VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Grohs, Jacob R."

Browsing by Author "Grohs, Jacob R."

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Analysis and Modeling of the Mechanical Durability of Proton Exchange Membranes Using Pressure-Loaded Blister Tests
Grohs, Jacob R. (Virginia Tech, 2009-04-10)
Environmental fluctuations in operating fuel cells impose significant biaxial stresses in the constrained proton exchange membranes (PEM). The PEM's ability to withstand cyclic environment-induced stresses plays an important role in membrane integrity and consequently, fuel cell durability. In this thesis, pressure loaded blister tests are used to study the mechanical durability of Gore-Select® series 57 over a range of times, temperatures, and loading histories. Ramped pressure tests are used with a linear viscoelastic analog to Hencky's classical solution for a pressurized circular membrane to estimate biaxial burst strength values. Biaxial strength master curves are constructed using traditional time-temperature superposition principle techniques and the associated temperature shift factors show good agreement when compared with shifts obtained from other modes of testing on the material. Investigating a more rigorous blister stress analysis becomes nontrivial due to the substantial deflections and thinning of the membrane. To further improve the analysis, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique is used to measure full-field displacements under ramped and constant pressure loading. The measured displacements are then used to validate the constitutive model and methods of the finite element analysis (FEA). With confidence in the FEA, stress histories of constant pressure tests are used to develop linear damage accumulation and residual strength based lifetime prediction models. Robust models, validated by successfully predicting fatigue failures, suggest the ability to predict failures under any given stress history whether mechanically or environmentally induced - a critical step in the effort to predict fuel cell failures caused by membrane mechanical failure.
Application of Systems Engineering Analysis Methods to Examine Engineering Transfer Student Persistence
Smith, Natasha Leigh (Virginia Tech, 2020-01-20)
The demand for engineering graduates in the United States continues to grow, yet the number of students entering post-secondary education is declining, and graduation rates have seen little to no change over the last several decades. Engineering transfer students are a growing population and can help meet the nation's needs, however, there is little research on the persistence of this population after they transfer to the receiving institution. Student persistence is dependent on a complex set of interactions over time. Management systems engineering provides a framework for working with complex systems through system analysis and design, with a focus on the interactions of the system components. This research includes multiple management systems engineering analysis methods used to define and develop a systems view of engineering transfer student persistence. This work includes a comprehensive literature review to identify factors affecting engineering transfer student persistence, an empirical analysis of an institutional dataset, and development of a simulation model to demonstrate the throughput of engineering transfer student. Findings include 34 factors identified in the literature as affecting engineering student persistence. A review of the literature also highlighted two important gaps in the literature, including a focus on post-transfer success almost exclusively in the first post-transfer year and a significant interest in vertical transfer students, with little consideration given to lateral transfer students. The empirical analysis addressed the gaps found in the literature. Vertical and lateral engineering transfer students were found to experience different levels of transfer shock which also impacts their 4-year graduation rates. The analysis also found transfer shock was not unique to the first post-transfer term, it was also present in the second and third post-transfer terms, and reframed as transfer adjustment. The simulation model uncovers leaving patterns of engineering transfer students which include the students leaving engineering in the second year, as well as those graduating with an engineering degree in the third year. Overall this research identifies explicit factors that affect engineering transfer student persistence and suggests a new systems engineering approach for understanding student persistence and how institutions can affect change.
Assessing systems thinking: A tool to measure complex reasoning through ill-structured problems
Grohs, Jacob R.; Kirk, Gary R.; Soledad, Michelle M.; Knight, David B. (2018-06)
An increasingly important aim of higher education is to develop graduates capable of addressing complex, interdependent problems. Systems thinking is a critical interdisciplinary skill that describes the cognitive flexibility needed to collaboratively work on problems facing society. Although institutions of higher education are asked to develop systems thinkers and many programs strive towards such an aim, mechanisms to assess this competency are lacking. This paper (1) presents a framework for operationalizing systems thinking competency, and (2) shares a novel scenario-based assessment tool based on the framework. The paper describes the iterative development of the community-level problem scenario and associated scoring rubric based on a set of 93 student responses. Appendices contain the full tool consisting of the problem scenario, scoring rubric, and other guiding documents to enable others to adopt the tool for research purposes or to assess student outcomes from university programs.
