(EI)2: Exploring Inclusive Engineering Identities through Freshman Engineering Curriculum Change

工程劳动力需要通过吸引和留住来自不同背景的学生来更好地代表其所服务的社会的多样性。学生成为工程师的过程要求他们获得技术知识，但也要认同这一职业。该项目正在为大一工程课程设计一个新的课程，以帮助塑造学生新兴的工程身份，并让学生了解多样性在工程中的重要作用。该课程旨在帮助学生认识到多样性为工程带来的价值：（a）设计更好的创新解决方案，（B）扩大学生对谁可以成为工程师的概念。 该项目正在评估课程对两个不同的大一工程班学生的影响。研究问题包括：干预如何改变学生对工程多样性的态度？干预如何改变学生识别自己和他人作为工程师的能力？在这一评价中采用了定量和定性方法。该项目的智力价值在于其保留不同学生的转型方法。特别是，该项目旨在改变工程师的教育和工作环境中的文化，而不是简单地试图支持来自工程学代表性不足群体的学生。此外，该项目有助于我们了解学生如何形成工程身份。该项目的更广泛影响包括帮助扩大工程参与，为学生适应全球工作环境做好准备，以及改善STEM教育。

The engineering workforce needs to better represent the diversity of the society it serves by attracting and retaining students from diverse backgrounds. The process students experience to become engineers requires them to acquire technical knowledge but also to identify with the profession. This project is designing a new curriculum for freshman engineering courses to help shape students' emerging engineering identities and expose students to the important role diversity plays in engineering. The curriculum is created to help students recognize the value that diversity brings to engineering in terms of (a) designing better and innovative solutions, and (b) expanding students' conceptions of who can be an engineer. The project is evaluating the effect of the curriculum on students in two different freshman engineering classes. The research questions include the following: How did the intervention change students' attitudes toward diversity in engineering? How did the intervention change students' ability to recognize themselves and others as an engineer? Both quantitative and qualitative methods are being used in this evaluation. The intellectual merit of the project is its transformational approach to retaining diverse students. In particular, the project seeks to change the culture in the educational and work contexts for engineers rather than simply trying to support students from underrepresented groups in engineering. Furthermore, the project contributes to our understanding of how students form engineering identities. The broader impacts of the project include helping to broaden participation in engineering, preparing students for a global work environment, and improving STEM education.