultural identity and self-efficacy in contexts where stereotype threat might be prevalent, such as higher education, STEM programs, and intensive research labs. This project seeks to identify, understand, and describe the interplay between the sense of identity, self-efficacy, metacognition of modeling formalisms, and stereotype threat. Specifically, the goal is to understand how thinking and narrative identity evolve over time and how the process of coaching scholars of color in a supportive academic context might strengthen the value proposition of entering the professoriate. The key objectives of this project are: (1) to implement a collaborative approach to the development of highly skilled and competitive graduate scholars; and (2) to broaden participation among underrepresented minorities (URMs) in the engineering professoriate, with a specific focus on African Americans. Success of the project will be evident by an increased participation of these scholars in high-impact activities such as scholarly publications, progress toward degree, and applying to academic positions. Additionally, this research project will help to strengthen institutional capacities, particularly of a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). It will also link parallel efforts at NC A&T State University (a public HBCU) and George Washington University (a private Predominantly White Institution/PWI). Using a quasi-experimental design, pre- and post-test control group design, the proposed research project is a first attempt to integrate anticipatory cognition development and stereotype threat reduction in full immersion of engineering modeling that aligns with NSF's Research and Related Activities (R&RA) programs. The investigators will also create a proof-of-concept that evaluates different adaptive learning formalisms to identify effective strategies to aid students' capabilities to develop and apply mathematical models for problem solving in engineering. The role of anticipatory cognition is to influence students' reasoning about the problem content prior to the development and application of the mathematics-based approach. A stereotype minimization coaching model will be implemented and performance and social learning variables (e.g., stereotype threats, identity, and engineering modeling self-efficacy) will be compared across both institutions. There is an implicit hypothesis that additional factors may emerge because of the differences between the institutions. Such emerging factors as critical mass and social class may be identified. The effectiveness of the coaching model will be assessed through a quasi-experimental design, pre- and post-test control group design at the two sites. In so doing, the proposed research project has two concomitant efforts - one focused on an R&RA program to develop subject matter expertise in engineering model development, and the other a pilot study to compare an intervention to optimize anticipatory cognition and minimize stereotype threat among these same graduate students.