Questioning Implicit Assumptions – Proactively Fostering Inclusion In Engineering Activity Design

Within discussions of inclusion work in engineering education, calls have been made to shift to a shared responsibility model where all are responsible for proactively fostering inclusive environments. In an academic setting, it is through pro-active design of learning activities that academics can pre-emptively meet the needs of diverse students such that they may feel included. This design work often relies on academics being educated or aware of what is inclusive or exclusive for different groups that have traditionally underrepresented identities and lived experiences. However, academics do not always possess this information. This workshop proposes an approach that asks academics to employ a process-based approach to consider what assumptions underpin the design of a real-life student-centered activity and seek information to challenge those assumptions. Participants will employ this approach as well as a suggested method for drawing on evidence-based practice to consider structural and design changes that may make the activity in question more inclusive

The Mathematics of Gossip

How does a lie spread through a community? The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to provide an educational tool for teaching Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and sensitivity analysis through a culturally relevant topic (fake news), and to examine the social justice implications of misinformation. Under the assumption that people are susceptible to, can be infected with, and recover from a lie, we model the spread of false information with the classic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. We develop a system of ODEs with lie-dependent parameter values to examine the pervasiveness of a lie through a community. The model presents the opportunity for the education of ODEs in a classroom setting through a creative application. The model brings a socially and culturally relevant topic into the classroom, allowing students who may not relate with purely technical examples to connect with the material. Including diverse perspectives in the discussion and development of mathematics and engineering will enable creative and differing approaches to the worlds\u27 problems

What does it mean to be “prepared for work”? Perceptions of new engineers

Background: Engineering education seeks to prepare students for engineering practice, but the concept of preparedness is often ill-defined. Moreover, findings from studies of different populations or in different contexts vary regarding how well new graduates are prepared. These variations, coupled with the lack of clarity, suggest the need to better understand what it means to be prepared for engineering work. Purpose: This study contributes to research on workplace preparation by exploring how new graduates describe being prepared for engineering work. Method: Applying secondary analysis to data from the multi-institution Capstone To Work (C2W) project, we used thematic analysis to explore new engineers\u27 descriptions of preparedness. We analyzed written responses to structured questions about the school-to-work transition collected weekly during participants\u27 first 12 weeks of work; 105 graduates drawn from four universities provided 956 responses, with a mean of 9 (out of 12 possible) responses per participant. Results: Participants\u27 descriptions of preparedness included applying concrete skills, recognizing familiar situations, and having strategies for approaching challenging tasks even when they lacked relevant knowledge or skill. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that although many discussions about workplace preparation implicitly focus narrowly on mastery of skills and knowledge, that focus may not fully capture new graduates\u27 experiences, and may limit discussions about the ways in which school can (and cannot) prepare students for work. A more expansive understanding may better support both student learning and workplace onboarding, though more research is needed across stakeholders to establish shared understanding

Women\u27s Experiences in the Transition from Capstone Design Courses to Engineering Workplaces

Substantial research over the past few decades has documented the challenges women experience both as students in engineering programs and as professionals in engineering workplaces. Few studies, however, have followed women from one context to the other to explore the ways in which school experiences, and particularly capstone experiences designed to facilitate this transition, do and do not prepare women for their work as practicing engineers. To address this gap, we draw on data from a larger multi-institution study to address the question, “How do women experience the transition from engineering school to engineering work?” Participants for this study are drawn from a larger study across four universities (three mechanical engineering programs and one engineering science program). All participants identified as “female” on a screening questionnaire that included options for transgender and gender-nonconforming, as well as an option to skip the question. The full data set includes interviews with the participants conducted at the end of their capstone design course, responses to open-ended questions sent each week during their first 12 weeks of work, and interviews conducted after three, six, and 12 months of work. To answer the research question, we used purposeful sampling to identify four women whose interviews represented different trajectories across this school-to-work transition; we then used constructed narrative analysis to present their individual stories and identify salient points of similarity and difference for discussion. We also present implications for engineering educators, including that life-long learning should be expected, communication and collaboration are as essential workplace skills as technical competencies, and that gender is not necessarily a homogenizing force. Above all, we emphasize the power of the individual voice in better understanding the experiences of our students