Community-engaged heat resilience planning: Lessons from a youth smart city STEM program
Lim, Theodore C.; Wilson, Bev; Grohs, Jacob R.; Pingel, Thomas (Elsevier, 2022-10-01)
While recognition of the dangers of extreme heat in cities continues to grow, heat resilience remains a relatively new area of urban planning. One barrier to the creation and successful implementation of neighborhood-scale heat resilience plans has been a lack of reliable strategies for resident engagement. In this research, the authors designed a two-week summer STEM module for youth ages 12 to 14 in Roanoke, Virginia in the Southeastern United States. Participants collected and analyzed temperature and thermal comfort data of varying types, including from infrared thermal cameras and point sensors, handheld weather sensors, drones, and satellites, vehicle traverses, and student peer interviews. Based on primary data gathered during the program, we offer insights that may assist planners seeking to engage residents in neighborhood-scale heat resilience planning efforts. These lessons include recognizing: (1) the problem of heat in neighborhoods and the social justice aspects of heat distribution may not be immediately apparent to residents; (2) a need to shift perceived responsibility of heat exposure from the personal and home-based to include the social and landscape-based; (3) the inextricability of solutions for thermal comfort from general issues of safety and comfort in neighborhoods; and (4) that smart city technologies and high resolution data are helpful “hooks” to engagement, but may be insufficient for shifting perception of heat as something that can be mitigated through decisions about the built environment.
Comparison of transfer shock and graduation rates across engineering transfer student populations
Smith, Natasha L.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Van Aken, Eileen M. (2021-10-20)
Background Increasing the persistence of engineering transfer students can help meet the US national priority of increasing the number of engineering graduates. Many transfer students experience a decrease in their grade point average (GPA) at their receiving institution, known as transfer shock, which can lead to them leaving the institution. This GPA decrease is found to be more prevalent in engineering transfer students. Purpose/Hypothesis The purpose of this study is to analyze a single institutional dataset to determine when transfer shock occurs, how it differs among engineering transfer student subgroups, and if transfer shock is a predictor of graduation within 4 years in engineering. Design/Method A 10-year dataset with 789 engineering transfer students was used in this study, and the engineering transfer students were split into four subgroups. Multiple statistical analyses were conducted, including Welch's F-test, chi-square, and logistic regression, to understand differences in transfer shock during the first three terms of enrollment as well as 4-year graduation rates among each subgroup. Results Transfer shock extends through the first three post-transfer terms, resulting in transfer norming. The engineering transfer student subgroups experience different levels of transfer norming; however, the subgroups were not predictors of graduation. The predictors were the transfer GPA and the transfer norming in the first three post-transfer terms of enrollment. Conclusions Engineering transfer students are not a homogeneous population; there are key differences between lateral and vertical transfer students. More strategic, longitudinal programming and decision-making should be considered by institutions.
Comparisons of Design Thinking for Engineering Education
Coleman, Emma Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2018-11-16)
Design thinking ability is vital for engineers who are tasked with solving society's toughest sustainable development challenges. Prior research identified that the percentage of design thinkers among freshmen engineering students is greater than the percentage among the general population. However, engineering education's lack of attention to fostering creative ability may cause the design thinking ability of senior engineering students to suffer. The research addressed in this thesis compares the design thinking ability of engineering students across age groups, and compares design thinking ability between the design disciplines of engineering and architecture. To draw design thinking comparisons between these groups, a survey with a nine item design thinking instrument was distributed nationally to freshmen engineering students (n= 2,158), senior engineering students (n= 1,893), and senior architecture students (n= 336). The survey instrument was validated by conducting confirmatory factor analysis on the senior engineering and senior architecture samples' data. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was utilized to statistically compare scores across sample groups. Both the freshmen engineering students (2.80) and senior architecture students (3.30) scored significantly higher on the design thinking scale than senior engineering students (2.59). These results have important implications for engineering educators as engineering education may contribute to a decrease in design thinking among senior engineering students. A lower design thinking score among seniors was consistent across all engineering sub-disciplines and should be of concern to engineering educators, since design thinking skills are critical for the development of engineering solutions to grand societal challenges.
