Scholarly Works, Engineering Education

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/24289

Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship

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ROPES Hub Research Brief: Information Sharing Between Institutions in Support of Change
Richardson, Amy Jo; Knight, David B.; Lee, Walter C. (2026-08-05)
Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Open-Source Textbook in a Large, Middle-Year Engineering Mechanics Course
Ryan, Olivia; Grohs, Jacob R.; Dillard, David A.; Lord, James K.; Wallwey, Cassie; Chaback, Benjamin; Walz, Anita R. (ASEE Conferences, 2025-06-23)
This full paper examines how students interact with a new open-source mechanics textbook to assess its effectiveness. Foundational middle-year engineering courses, like Mechanics of Materials, usually occur in undergraduate engineering students' second and third years after completing the required general coursework (e.g., math, physics, and chemistry). These courses are often characterized by large enrollments, primarily lecture-based formats, and a significant amount of required content. In these types of classes, it is a common practice to require students to buy a homework access code and a textbook to complete the assigned online homework. This requirement places a financial burden on students because of the high cost associated with online access codes and textbooks. Furthermore, engineering students do not spend much time interacting with the textbook and tend to interact with content that helps them complete their homework assignments. Therefore, improving the quality and access to textbooks may be crucial to enhancing student engagement and learning in these foundational courses. This study examines how students utilize and perceive a free, open-access online textbook during its initial implementation in a middle-year engineering course. It also compares this usage with course materials from similar courses that use traditional, cost-based materials. To understand student opinions, we administered pre-and post-surveys, as well as focus groups, in classes that piloted the textbook. We found that students valued the open-access textbook utilized in the course due to its affordability, conciseness, and helpful visual representations. In addition, they appreciated that the book was free. This work can help improve large middle-year engineering classes with respect to the financial strain on students and effective course materials. Findings from this study contribute to ongoing discussions about the role of open educational resources (OER) in alleviating financial strain, improving student engagement, and enhancing learning experiences in engineering education.
Strengthening S-STEM Pathways: Lessons Learned from Working Engineering Students
Johnson, Taylor; Richardson, Amy Jo; Rodriguez, Sarah L.; Lee, Walter C. (2026-05-22)
Strengthening S-STEM Pathways: Lessons Learned From Cross-Sector Partnerships
Moyer, Stephen; Richardson, Amy Jo; Newcomer, James (2026-04-22)
Teacher-Identified Needs-Driven Professional Development in Rural Education: Designing for Engineering and Interdisciplinary Integration
Glisson, Hannah; Grohs, Jacob R.; Bilow, Felicity; Schilling, Malle (MDPI, 2026-03-21)
Rural educators face persistent structural barriers to accessing professional development that supports instructional change, particularly in disciplines such as engineering that require specialized knowledge and resources. This study examines a needs-driven professional development initiative designed to support rural K–12 educators in integrating engineering concepts through a school–university partnership in Southwest Virginia. Using a mixed-methods needs assessment consisting of a regional survey and in-depth interviews with teachers and administrators, we identified key challenges related to professional development access, relevance, and sustainability. These findings informed the design of a two-day professional development workshop grounded in place-based education and teacher pedagogical choice. Results highlight educators’ preferences for contextually relevant, hands-on learning experiences and the importance of ongoing support and professional community-building. While situated in a rural region, the findings have broader implications for professional development policy and practice across diverse educational settings. By explicitly examining how needs assessment findings were translated into professional development design decisions, this study contributes practice-based evidence for creating more equitable and context-responsive professional learning models.
Homework Software Access Code Replacements and Strategies: A Roundtable Discussion
Walz, Anita R.; Russell, J. Morgan; Hart, Heath David; Lord, James K.; Grohs, Jacob R. (2025-02-13)
Homework software systems save time for instructors, particularly in large-enrollment courses. However, student-paid access codes have limited functionality and are expensive--between $50-150 per course per semester for the 30% of courses which require them. Functionality affects learning and costs disproportionally affect historically underserved students and student academic performance. Virginia Tech’s Open Education Initiative is working to establish a variety of options for instructors. Join this Roundtable to discuss with instructors from STEM and non-STEM disciplines who use university approved, no-fee-to-students alternatives including: WeBWorK, PressbooksResults, peer-reviewed test banks for LMS import, and problem set environment for engineering. Downloadable files include slides and submitted proposal.
