Background: While recent engineering education research has focused on the pathways that students take as they transition into engineering programs in higher education, little has explicitly focused on developing an understanding of students as they select and transfer into engineering from other majors. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to…

Background: We have developed several interactive virtual laboratories (IVLs) based on a sequence of agent-based molecular simulations designed to target specific threshold concepts to help students learn thermodynamics. We previously analyzed learning in the IVLs from a cognitive perspective, seeking to repair students' misconceptions; however,…

The field of research (FoR) that an academic participates in is both a manifestation of, and a contributor to the development of their identity. When an academic changes that FoR the question then arises as to how they reconcile this change with their identity. This paper uses the identity-trajectory framework to analyse the discourse of 19…

The development of talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields remains a national priority, one for which increasing the number of STEM participants from historically underrepresented populations is germane. Increasing the number of historically underrepresented students who complete advanced degrees in STEM will not…

Engineering is receiving unprecedented attention in early childhood and elementary classrooms. Teachers of young children may recognize the ways young children act as natural engineers as they design and create with materials from the classroom or playground. Everyday experiences such as choosing the type of bag: paper, plastic, or a reusable…

Nationwide, leaders in business and industry have increasingly acknowledged the importance of entrepreneurship. Several areas of the country showcase the importance of entrepreneurship such as Silicon Valley in California where a large number of start-up companies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are located. To meet the…

Despite an increase in entrepreneurial activity at many universities, faculty perspectives on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial mindsets are limited. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study exploring eighteen engineering faculty members' experiences with entrepreneurship, including why entrepreneurship is valuable to engineering…

Research has shown that once a potential solution to a problem has settled into one's mind, it can be difficult to break from the original idea and move in a different direction (Cardoso & BadkeSchaub, 2009; Jansson & Smith, 1991). When designers are given examples (whether as models, photographs, sketches, or drawings), they often fixate…

Interest in engineering at the P-12 level has increased in recent years, largely in response to STEM educational reform. Despite greater attention to the value, importance, and use of engineering for teaching and learning, the educational community has engaged minimally in its deliberate and coherent study. Specifically, few efforts have been…

Enrollment in engineering programs by women and minority students has steadily decreased in recent years. Extending participation in programs for Research Experience Undergraduates (REU) to underqualified candidates may help recruit and retain students to engineering if the students are positioned in research teams in ways that leverage the assets…

To maintain America's status as a global technological leader, there has been a longstanding effort to increase the quality and quantity of engineers in the workforce. Previous research and government reports have called on the education system at all levels to increase enrollment and persistence in college engineering programs. Additionally,…

A class diagram is one of the most important diagrams of Unified Modeling Language (UML) and can be used for modeling the static structure of a software system. Learning from errors is a teaching approach based on the assumption that errors can promote learning. We applied a constructive approach of using errors in designing a UML class diagram in…

The effectiveness of educational games is contingent upon players staying engaged. When players become stuck, the availability of in-game instructional guidance can help them to overcome obstacles and continue to progress. In this study, we examined the impact of different formats for instructional assets designed to support learners as they play…

Professional Identity is a concept that has been explored over the years in a number of disciplines, but with little attention paid to engineers. A more specific component of professional identity is engineering identity, which warrants further investigation due to positive impacts on retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate how…

Through a study exploring the role of spirituality in the lives of Black women pursuing engineering doctorates, this article provides a reimagining of researcher/participant relationships in qualitative research and highlights new possibilities in cultivating research relationships that are both humanizing and healing. This reimagining is guided…