Current research underscores that there are only a few evidence-based programs that teach STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as part of their curriculum, especially for autistic students. Even fewer programs focus on engineering and design learning. Hence, we developed an informal afterschool maker program to develop autistic…

Research on improving engineering skills in students advocates for high-quality teaching practices as well as the implementation of digitally enhanced management systems, such as e-Learning. Furthermore, COVID-19 led to several changes in education, such as switching drastically from face to face to emergency remote and later hybrid teaching. This…

This is the tenth in a series of articles entitled "The Legacy Project." The Legacy Project focuses on the lives and actions of leaders who have forged our profession into what it is today. Members of the profession owe a debt of gratitude to these leaders. One simple way to demonstrate that gratitude is to recognize these leaders and…

Using social cognitive career theory and the cognitive information processing model as frameworks, in this constructivist case study we examined the career-related experiences and decisions of 10 women engineering undergraduate seniors who accepted full-time positions. From the data analysis 3 major themes emerged: critical undergraduate…

Self-efficacy toward science learning has been shown to play a crucial role in determining students' motivation and achievements. Social cognitive theory proposes that positive and negative task outcomes affect mastery experiences from which self-efficacy develops. The current research examined whether prior level of self-efficacy would serve as a…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been implemented and studied throughout the sciences, with well-documented benefits now clear for both students and faculty. Despite their increasingly widespread application, there remain very few documented implementations within engineering curricula. In the present work, we describe…

Contribution: This article presents the design of in-game tools to support learning within an educational video game and investigates the impact of tool usage on engineering students' performance in an introductory digital circuit design course. Background: Despite the level of appeal of video games to college students, there is a lack of…

Casting light on the pros and cons of every educational program, the outcomes of an effective evaluative endeavor may serve as a guideline for education authorities interested in content enhancement schemes. Focusing on English for specific purposes (ESP) courses for engineering students, the current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of…

We implemented a STEM task that highlights the engineering cycle and engages students in productive struggle. Students problem solved in productive ways and saw tangible benefits of revising their work to achieve mathematical goals.

The national society of professional engineers has said, "engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people." The demand for career-ready engineering professionals has been a consistent, high priority area for the U.S. workforce for the last several decades. Specifically, this call expresses a desire for…

Our aim was to explore the usefulness of Use, Change, Value (UCV) discussions to facilitate Transformative Experiences (TE) in online engineering courses. We investigated the predictive relationship between perceived instrumentality (PI) and interest on TE. We also investigated gender differences in the predictive relationships between the…

Background: The retention of traditionally underserved students remains a pressing problem across graduate engineering programs. Disciplinary differences in graduate engineering identity provide a lens to investigate students' experiences and can pinpoint potential opportunity structures that support or hinder progress based on social and personal…

Background: As engineering remains central to the US economy, it is imperative that the innovators of this field reflect the world in which we live. Despite decades of concerted effort to broaden participation in engineering, representation continues to lack. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide education researchers and practitioners…

Background: Recently there has been considerable interest in making as a means to promote interest in engineering careers. Leveraging making practices that already exist in communities could provide a way to address the severe underrepresentation of minority groups, such as Native Americans, in engineering. Before any programs or curricula can be…

The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of augmented reality (AR) in an introductory engineering graphics course. The study specifically examined the potential for AR to affect the spatial visualization ability of students and influence student motivation. This study included 50 students from an introductory engineering graphics course…