Teaching Communication in Capstone Design: The Role of the Instructor in Situated Learning
Paretti, Marie C. (ASEE, 2008-10)
Calls for engineers to communicate more effectively are ubiquitous, and engineering education literature includes numerous examples of assignments and courses that integrate writing and speaking with technical content. However, little of this literature examines in detail how engineering students develop communication skills and how those learning mechanisms influence classroom practice. To address this gap, this article synthesizes research on communication learning in college from the fields of composition and technical communication and illustrates its relevance to the engineering classroom with a case study of a capstone design course. The principles of situated learning and activity theory, in particular, provide strong evidence that the ways in which course instructors and students interact around communication tasks play a significant role in helping students develop transferable communication skills.
Understanding health systems thinking in medical education: qualitative interviews with expert clinicians
Norris, Matthew B.; Grohs, Jacob R.; Mutcheson, R. Brock; Karp, Natalie; Katz, Andrew; Musick, David W.; Lane, Heidi; Parker, Sarah; Gonzalo, Jed (2026-01-31)
Background: Health systems science (HSS) education is an increasingly important component of undergraduate medical education. Despite curricular advances, the ways in which clinicians implement health systems science knowledge in everyday clinical practice, health systems thinking, remains understudied. A better understanding of how clinicians engage in health systems thinking to address everyday problems in clinical contexts is needed. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 expert clinicians experienced in undergraduate medical education, health systems science, and curriculum development to identify components of competent health systems thinking. Interview questions were informed by ecological systems theory and literature on learning professional competencies. Results: Through interviews with experts, we have come to define health systems thinking (HST) as “an approach to solving problems in healthcare systems that utilizes a deeper understanding of interconnections and behavior of the entire system. As a skill, it coordinates the application of clinical and HSS knowledge and skills toward solving a contextual problem in the healthcare environment.” Clinician comments support the idea that HST is a metacognitive process rather than a specific subset of knowledge domains or affective attributes. This process requires that clinicians understand and navigate pressures on patient care originating from surrounding meso- and macro-systems. Conclusions: Medical students require more explicit exposure to HSS knowledge being implemented in clinical environments, and varied examples highlighting how meso- and macro-system patterns can impact individual patient care. This metacognitive integration of HSS knowledge into everyday clinical practice is critical for preparing medical students to meet the requirements of the accreditation council for graduate medical education (ACGME) core competencies in residency programs. Health systems thinking requires a method of operational assessment to provide students feedback and highlight targeted interventions for further development.
Centering the Arts in the Age of AI: Advancing Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development through Creative Practices
Byrne, Daragh; Flanigan, Maryrose; Knapp, R. Benjamin; Knochel, Aaron; McNair, Lisa D. (2025-04-01)
a2ru is pleased to share the Executive Summary of findings from the 2024 symposium “Creativity, Empathy, and AI: A National Summit on the Human-AI Creative Partnership,” hosted by a2ru member institutions Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon and Penn State in partnership with a2ru. “Centering the Arts in the Age of AI: Advancing Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development through Creative Practices” was prepared by Daragh Byrne (Carnegie Mellon), Maryrose Flanigan (a2ru), R. Benjamin Knapp (Virginia Tech), Aaron Knochel (Penn State), and Lisa McNair (Virginia Tech). The report summarizes three main benefits of forging new partnerships between the arts and other fields leading in AI development, as well as outlining recommendations, key commitments, and corresponding actions developed in the 2-day summit. The executive summary concludes with a list of policy recommendations for government entities to ensure American competitiveness in AI through the Arts.
