Work in progress - the public image of an engineer

Mina, Mani; Omidvar, Iraj; Gerdes, Ryan; Kemmet, Sasha

doi:10.1109/fie.2008.4720463

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This makes sense, as there are very few strong exemplars of engineers in popular culture (Mina, Omidvar, Gerdes, & Kemmet, 2008) and engineering educators themselves tend to rely on similar reference points (Custer et al, 2010;Pirtle, Davis, Vaughn Koen, Mitcham, & Vesilind, 2010). Students attempt to define engineering in terms of how it is similar to science and construction, and therefore have difficulty in distinguishing it from those analogous fields.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary Students' Conceptual Understanding of Engineering as a Field

Montfort¹,

Brown²,

Whritenour³

2013

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

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Researchers have long been interested in how to recruit and retain more and more diverse students into engineering programs. One consistent challenge in this research is understanding the impacts of interventions from the point of view of the student, and how their preconceptions may influence that effectiveness. This study investigated how secondary students understand the concept of engineering, including what engineering is and what engineers do. The purpose of this work was to describe students' conceptions of engineering, and to determine how those perceptions relate to student interest in engineering careers. The investigation was founded on the theoretical framework of conceptual ecology. Students from one high school that are typically underrepresented demographically in engineering programs were interviewed about their perspective on engineering. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative and thematic analysis methods. Students who were interested in pursuing an engineering career generally believed that it involved hands-on building or fixing of cars, bridges, or airplanes. Students who were not interested in a career in engineering discussed a broader variety of types of engineering, and more often cited altruism and inherent interest as reasons that others would pursue such careers. Most students in this study did not express very complex or rich conceptions of engineers or engineering, but their conceptual ecologies suggest that they would be resistant to changing these conceptions. This suggests that recruitment and retention programs will need to directly address students' existing conceptions of engineering.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary Students' Conceptual Understanding of Engineering as a Field

Montfort¹,

Brown²,

Whritenour³

2013

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

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show abstract

“…As engineering educators are increasingly expected to interact with engineering education researchers, it is important to consider potential points of epistemological conflict (Borrego, ; Borrego et al, ; Mina et al, ). Categorical and thorough critiques of positivism are a fixture in educational research (Howe, ), but alternative paradigms are virtually unknown in engineering research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the interface of two knowledge-centric fields (education and engineering), engineering education is clearly an area where epistemology matters. A recent line of research has argued that epistemological concerns are particularly important in the field of engineering education, because epistemological differences between educational and engineering researchers may interfere with communication and collaboration (Borrego, 2007;Borrego & Newswander, 2008;Borrego, Streveler, Miller, & Smith, 2008;Jesiek, Newswander, & Borrego, 2009;Mina, Omidvar, Gerdes, & Kemmet, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Personal Epistemologies of Civil Engineering Faculty

Montfort

Brown

Shinew

2014

J of Engineering Edu

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Background The personal epistemologies of engineering faculty are an important and as yet underinvestigated aspect of engineering education. In this study, personal epistemology is defined as the stances an individual takes on issues related to knowledge and knowing, such as what it means to know, what counts as knowledge, and what makes some knowledge true. Purpose (Hypothesis) This research characterizes the personal epistemologies of engineering faculty members with particular emphasis on contributing to the development of a theoretical framework to support and guide future research. Design/Method Semistructured interviews explored broad epistemological issues but were individually tailored to ensure open discourse. The interviews were situated in the domain of the participants' own research in civil engineering; this domain provided a familiar and rich research site in which to explore their epistemologies and allowed for richer interpretations through reference to other research linking research practice with epistemology. Results The participants expressed a stance that assumed an objective reality and verified the truth of their knowledge through observation, which assumes access to that objective reality. Participants simultaneously evaluated their knowledge based on its truth and usefulness. The participants' discussions reflected their perceptions of the complexity and wide scope of the “real” world – thereby moving beyond simplified categorizations such as positivist, into new and unexplored epistemologies. Conclusions The participants' epistemologies are discussed in terms of their implications for engineering education practice and research, as well as personal epistemology research.

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“…While the data did not show a negative public perception, Jamieson presented irrefutable data that the public did not view engineering as a profession that was going to make a difference [5]. There is an extensive literature on the perception of the engineering discipline in general, such as [6][7][8][9][10]. Typically, elementary school children perceive engineers as people who fix things like auto mechanics, drive trains or build or test or work on equipment.…”

Section: Social Aspects Of Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enriching students' smart grid experience using programmable devices

Radu

Issapour

2014

International Energy and Sustainability Conference 2014

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The idea of a "smart grid" has taken center stage-an evolution of advanced technologies that make the availability of a smarter, more efficient electrical power grid possible. At the heart of these advanced devices for the smart grid lies the powerful technology of programmable devices, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) and SoC (System on Chip). Improving the design component, while integrating social aspects of engineering in the undergraduate engineering education, is a concern for educators, industrial employers and agencies concerned with national productivity and competitiveness. Students' design component at all levels is increasingly focused on renewable energy sources and smart grid due to the increased emphasis in the U.S. on clean energy innovation, generation, and commercialization.This paper presents the current and future efforts in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Department at Farmingdale State College to attract students to develop Smart Grid related projects using programmable devices, as part of their student research experience, senior projects, and/or participation in national competitions. These projects will be used in summer camps for middle and high school students and teachers. In addition the departmental open houses and other college open forums are always utilized to display student research projects as a way of raising public awareness regarding renewable and sustainable energies.

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Work in progress - the public image of an engineer

Cited by 5 publications

References 4 publications

Secondary Students' Conceptual Understanding of Engineering as a Field

Secondary Students' Conceptual Understanding of Engineering as a Field

The Personal Epistemologies of Civil Engineering Faculty

Enriching students' smart grid experience using programmable devices

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