Computing Trajectories: Pathways into Computer Science and Programming Experience in the First Year
Maczka, Darren Kurtis (Virginia Tech, 2019-07-30)
Many universities across the United States have been experiencing an increased demand for computer science majors. Adjusting curriculum to meet increased demand runs the risk of damaging ongoing efforts to broaden participation in computer science. To manage growth, and increase the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the field, we must first understand current patterns for participation, and factors that may impact access and persistence. Universities with common first-year engineering programs present an opportunity for addressing some of the barriers that have traditionally limited access to computer science to certain groups. In particular, common first-year programs could provide early positive experiences with computer programming which encourage more students to consider computer science as a viable major. To better understand how a common first-year engineering program may impact matriculation and persistence in computer science, I conducted studies to identify high-level patterns of participation in computer science, as well as how students experience programming instruction in an introductory engineering course. All studies share the same context: a large public research institution with a common first-year engineering program. Results indicate that women are leaving computer science at all points of the curriculum, contributing to a reduced representation of women earning CS degrees. In contrast, URM and first-generation students have higher representation at graduation than when declaring major interest before the start of their first year.
Developing a Measure of Systems Thinking Competency
Grohs, Jacob R. (Virginia Tech, 2015-05-04)
Institutions of higher education often promise to graduate individuals capable not only of excelling in their area of expertise but also qualified as exceptional leaders and citizens. Yet, what are the competencies needed from leaders in order to address the most challenging issues facing society? How would higher education cultivate the next generation of leaders for a world of problems we currently cannot solve, and how would it be determined if some graduates were 'more prepared' than others to face these challenges? This dissertation seeks to answer these questions through the work of two distinct manuscripts. The first argues that human processes for meaning-making play critical formative roles in the setting and solving of our most complex problems. In essence, that problem-solving can be considered as embodied acts of meaning-making. This link is made through analysis of Bruner's concept of narrative and highlights the importance played by naming and framing through one's unique perspective while attempting to interpret an ill-structured problem. The second manuscript develops a tool to measure 'systems thinking,' a competency that describes the sort of cognitive flexibility that might be beneficial for graduates to be emerging leaders capable of addressing critical societal issues. A framework for considering systems thinking competency is presented and used as the foundation of a scenario-based assessment tool. Results from a qualitative pilot study are shown as part of introducing the tool with primary findings: (a) the tool elicited meaningful data on each of the constructs for which it was designed; (b) emergent within each construct were possible means of characterizing the data that will allow for future study of variation across respondents.
An Exploration of the Enrollment and Outcomes of the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies
Kinoshita, Timothy Jon (Virginia Tech, 2020-09-03)
Although originally conceived as an educational intervention for at-risk students, modern career academies have expanded their scope to programs designed to promote critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills to be successful in an advanced career path. Through the integration of career and technical education courses and a rigorous, college preparatory academic curriculum, career academies serve as a key piece of a larger strategy for developing a well- prepared STEM workforce. This study focuses on the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies, a state-wide initiative containing programs designed to expand options for the general student population to acquire STEM literacy and other critical skills, knowledge and credentials that will prepare them for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. Currently, 22 Academies exist serving students across 36 Virginia School Divisions. Using educational administrative data housed within the Virginia Longitudinal Data System, I examined the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies regarding characteristics of student participation and the relationship between Academy participation and high school and postsecondary outcomes. Using multi-level regression modeling, I found that male students, Asian and Hispanic students, and non-economically disadvantage students have a higher rate of Academy participation. After matching students with propensity score matching on demographic and early academic characteristics, I find that Academy participants are more likely to take Algebra II at an earlier grade, enroll in more Career and Technical Education and dual enrollment courses, and declare a STEM major after enrolling at a postsecondary institution. This research provides a valuable new contribution to the study of career academies after such educational programs have undergone a paradigm shift to preparing students for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. By incorporating propensity score matching and multi-level regression model, I employ a statistically rigorous approach that can serve as important benchmarking of the enrollment and academic outcomes of the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies.
