Understanding Career Identity Development and Preparedness of Freshmen Students to Leverage Convergence in Engineering Education

Overview of a Financial Literacy Course for Incoming Engineering Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution

“…Introductory university courses are key learning environments during which entering students, regardless of their academic majors, can be equipped with knowledge and skills on complementary topics such as personal financial management [10]. The introduction of students to their chosen STEM field of study is a major step toward enriching their academic identity development (e.g., [11], [12], and [13]), expressly for URM students who most often do not have direct access to STEM role models and social and financial support systems [14] [15].…”

“…The introduction of students to their chosen STEM field of study is a major step toward enriching their academic identity development (e.g., [11], [12], and [13]), expressly for URM students who most often do not have direct access to STEM role models and social and financial support systems [14] [15]. Similarly, introductory university courses can be strategically designed to positively influence the academic preparedness and motivation of students to succeed along their chosen careers (e.g., [10], [16], [17], and [18]). Moreover, the curriculum design of introductory university courses should incorporate learning opportunities that are meaningful and can fulfill the needs and challenges of the targeted student population; in this case, to develop their finance and money management skills.…”

Inspiring Academic Engagement and Motivation of Minority College Students through Transformative Success Stories on Social Media (Work-in-Progress)

“…The percentage of students pursuing STEM degrees in college is on the rise, even though it remains low in many STEM disciplines [8]. Students recognize the importance of STEM careers, but a major challenge for entering college students to complete their academic programs is to maintain focus and motivation on long-term goals [9]. Therefore, the motivation and engagement of college students are very important to increase recruitment, persistence, retention, and graduation rates at STEM department and institutional levels.…”

A Strategic Curriculum Design for an Introductory Engineering Course to Encourage Self-Empowerment of Minority Students

“…The introduction of first-year students to their chosen STEM field of study is a major step toward enriching their STEM identity development (e.g., [4], [5], and [6]), especially for URM students who most often do not have direct access to STEM role models and social support systems [7] [8]. Similarly, introductory university courses can be strategically designed to positively influence the academic preparedness and motivation of students to succeed along their chosen careers (e.g., [5], [9], [10], [11]). Given the evidence-based research on the impact of interventions that support URM students to persist in STEM, the curriculum design of introductory university courses should incorporate educational activities and experiential learning opportunities that are meaningful and can fulfill the needs and challenges of the targeted student population.…”