Raising their Voices: Exploring Women's Experiences with Instruction in Engineering Courses
Beverly, Selyna
2022
Abstract
The presence of women and people of color in the engineering workforce is essential to ensuring a wide range of perspectives are considered as engineers engage in solving crucial problems within a heterogeneous world. Engineering programs, however, struggle to retain women and people of color thus affecting their participation in the engineering workforce. This study examined the effects of engineering instruction on the socioemotional outcomes of women students. Using a social constructivist epistemology and feminist lens, I sought to 1) understand instruction in engineering courses, 2) identify women’s perceptions of instruction that made them feel included or excluded in the learning environment, and 3) understand how the learning environment contributed to women’s socioemotional outcomes and how they differed by race/gender in engineering classrooms. The study was conducted in two online, synchronous, chemical engineering courses at a large research university. A mixed-method design combined data from student surveys, classroom observations, and group interviews with students. Instructor interviews focused on pedagogical approaches and decisions. Pre- and post-surveys collected men and women students’ perceptions of instruction, specifically, student-centered teaching, classroom climate (classroom bias and classroom comfort), classroom inclusivity (learning-centered environment and instructor bias) and instructor inclusivity, and three socioemotional outcomes: classroom sense of belonging, engineering self-efficacy, and desire to remain in the field. Class observations of 63 online class sessions occurred to characterize the overall pedagogical approach and triangulate data collected from the instructors and students. Group interviews, which prioritized women students, gathered data on students’ perceptions to understand their reactions to instruction in these courses. Group interviews consisted of 68 student participants (organized by students’ race/ethnicity and gender), and 170 student respondents to the pre- and post-survey. Regression analyses revealed positive significant relationships between instructor inclusivity, low instructor bias, and student-centered teaching. Classroom comfort was positively related to the socioemotional outcome of classroom sense of belonging and there was a positive bi-directional relationship between post- engineering self-efficacy and classroom sense of belonging. Identifying as a woman was negatively related to pre- and post-engineering self-efficacy although women’s self-efficacy increased at post-survey. Qualitative findings supported quantitative findings and expanded understandings of inclusive teaching practices and their impacts on women. Women participants discussed entering the courses with negative beliefs about their abilities and low self-confidence due to negative past experiences with engineering peers and instructors, but most reported increased levels of confidence and capability after taking the courses. Teaching practices such as positive reinforcement and validation when students asked and answered questions, showing empathy, expressing care for student learning and well-being, and treating students with respect and in a collegial manner promoted men and women students’ perceptions of instructor inclusivity. In addition, providing formative feedback and presenting relevant content increased all students’ engineering confidence. For women, the relevance of course content and confidence in their learning increased their desire to remain in chemical engineering. Women also indicated that comfort with peers and instructors led to a sense of community and sense of belonging in the classroom. The study presents a new, empirically derived conceptual framework, “The Effects of Inclusive Instruction on Women in the Engineering Classroom,” and theoretical propositions based on this framework to guide future studies. Further implications of this research are outlined, and the study concludes with practical recommendations for instructional development and other ways to improve the educational experiences of marginalized students.Deep Blue DOI
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instruction engineering women classrooms
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