Identifying Asymmetries in Web-based Transfer Student Information that is Believed to be Correct using Fully Integrated Mixed Methods
Reeping, David Patrick (Virginia Tech, 2019-12-04)
Transfer between community colleges and four-year institutions has become more common as student mobility increases. Accordingly, the higher education system has coped with the fluidity by establishing articulation agreements that facilitate pathways from one institution to another. The forward-facing policies and guides to inform students on those pathways are known to be complicated, leading to the development of web-based tools like Transferology to help students navigate the system. Still, credit loss is common, whether through misunderstandings, lack of awareness, or changing degree plans. A proliferation of literature examines the experiences of transfer students and other agents in the process like community college advisors, but few pieces interrogate the underlying website structures that facilitate those experiences as the unit of analysis. Information related to facilitating transfer from one institution to another is often fragmented across multiple webpages or policies and uses language not optimal for communicating with students – creating what are called "information asymmetries" between the students and institutions. The premise of an exchange having information asymmetries is that one or more parties in the exchange have more or better information than the others, leading to an imbalance in power. In the case of higher education, transfer students – and their advisors by extension – can be subjected to manipulation by the invisible hands of the four-year institutions through language gaps and scattered sources of information. Accordingly, this dissertation explored four-year university websites, a major point of contact students have with information on transfer, to address the following main research question: "How are information asymmetries in curricular policies/procedures apparent for engineering students on institutional webpages in terms of language and fragmentation?" The subsequent research question synthesized the results of the first question: "Looking across information asymmetry measures, what are the different narratives of information asymmetry that integrate themes of language and fragmentation across institutions?" A fully integrated mixed methods design using all existing data was employed to address the two research questions. A stratified random sample was taken with respect to institution size based on their Carnegie classifications (n = 38). The collection of relevant public webpages based on a set of keywords from the sampled institutions was transformed into three network measures - hierarchy, centrality, and nonlinear – that were used in cluster analyses to group the institutions based on their information structures. Sequential mixed methods sampling was used to choose institutions purposefully from each cluster based on notable features recorded during the first stage of data collection. Two-cycle coding followed the cluster analysis by elaborating on the networks formed during data collection. I used joint displays to organize the networks and In-Vivo codes in the same picture and develop themes related to fragmentation and language simultaneously. K-means and K-medoids cluster methods both produced the same four cluster solution illustrating one aspect of information asymmetries through fragmentation. The clustering solution highlighted four major network patterns, plus one cluster mixing two of the patterns: 1) linear browsing, 2) centralized expansive browsing, 3) branched browsing, and 4) mixed browsing. Further qualitative analysis of the sampled institutions revealed several types of missteps where information is obscured through language or dispersed in the network. I explored a subset of 16 institutions and identified four themes related to fragmentation (unlinked divergence, progressive disclosure, lack of uniformity, and neighborhood linking) and six themes related to language (hedging transferability and applicability, legalese handwaving, building rapport, exclusivity, deviance from common practice, and defining terms). The missteps were contextualized further using six narratives with institutional examples. This work characterized the information design for transfer students as a messy web of loosely connected structures with language that complicates understanding. Integrated narratives illustrate a landscape of loosely coupled information structures that become more expansive as state initiatives interact with already existing local agreements. Moreover, institutional websites describing transfer processes use communication strategies similar to private companies writing online privacy policies. In light of the themes of information asymmetries, opportunities for supporting transfer were highlighted. For example, institutions are encouraged to create visual representations of the transfer credit process, ensure terms are defined upfront while minimizing jargon, and avoid linking to information that is easily summarizable on the current page. This research would be of interest to institutions looking to improve the presentation of their transfer information by critically examining their designs for the missteps described here. In addition, engineering education practitioners and researchers studying transfer student pathways and experiences will find the results of interest – especially in considering how to support the students despite the large information gaps. Finally, those looking to implement a fully integrated mixed methods design or use existing/archival data in their own context will find the use of mixing strategies of interest.