A New Hybrid Model for Faculty Hiring Workshops
Fleming, Gabriella Coloyan; Hunt, Grayson; Watson, Del; Mastronardi, Marialice; You, Sally; Contreras, Lydia; Borrego, Maura; Smith, Mark J. T. (2023-09-04)
This paper reports on a new model for faculty hiring workshops involving three components. The first part (Part 1) of the work is an asynchronous, self-guided course that includes video reflections and commentaries from some of our own colleagues about inclusive excellence, hiring legalities, and departmental culture. The second part (Part 2) is a virtual 90-minute interactive session with breakout room discussions overseen by a facilitator. The last part (Part 3) is a monthly offering of optional onehour discussion sessions to answer additional questions, support university-wide conversations and allow participants to probe more deeply into diversity hiring opportunities and challenges. To evaluate the workshops, we administered a survey immediately following Part 2 and later conducted interviews with participants at the conclusion of their faculty search. Survey results show that nearly all elements of the workshops were wellreceived and participants reported feeling confident in their understanding of inclusive excellence, legal issues associated with hiring, and the potential for unintended bias in reviewing candidate files. The paper also provides an analysis of the interview and survey data as well as some conclusions about the impact of these new efforts on inclusive hiring.
What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements
Fleming, Gabriella Coloyan; Klopfer, Michelle; Katz, Andrew; Knight, David B. (Wiley, 2024-04)
Background: Engineering curricula are built around faculty and accreditors' perceptions of what knowledge, skills, and abilities graduates will need in engineering careers. However, the people making these decisions may not be fully aware of what industry employers require for engineering graduates. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is to determine how industry employer-sought professional and technical skills vary among engineering disciplines and levels of education. Design/Method: Using a large sample (n = 26,103) of mined job advertisements, we use the O*NET skills database to determine the frequencies of different professional and technical skills for biomedical, civil, chemical, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineers with bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees. Results: The most frequently sought professional skill is problem-solving; the most frequently sought technical skills across disciplines are Microsoft Office software and computer-aided design software. Although not the most frequently requested skills, job advertisements including the Python and MATLAB programming languages paid significantly higher salaries than those without. Conclusions: The findings of this study have important implications for engineering program leaders and curriculum designers choosing which skills to teach students so that they are best prepared to get and excel in engineering jobs. The results also show which skills students can prioritize investing their time in so that they receive the largest financial return on their investment.
Professorial intentions of engineering PhDs from historically excluded groups: The influence of graduate school experiences
Fleming, Gabriella Coloyan; Cobb, Sydni Alexa; Borrego, Maura (Wiley, 2024-07)
Background: In addition to the benefits of a diverse faculty, many institutions are under pressure from students and administrators to increase the number of faculty from historically excluded backgrounds. Despite increases in the numbers of engineering PhD earners from these groups, the percentages of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino tenure-track faculty have not increased, and the percentage of women remains low. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how experiences in graduate school encourage or deter PhD earners from historically excluded groups in pursuing an engineering academic career. Method: We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with engineering PhD students and recent graduates, with half of participants interested and half disinterested in pursuing an academic career after graduation. Results: Three key factors emerged as strongly influential on participants' desire to pursue an academic career: their relationship with their advisor, their perception of their advisor's work–life balance, and their perception of the culture of academia. Participants extrapolated their experiences in graduate school to their imagined lives as faculty. The results illuminate the reasons why engineering PhD earners from historically underrepresented groups remain in or leave the academic career pathway after graduate school. Conclusions: The findings of this study have important implications for how graduate students' and postdoc's relationships with their advisors as well as perceptions of their advisors' work–life balances and the culture of academia affect future faculty. We make recommendations on what students, faculty, and administrators can do to create a more inclusive environment to encourage students from historically excluded groups to consider academic careers.
Synergistic organizational influences: how universities strategically prepare graduate students for industry, government, and non-profit careers
Fleming, Gabriella Coloyan; Richardson, Amy Jo; Knight, David B.; Borrego, Maura; Deters, Jessica; Grote, Dustin (Springer, 2025-11-19)
A majority of engineering postgraduate students (Master’s and PhD) enter into jobs in industry, government, and non-profit organizations. However, most postgraduate programming is geared toward careers in academia. Our study examines how universities prepare engineering postgraduate students for careers outside of academia. We draw on interview data with administrators across 11 institutions and leverage an existing framework for organizational influences to identify how institutions leverage their organizational characteristics, organizational culture, and/or management strategies to prepare engineering postgraduate students for these careers. The highest-impact efforts were those that synergistically leveraged at least two organizational influences, such as utilizing an industry advisory board to design career-relevant curricula. We conclude with recommendations for how institutions can help their students be prepared for these career sectors.
