Research Initiation: Developing Technical Identity of Construction Engineering Students with Mixed Reality

建筑业仍然是美国最危险的行业之一，死亡和非死亡的比率令人震惊。尽管目前传感技术的进步可以缓解这一问题，但建筑业正面临着缺乏熟练劳动力来实施传感技术的问题。这在一定程度上是因为，通常只有那些在技术上倾向于并认同传感技术实施的劳动力才会致力于推动建筑业传感技术的发展。寻求培养未来劳动力的专业技术认同的方法变得很重要，因为学生识别和看待自己的方式是他们专业和教育坚持性的指标，这往往会导致职业成功和技能劳动力的留住。作为解决这一问题的第一步，本研究将调查在混合现实环境中与传感技术的互动如何加强建筑工程专业学生的专业技术认同发展。混合现实环境将允许在虚拟建筑工地上亲手实施传感技术，促进学生的参与和兴趣，并为行使促进职业认同的专业机构提供一个安全的环境。这项研究将由一名PI领导，他是一名新的工程教育研究员，但在传感技术以及设计和实施建筑教育的教学工具方面经验丰富，并将由一名经验丰富的工程教育研究员指导，他是STEM学习、建筑教育和职业认同发展方面的专家。通过将PI整合到工程教育社区，该项目将推进扩大研究工程师专业形成的研究人员社区的目标。该项目将寻求两个研究问题RQ1的答案：与在行业中实施传感技术相关的专业技术认同实践是什么？和RQ2：由技术职业认同驱动的混合现实环境对建筑工程专业学生的技术职业认同发展有何影响？第一个研究问题将涉及了解(1)这些专业人员在建筑行业实施传感技术时所采用的知识和经验；(2)过程(步骤)；以及(3)建筑专业人员在建筑应用中实施传感技术所采取的思维过程(决策过程)。这将通过与为实施传感技术而开发的混合现实环境的互动来促进。这一阶段的结果将为专业技术身份实践提供信息，这些实践将推动混合现实环境的改善。这项研究将在两所院校(少数族裔和非少数族裔服务)实施混合现实环境，学生来自不同的背景，如种族、性别和种族。第二个研究问题将采用关键事件访谈和调查，以确定混合现实环境如何以及为什么通过兴趣、认可和表现原则加强学生的专业技术认同发展。这项研究将从人口统计学的角度进行。预期的研究成果是：(1)建立一个理论框架，定义认同建筑行业技术劳动力的专业人员在应用传感技术时采取的决策过程和技术步骤；(2)开发描述为专业技术认同发展而设计的多模式混合现实环境的心理风险的理论；以及(3)发展实质性理论，解释混合现实环境如何以及为什么加强建筑工程专业学生的专业技术认同发展。体现专业技术身份实践的明确经验、决策过程和技术步骤将促进小规模学生的招募和保留，从长远来看，将增加他们在劳动力中的留存率，并扩大对工程的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The construction industry continues to be one of the most dangerous industries in the nation, with a staggering rate of fatalities and non-fatalities. Although current advances in sensing technologies can mitigate this problem, the construction industry is experiencing a lack of skilled workforce to implement sensing technologies. This is partly because, typically, only the workforce who are technically inclined and identify with the implementation sensing technologies are engaged in advancing sensing technologies in the construction industry. It becomes important to seek ways of developing the professional technical identities of the future workforce, because the way students identify and see themselves is an indicator of their professional and educational persistence that often culminates in career success and increased retention of the skilled workforce. As a first step to address this, this research will investigate how interactions with sensing technologies in a mixed reality environment strengthen construction engineering students' professional technical identity development. The mixed reality environment will allow for hands-on implementation of sensing technologies on a virtual construction site, facilitate students’ engagement and interest, and provide a safe environment for exercising professional agency that promotes professional identity. This research will be led by a PI, who is a new engineering education researcher but experienced with sensing technologies and in designing and implementing pedagogical tools for construction education and will be mentored by an experienced engineering education researcher who is an expert in STEM learning, construction education, and professional identity development. By integrating the PI into the engineering education community, this project will advance the goal to expand the community of researchers studying the professional formation of engineers.This project will seek answers to two research questions RQ1: What are the professional technical identity practices related to implementing sensing technologies in the industry? And RQ2: In what ways does a mixed reality environment driven by technical professional identities influence technical professional identity development in construction engineering students? The first research question will involve an understanding of (1) the knowledge and experiences adopted by these professionals during with implementation of sensing technologies in the industry; (2) the processes (steps), and (3) the thought processes (decision-making process) taken by construction professionals to implement sensing technologies on construction applications. This will be facilitated through interactions with the mixed reality environment developed for the implementation of sensing technologies. The results from this phase will inform professional technical identity practices that will drive the improvement of the mixed reality environment. The research will implement the mixed reality environment in two institutions (minority and non-minority serving) with students from diverse backgrounds such as ethnicity, gender, and race. The second research question will adopt critical-incident interviews and surveys to identify how and why the mixed reality environment strengthened students’ professional technical identity development through the tenets of interest, recognition, and performance. This research will be conducted from a demographic point of view. The expected research outcomes are in (1) establishing a theoretical framework that defines the decision-making process and technical steps adopted by professionals who identify with the technical workforce for deploying sensing technologies in the construction industry; (2) developing theories that describe the psychological risks of a multimodal mixed reality environment designed for professional technical identity development; and (3) developing substantive theories that explain how and why a mixed reality environment strengthens professional technical identity development in construction engineering students. The defined experiences, decision-making process, and technical steps embodying the professional technical identity practices will facilitate the recruitment and retention of minoritized students and, in the long term, increase their retention in the workforce and broaden participation in engineering.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.