Illuminating inequality in access: Variation in enrollment in undergraduate engineering programs across Virginia's high schools
Knight, David B.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Bradburn, Isabel S.; Kinoshita, Timothy J.; Vaziri, Stacey; Matusovich, Holly M.; Carrico, Cheryl (2020-10-06)
Background Determining the root causes of persistent underrepresentation of different subpopulations in engineering remains a continued challenge. Because place-based variation of resource distribution is not random and because school and community contexts influence high school outcomes, considering variation across those contexts should be paramount in broadening participation research. Purpose/Hypothesis This study takes a macroscopic systems view of engineering enrollments to understand variation across one state's public high school rates of engineering matriculation. Design/Method This study uses a dataset from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System that includes all students who completed high school from a Virginia public school from 2007 to 2014 (N= 685,429). We explore geographic variation in four-year undergraduate engineering enrollment as a function of gender, race/ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status. Additionally, we investigate the relationship between characteristics of the high school and community contexts and undergraduate engineering enrollment across Virginia's high schools using regression analysis. Results Our findings illuminate inequality in enrollment in engineering programs at four-year institutions across high schools by gender, race, and socioeconomic status (and the intersections among those demographics). Different high schools have different engineering enrollment rates among students who attend four-year postsecondary institutions. We show strong associations between high schools' engineering enrollment rates and four-year institution enrollment rates as well as moderate associations for high schools' community socioeconomic status. Conclusions Strong systemic forces need to be overcome to broaden participation in engineering. We demonstrate the insights that state longitudinal data systems can illuminate in engineering education research.
Investigating student approaches to scenario-based assessments of systems thinking
Norris, Matthew B.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Knight, David B. (Frontiers, 2022-12)
The development of systems thinking is considered a critical skill set for addressing interdisciplinary problems. This skill set is particularly important in the field of engineering, where engineers are often tasked with solving socio-technical problems that often require knowledge beyond their original discipline and practice in unfamiliar contexts. However, existing assessments often fail to accurately measure teachable knowledge or skills that constitute systems thinking. To investigate this issue, we compared students' performance on two previously and independently peer-reviewed scenario-based assessments for systems thinking: The Village of Abeesee and the Lake Urmia Vignette. Twenty undergraduate engineering students participated in a multi-phase case study utilizing think aloud protocols and semi-structured interview methods to elicit the approaches students took thinking across the two instruments and past experiences that they felt prepared them to solve these ill-structured problems. We found that the way a scenario is presented to students impacts their subsequent problem-solving approach, which complicates assessment of systems thinking. Additionally, students identified only limited opportunities for the development of ill-structured problem-solving skills necessary for systems thinking. Our findings inform future work on improving systems thinking assessments and emphasize the importance of more intentionally supplying opportunities for students to practice solving ill-structured problems throughout the curriculum.