Towards a Psychologically Realist, Culturally Responsive Approach to Engineering Ethics in Global Contexts
Clancy, Rockwell F.; Zhu, Qin; Streiner, Scott; Gammon, Andrea; Thorpe, Ryan (Springer, 2025-04-01)
This paper describes the motivations and some directions for bringing insights and methods from moral and cultural psychology to bear on how engineering ethics is conceived, taught, and assessed. Therefore, the audience for this paper is not only engineering ethics educators and researchers but also administrators and organizations concerned with ethical behaviors. Engineering ethics has typically been conceived and taught as a branch of professional and applied ethics with pedagogical aims, where students and practitioners learn about professional codes and/or Western ethical theories and then apply these resources to address issues presented in case studies about engineering and/or technology. As a result, accreditation and professional bodies have generally adopted ethical reasoning skills and/or moral knowledge as learning outcomes. However, this paper argues that such frameworks are psychologically “irrealist” and culturally biased: it is not clear that ethical judgments or behaviors are primarily the result of applying principles, or that ethical concerns captured in professional codes or Western ethical theories do or should reflect the engineering ethical concerns of global populations. Individuals from Western educated industrialized rich democratic cultures are outliers on various psychological and social constructs, including self-concepts, thought styles, and ethical concerns. However, engineering is more cross cultural and international than ever before, with engineers and technologies spanning multiple cultures and countries. For instance, different national regulations and cultural values can come into conflict while performing engineering work. Additionally, ethical judgments may also result from intuitions, closer to emotions than reflective thought, and behaviors can be affected by unconscious, social, and environmental factors. To address these issues, this paper surveys work in engineering ethics education and assessment to date, shortcomings within these approaches, and how insights and methods from moral and cultural psychology could be used to improve engineering ethics education and assessment, making them more culturally responsive and psychologically realist at the same time.
ROPES Hub Research Brief: Strengthening STEM Pathways – Lessons Learned Supporting Low-Income S-STEM Students
Major, Justin; Richardson, Amy Jo; Rodriguez, Sarah (2026-01-15)
Exploring experiences that foster recognition in engineering across race and gender
McIntyre, Brianna Benedict; Scalaro, Kelsey; Godwin, Allison; Kirn, Adam; Verdin, Dina (American Society for Engineering Education, 2024-10-01)
Background: Students' recognition beliefs have emerged as one of the most important components of engineering role identity development for early-career undergraduate students. Recognition beliefs are students' perceptions of how meaningful others, such as peers, instructors, and family, see them as engineers. However, little work has investigated the experiences that facilitate recognition beliefs, particularly across the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender. Investigation of these experiences provides ways to understand how recognition may be supported in engineering environments and how White and masculine norms in engineering can shape marginalized students' experiences. Purpose: We examined how specific experiences theorized to promote recognition are related to recognition beliefs for students at the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender. Based on self-reported demographics, we created 10 groups, including Asian, Black, Latino and Hispanic, Indigenous, and White cisgender men and Asian, Black, Latine/x/a/o and Hispanic, Indigenous, and White ciswomen, trans, and non-binary individuals. This article describes the patterns within each intersectional group rather than drawing comparisons across the groups, which can perpetuate raced and gendered stereotypes. Methods: The data came from a survey distributed in Fall 2017 (n = 2316). Ten multiple regression models were used to understand the recognition experiences that influenced students' recognition beliefs by intersectional group. Results: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing students' recognition beliefs. For example, family members referring to the student as an engineer are positively related to recognition beliefs for Asian, Black, Latino and Hispanic, and White cisgender men. Friends seeing Asian and White marginalized gender students as an engineer is predictive of recognition beliefs. Other recognition experiences, such as receiving compliments from an engineering instructor or peer about their engineering design and contributions to the team, do not influence the recognition beliefs of these early-career engineering students. Conclusion: This article emphasizes the need to draw on multiple experiences to support the equitable development of early-career engineers across race, ethnicity, and gender, and reveals patterns for recognition that may support future scholarship on effective classroom practices for recognition.