New Engineers’ First Three Months: A Study of the Transition from Capstone Design Courses to Workplaces

In preparing engineering students for the workplace, capstone classes provide unique opportunities for students to develop their professional identities and learn critical skills such as engineering design, teamwork, and self-directed learning (Lutz & Paretti). While existing research explores what and how students learn within these courses, we know much less about how capstone courses affect students’ transitions into the workplace. To address this gap, we are following 62 new graduates from four institutions during the participants’ first 12 weeks of work. Participants were drawn from three mechanical engineering programs and one engineering science program. Women were intentionally oversampled in the study, with 29 participants (47%) identifying as female. Weekly surveys were used to collect quantitative data on what types of workplace activities participants engaged in (e.g., team meetings, project budgeting, CAD modeling, engineering calculations) and qualitative data on what challenges they experience in their early work experience. In this paper, we present a descriptive analysis of the data to identify patterns across participants. Preliminary analysis of the quantitative data suggests that the most common activities for our participants were team meetings and project planning (mentioned by \u3e70% of participants) compared to formal presentations and project budgeting (mentioned by The results are intended to inform both capstone faculty and industry to identify areas of strength and improvement. Our recommendations target current practices in capstone education including course design and structure as well as industry onboarding practices

Exploring Narratives of Researcher Development for Student Researchers Abroad

Background: Research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students have the potential to provide significant learning experiences, but most research of these experiences focuses primarily on their outcomes. To better design such experiences for a diverse range of students, it is important to understand student narratives of researcher development and identify significant experiences in their development as researchers. Purpose: In this study, we explored narratives of researcher development for seven US civil engineering students in an eight-week research experience in Australia. Through these narratives, we sought to identify categories of significant experiences to characterize the early stage of the researcher development process. Method: Each student participated in a series of interviews throughout the program, which were used to construct narratives about their research experiences. Results: We identified several common significant experiences across the students’ narratives but observed that students navigated their fit within the research environment in different ways. We interpret these differences in the narratives using Person-Environment Fit theory and argue that this theory can support a complex analysis of students’ experiences in educational environments. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that assessing Person-Environment Fit is an important part of the early stages of researcher development. We recommend that the design of research programs should intentionally consider different levels of the environment and ensure sufficient challenge and support so that students can assess their fit with research as a career

Oligomeric and fibrillar species of β-amyloid (Aβ42) both impair mitochondrial function in P301L tau transgenic mice

We recently provided evidence for a mitochondrial dysfunction in P301L tau transgenic mice, a strain modeling the tau pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In addition to tau aggregates, the AD brain is further characterized by Aβ peptide-containing plaques. When we addressed the role of Aβ, this indicated a synergistic action of tau and Aβ pathology on the mitochondria. In the present study, we compared the toxicity of different Aβ42 conformations in light of recent studies suggesting that oligomeric rather than fibrillar Aβ might be the actual toxic species. Interestingly, both oligomeric and fibrillar, but not disaggregated (mainly monomeric) Aβ42 caused a decreased mitochondrial membrane potential in cortical brain cells obtained from FTD P301L tau transgenic mice. This was not observed with cerebellar preparations indicating selective vulnerability of cortical neurons. Furthermore, we found reductions in state 3 respiration, the respiratory control ratio, and uncoupled respiration when incubating P301L tau mitochondria either with oligomeric or fibrillar preparations of Aβ42. Finally, we found that aging specifically increased the sensitivity of mitochondria to oligomeric Aβ42 damage indicating that oligomeric and fibrillar Aβ42 are both toxic, but exert different degrees of toxicity