A Multiple Case Study of an Interorganizational Collaboration: Exploring the First Year of a Public-Private Partnership Focused on Secondary STEM Education
Gillen, Andrew L. (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-04)
National calls for improving the prospects of STEM workforce development and broadening participation in STEM place the focus of change within the education system. Despite many efforts towards integrating STEM, and specifically engineering, into pre-college settings, mechanisms for change in schools towards these goals remain underdeveloped. While collaborative solutions involving multiple organizations across sectors towards addressing this complex problem appear promising, more work is needed to develop a critical understanding of the processes involved when such different organizations come together to collaborate towards a social goal. Based in an effort to bring more theoretical literature into the discourse around school-university-industry partnership, the purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of how K-12 STEM interorganizational relationships develop in their initial stages by focusing on the collaborative processes and structures and to develop implications for future success of such collaborations. To accomplish this, I used a multiple case study design to investigate the collaborative processes that emerged in the first year of the partnership within VT PEERS (Virginia Tech Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools). I centered my analysis on select adult stakeholders in the collaborative problem who were also programmatic participants including teachers, administrators, industry partners, and university affiliates. Using pre-year and post-year semi-structured interviews with these stakeholders, I characterized the collaborative processes in the first year of the program. Interpretation of results comparing across cases indicated considerations for education and organizational theory literature as well as implications for collaborative practice. Findings confirmed the emergent and negotiated nature of interorganizational collaboration and highlighted the importance of managing communication and reflection in partnership. Organizational culture may impact capacity building when organizations come together towards a complex social goal, particularly when industry is involved, and autonomy and operational issues within the school system and teaching can make collaborating with schools particularly challenging. When organizations come together towards a social goal centered around one of the collaborative partners, equality in exchange may not be a good measure of success. With the caveat that communication needs to be well managed to build credibility among partners, an unequal but equitable exchange of resources may be appropriate in collaborations towards a social goal. While it is tempting to continue to measure quality in interorganizational collaborations narrowly by the outcomes produced, a macro-level look at the collaborative processes involved enables collaborative stakeholders to be intentional about designing for future success.
A multiple case study of an interorganizational collaboration: Exploring the first year of an industry partnership focused on middle school engineering education
Gillen, Andrew L.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Matusovich, Holly M.; Kirk, Gary R. (2021-06-23)
Background Calls to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and particularly engineering, present significant challenges for school systems. Partnerships among engineering industry, universities, and school systems to support learning appear promising, but current work is limited in its conclusions because it lacks a strong connection to theoretical work in interorganizational collaboration. Purpose/Hypothesis This study aims to reflect more critically on the process of how organizations build relationships to address the following research question: In a public-private partnership to integrate engineering into middle school science curriculum, how do stakeholder characterizations of the collaborative process align with existing frameworks of interorganizational collaboration? Design/Method This qualitative, embedded multiple case study considered in-depth pre- and post-year interviews with teachers, administrators, industry, and university personnel during the first year of the Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools (PEERS) program. Transcripts were analyzed using a framework of interorganizational collaboration operationalized for our context. Results Results provide insights into stakeholder perceptions of collaborative processes in the first year of the PEERS program across dimensions of collaboration. These dimensions mapped to three central discussion points with relevance for school-university-industry partnerships: school collaboration as an emergent and negotiated process, tension in collaborating across organizations, and fair share in collaborating toward a social goal. Conclusions Taking a macro-level look at the collaborative processes involved enabled us to develop implications for collaborative stakeholders to be intentional about designing for future success. By systematically applying a framework of collaboration and capitalizing on the rich situational findings possible through a qualitative approach, we shift our understanding of collaborative processes in school-university-industry partnerships for engineering education and contribute to the development of collaboration theory.
Neuroscience for Engineering Sustainability: Measuring Cognition During Design Ideation and Systems Thinking Among Students in Engineering
Hu, Mo (Virginia Tech, 2018-01-16)
Sustainability is inherently a complex problem that requires new ways of thinking. To solve grand challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, and poverty, engineers cannot rely on the same models of thinking that were used to create these problems. Engineering education is therefore critical to advance sustainable engineering solutions. Improving education relies on understanding of cognition of thinking and designing for sustainability. In this thesis, a nascent neuroimaging technology called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure cognition among engineering students thinking about sustainability. fNIRS provides an opportunity to investigate how sustainability in design influences cognition, and how different concept generation techniques help students consider many aspects related to sustainability. The first manuscript provides evidence that engineering students perceive sustainability in design as a constraint, limiting the number of solutions for design and decreasing the cognitive efficiency to generate solutions. Senior engineering students generated fewer solutions than freshmen, however, seniors were better able to cognitively manage the sustainability parameter with higher cognitive efficiency. The second manuscript investigates the cognitive difference when generating concepts using concept listing or concept mapping. The results indicate that concept mapping (i.e. intentionally drawing relationships between concepts) leads to more concepts generated. An increase in concepts during concept mapping was also observed to shift cognitive load in the brain from regions associated with process sequencing to regions associated with cognitive flexibility. This research demonstrates the feasibility of fNIRS applied in engineering research and provides more understanding of the cognitive requirements for sustainability thinking.