Engineering culture under stress: A comparative case study of undergraduate mechanical engineering student experiences
Deters, Jessica R.; Leydens, Jon A.; Case, Jennifer M.; Cowell, Margaret M. (American Society for Engineering Education, 2024-04-01)
Background: Engineering culture research to date has described the culture as rigid, chilly, and posing many barriers to entry. However, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an important opportunity to explore how engineering culture responds to a major disruption. Purpose: The purposes of this study are to understand how elements of engineering culture emerged in mechanical engineering students' perceptions of their classroom experiences during the pandemic and how their experiences varied across two national contexts. Method: This qualitative comparative case study examines undergraduate mechanical engineering students' perceptions of their experiences taking courses during the pandemic at two universities-one in the United States and one in South Africa. Semistructured interviews were conducted across both sites with 21 students and contextualized with 3 faculty member interviews. Student interviews were analyzed using an iterative process of deductive coding, inductive coding, and pattern coding. Results: We identified two key themes that characterized participants' experiences during the pandemic: hardness and access to resources. We found that students at both sites experienced two types of hardness-intrinsic and constructed-and were more critical of constructed forms of hardness. We found that the South African university's response to facilitating student access to resources was viewed by students as more effective when compared with the US university. Conclusions: We found that hardness remained a central feature of engineering culture, based on student perceptions, and found that students expressed awareness of resource-related differences. A key distinction emerged between intrinsic and constructed hardness.
ROPES Hub Research Brief: Strengthening STEM Pathways: Lessons Learned in S-STEM Faculty & Peer Mentoring
Becerra Montano, Jazmin; Lehr, Jane L.; Richardson, Amy Jo; Knight, David B. (2025-12-08)
ROPES Hub Research Brief: Strengthening STEM Pathways - Lessons Learned in S-STEM Identity
Rodriguez, Sarah L.; Blaney, Jennifer M.; Richardson, Amy Jo; Knight, David B. (2025-11-11)
An exploration of psychological safety and conflict in first-year engineering student teams
Huerta, Mark Vincent; Sajadi, Susan; Schibelius, Lisa; Ryan, Olivia Jane; Fisher, Marin (American Society for Engineering Education, 2024-07-01)
Background: Developing teamwork skills is a central objective of engineering education. Psychological safety and conflict management are pivotal components of teamwork, yet despite their significance, research in engineering project-based learning (PBL) contexts is scant. Understanding students' experiences with psychological safety and its interaction with conflict is crucial to inform PBL pedagogy. Purpose: This study delves into first-year engineering students' experiences of psychological safety and conflict, including their evolution in a PBL course. Methods: Throughout the semester, we collected data from 82 students via written reflections and focus groups. Employing a thematic analysis underpinned by the team conflict dynamics model, we characterized students' experiences with psychological safety and conflict. Findings: At the semester's outset, psychological safety was notably lacking. Students often hesitated to share ideas due to apprehensions about peer reactions and fears of negative judgments. As the semester advanced, consistent positive affirmations nurtured psychological safety, increasing students' confidence and readiness to discuss ideas openly and engage in healthy task conflict. Notably, process conflicts arising from absenteeism, poor communication, and procrastination were prevalent across teams. When unresolved, these conflicts eroded psychological safety, intensifying stress, exacerbating frustrations, and provoking relationship conflict. Conclusions: Our study underscores the intertwined nature of psychological safety and conflict in shaping the first-year design experience in student teams. We urge faculty to recognize their pivotal role in fostering an inclusive culture and highlight pedagogical strategies that can bolster psychological safety at the onset, encourage healthy task conflict, and monitor unhealthy process and relationship conflicts.

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