Outcome Expectations and Environmental Factors Associated with Engineering College-Going: A Case Study
Matusovich, Holly M.; Gillen, Andrew L.; Carrico, Cheryl; Knight, David B.; Grohs, Jacob R. (Purdue e-Pubs, 2020)
Family, school, and community contexts each link to secondary school enrollment, yet these factors have been comparatively examined only in limited ways. A holistic examination of contextual factors will be particularly important for engineering where college enrollment patterns vary by demographics. To begin explaining patterns of engineering college-going at different high schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia, we answered the following research questions: Within a single school system and from a socializer’s perspective, what outcome expectations and environmental factors influence students’ engineering-related postsecondary educational plans? How are these factors the same and different between high schools within a school district? Using a single-case-study approach and in-depth interviews with socializers (teachers, administrators, and counselors), we examined similarities and differences in outcome expectations and environmental factors at three high schools within a single school district. By integrating the results regarding outcome expectations and environmental factors, three important findings emerged: (1) relationships between outcome expectations and environmental factors vary across schools within the same system, (2) proximity to a postsecondary institution is not just about physical distance, and (3) messaging regarding career pathways matters. Each of these has practical implications but can also set the foundation for future research.
SAT patterns and engineering and computer science college majors: an intersectional, state-level study
Tan, Lin; Bradburn, Isabel S.; Knight, David B.; Kinoshita, Timothy; Grohs, Jacob R. (2022-11-05)
Background Numerous efforts worldwide have been made to increase diversity in engineering and computer science (ECS), fields that pay well and promote upward mobility. However, in the United States (U.S.), females and students from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups (URM) still pursue ECS training far less than do their peers. The current study explored sex and racial/ethnic differences in ECS college enrollment as a function of math and verbal SAT score patterns (balanced or imbalanced) using an intersectional approach within a U.S. context. Data represented a census of students who took the SAT, graduated from all Virginia public high schools between 2006 and 2015, and enrolled in a 4-year college (N = 344,803). Results Our findings show, within each sex, URM students were at least as likely as their non-URM peers to enroll in ECS programs when they scored within similar SAT score ranges. Students were more likely to enroll in ECS programs if their SAT profile favored math, compared to students with similar math and verbal SAT scores (balanced profile). This overall pattern is notably less pronounced for URM female students; their propensity to major in ECS appeared to be largely independent of verbal scores. Conclusions Our findings inform strategies to diversify ECS enrollment. If programs continue to emphasize SAT scores during admission decisions or if more systemic issues of resource allocation in secondary schools are not addressed, other efforts to broaden participation in ECS programs may fall short of goals. Our findings also highlight the importance of considering the intersection of sex and race/ethnicity for recruitment or other educational promotions.
A Snapshot of Virginia’s High School-to- Postsecondary Engineering and Computer Science Enrollments
Knight, David B.; Matusovich, Holly M.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Bradburn, Isabel S. (2022)
Enrollment in engineering and computer science postsecondary degree programs and careers (note: hereafter encapsulated by “engineering”) is not equally distributed across all segments of the population, despite continued investments and efforts to address this gap. This study aimed to better understand the transition from high school into enrollment in postsecondary engineering and computer science bachelor’s programs. Although our original goal was to examine enrollments across all Virginia public high schools for students attending a four-year university, either directly from high school or transferring from community college, we broadened the analysis to consider enrollments in engineering programs at community colleges as well based on early findings. We tracked (anonymous) individual students from Virginia public high schools into postsecondary enrollment (N=685,429 students, high school graduating years 2007-2014) using data from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS). The VLDS connects student-level administrative data from the Department of Education (PK-12) to postsecondary records from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. To better understand or “unpack” why certain schools and divisions yield different engineering enrollment rates, we explored student data in VLDS, such as high school course taking, and also interviewed administrators, school counselors, and teachers from five purposefully sampled regional sites across the state. It is important to note that these data are based on cohorts that completed high school and enrolled in postsecondary institutions prior to the existence of COVID-19. It is too early to understand the effects of COVID-19 on pathways into engineering and computer science postsecondary institutions, but we would anticipate that observed inequities would likely deepen. Our results shed light on demographic and school-based patterns that could be used to (a) guide conversations around local and state policy; and (b) increase and broaden enrollment in engineering in Virginia. In addition to this summary report, we include: 1) analyses specific to your high school/division, and 2) a reflective tool aimed to help guide conversations with local stakeholders to think through these reports and analyses.
STEM education in Virginia 4-H: A qualitative exploration of engineering understandings in 4-H STEM educators
Corkins, Chelsea Rose (Virginia Tech, 2019-07-12)
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is spurred by an economic and social need for cross-discipline understanding of complex, worldwide problems, made through intentional connections between two or more STEM subject areas. In order for educators to articulate these connections, research suggests they must have a firm understanding of the individual disciplines through both content and pedagogical approaches. In 2007, as a leader in non-formal STEM education, 4-H made a specific commitment to improve STEM literacy in America's youth by forming the 4-H Science mission mandate, therefore increasing its STEM programming. This qualitative study examined how 4-H educators come to understand STEM and engineering concepts and utilizations, and whether their backgrounds influence their verbalization or expectations of engineering. Narrative themes emerged that help determine how engineering is currently and can continue to be more clearly and consistently articulated and connected within 4-H programming. Themes included 1) a lack of direct connection or understanding of engineering characteristics to 4-H programs, 2) familiarity with and ability to apply engineering characteristics to the Do Reflect Apply model, and 3) the importance of volunteers as STEM and engineering educators within 4-H programming. Strategies for professional development emphasizing engineering understandings, learning outcomes, and broad applications were discovered. Professional development should consider the effects of engineering and STEM self-efficacy, as well as professional identity development. Additionally, it utilize approaches such as the Do Reflect Apply model, and reflect on the learning objectives 4-H educators strive to achieve during STEM programming in conjunction with life-skills.
Student Outcomes from the Collective Design and Delivery of Culturally Relevant Engineering Outreach Curricula in Rural and Appalachian Middle Schools
Matusovich, Holly M.; Gillen, Andrew L.; Van Montfrans, Veronica; Grohs, Jacob R.; Paradise, Tawni; Carrico, Cheryl; Lesko, Holly; Gilbert, Karen (SAGE Publications, 2021)
Middle school is a pivotal time for career choice, and research is rich with studies on how students perceive engineering, as well as corresponding intervention strategies to introduce younger students to engineering and inform their conceptions of engineering. Unfortunately, such interventions are typically not designed in culturally relevant ways. Consequently, there continues to be a lack of students entering engineering and a low level of diverse candidates for this profession. The purpose of this study was to explore how students in rural and Appalachian Virginia conceive of engineering before and after engagement with culturally relevant hands-on activities in the classroom. We used student responses to the Draw an Engineer Test (DAET), consisting of a drawing and several open-ended prompts administered before and after the set of engagements, to answer our research questions related to changes in students’ conceptions of engineering. We used this study to develop recommendations for teachers for the use of such engineering engagement practices and how to best assess their outcomes, including looking at the practicality of the DAET. Overall, we found evidence that our classroom engagements positively influenced students’ conceptions of engineering in these settings.

Browsing by Author "Grohs, Jacob R."

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