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Data Science plays a vital role in sciences and engineering disciplines to discover meaningful information and predict the outcome of real-world problems. Despite the significance of this field and high demand, knowledge of how to effectively provide data science research experience to STEM students is scarce. This paper focuses on the role of data science and analytics education to improve the students' computing and analytical skills across a range of domain-specific problems. The paper studies four examples of data-intensive STEM projects for supervised undergraduate research experiences (SURE) in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical science, Quantum Physics, and Cybersecurity. The developed projects include the applications of data science for improving additive manufacturing, automating microscopy images analysis, identifying the quantum optical modes, and detecting network intrusion. The paper aims to provide some guidelines to effectively educate the next generation of STEM undergraduate and graduate students and prepare STEM professionals with interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and competencies in data science. The paper includes a summary of activities and outcomes from our research and education in the field of data science and machine learning. We will evaluate the student learning outcomes in solving big data interdisciplinary projects to confront the new challenges in a computationally-driven world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of personalized job preparation and job search training and services for underrepresented STEM scholars as part of an institutional partnership model created to assist dissertators, postdoctoral researchers, and early career faculty along their path to joining and persisting in the professoriate. This work is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant awarded to four university partners. The alliance's goal is to develop, implement and study a model of STEM doctoral degree completion and the transition to successful postdoctoral fellowships and faculty careers for historically underrepresented minorities. Underrepresented Ph.D. candidates in STEM fields have long lacked role-models from similar demographic representations due to the small number of underrepresented faculty in STEM fields who can serve as role models and mentors. This has created systemic challenges in recruiting underrepresented students for PhD programs and retaining them into the professoriate. Institutions have been providing job preparation and job search support for their students through general career and related services, such as resume/CV writing, oral presentation skills, mock interviews, and access to employer databases. This type or support may not be the most valuable for Ph.D. dissertators and postdocs whose needs are unique and whose schedules are packed with multiple commitments. In this paper, we discuss the approach to identifying and implementing multi-year job search and preparation activities to match the needs of underserved STEM scholars who started as Ph.D. candidates and moved towards academic positions at different rates. Sources of data informing the personalized training and services include perspectives of the project leadership, and feedback from the participating scholars collected as part of program evaluation. This feedback helped fine-tune the partnership model to provide participating scholars with the most meaningful support possible. Findings suggest three design features of successful support: 1. While general training and support such as those offered by career service centers are useful, specific support by STEM faculty with real-time efforts in applying for academic positions was more timely and valuable for URM scholars. 2. Transition support is critical as scholars' needs shift from dissertator to postdoctoral researcher to early career faculty. For example, requests to review job applications early on were joined by interest in grant writing once scholars moved into their first postdissertation academic positions. 3. Real time writing groups focused on proposal development and application portfolio development represent one of the most promising practices. Participants reported multiple academic, social, and motivational benefits resulting from the weekly meetings. Particular attention to job search and preparation will provide value to underrepresented scholars and assist them to successfully secure and persist in academic positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper investigates the effects of a values affirmation intervention on first-year students' of marginalized genders (which includes ciswomen, trans, and non-binary/third gender students) sense of belonging and identity in engineering. In this work, we examine marginalized genders because, while each of these groups has different experiences in engineering, they are also commonly impacted by the history of engineering as hyper masculine and heteronormative. Values affirmation interventions are short classroom activities designed to affirm important aspects of students' identities and thus help them cope with aversive experiences and resist negative messages (either internalized or environmental; McQueen & Klein, 2006). Values affirmations have been previously used in STEM settings to help address stereotype threat among women students (Cetinkaya, Hermann, & Kisbu-Sakarya, 2020), threats to science identity among Latinx students (Hernandez et al., 2017), and mathematics and socialization outcomes among STEM students (Peters et al., 2017; Turetsky et al., 2020). Most relevant to this study, values affirmations have been used to decrease performance gap between men and women studying engineering (Walton et al., 2015). However, values affirmation interventions are still new to engineering, and their specific effects on engineering identity and belonging are still unknown. In this paper, we document preliminary results from an experiment testing the effects of a values affirmation during the first few weeks of a first-year, first-semester engineering course. A total of 199 participants were randomly assigned to three conditions (control, challenges, and values). Before and after completing the intervention activity, participants completed measures of their belonging, engineering identity, future time perspective, and test anxiety. They also completed a comprehensive demographics section that asked about their gender identity. Two repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to test for pre/post differences in engineering identity recognition and engineering belonging across intervention groups (control, challenges, or values) and gender identity (cismen or any marginalized gender). There was a significant gender differences in recognition (p = .015), with women and non-binary students reporting lower recognition than cismen. Recognition scores increased over time for all participants (p < .001) but this improvement was not impacted by the intervention (p = .866). There was also a significant main effect of gender on belonging (p < .001), with cismen reporting higher belonging, and a significant interaction of gender and time (p = .068), in which students with marginalized genders reported improved belonging at post-test that was still significantly lower than their cismen peers. Participation in the intervention did not significantly impact belonging for students (p = .278). Although preliminary, these findings suggest that the intervention may not benefit this population as strongly as anticipated, although future work with a larger sample and additional longitudinal data points may yet find an effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss our approach to contextualizing engineering learning in a cross-national girls' education program. In the program, the girl learners are equal stakeholders in the design of their learning model and in implementation of the engineering design process. Our learning ecosystem is designed using an asset-based mindset; this focuses on the strengths of the learners and allows for sustainable partnerships. Thus, it is necessary for international actors to understand what learners know and how they think prior to launching a collaborative education program. To achieve this, we designed and implemented a Recognition of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment for girl learners in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal. Our assessment recognizes students' prior knowledge relevant to the engineering curriculum and explores their self -beliefs. The assessment is used to better understand and challenge assumptions around the context, the language, and how students engage with technical projects in each setting. In many sub-Saharan countries, girls are not encouraged to pursue technical education. This negatively impacts their engineering beliefs, including motivation, self -efficacy, and self-concepts. In this research, we develop, contextualize, and validate an assessment tool to evaluate the engineering self-beliefs of girls before launching an engineering learning program. The assessment uses a combination of Draw an Engineer Test (DAET), and questions on STEM knowledge, design process, and teamwork. The assessments were first developed for Zimbabwean context, and then contextualized for Senegalese context, given the unique experiences of learners in each setting. In this paper, we first discuss the contextualization process for the assessments, and their implementation. We then present the findings from the analysis of the assessments. Finally, we discuss that prior knowledge recognition assessments are critical components of rigorous curriculum contextualization, especially when the program aims at building a multinational, reciprocal partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use an autoethnographic approach to describe first-hand the experiences and learnings from ideating, developing, and launching a book series enabling young learners, especially girls, to familiarize themselves with STEM. The primary authors are high school students and recent graduates, who are also founders of STEM initiatives for young learners. With the help of three engineering educators, they use their individual self-narratives to address the tripartite goals of this Innovation in Engineering Teaching Practices paper: 1) to share their story of why books for children developed by children are needed to promote STEM, 2) to delve deeper into learnings and accomplishments as they co-author the book series and reflect on how this work shaped their identities as storytellers and affected their interests in Engineering Education, and 3) to develop a deeper understanding of the broad question of how engineering-related interactions with peers helped develop their own commitment to the professions of engineering and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A first-generation student is defined as someone whose parents do not have a 4-year degree. Since their parents did not have any experience in how to navigate college academic and social lives, first generation students are faced with many challenges including maintaining identity, academic persistence, and a balanced social life. Further, research shows that these students tend to come from lower family income bracket, lack sufficient academic preparation specially for a major like engineering or other STEM majors and tend to work more to cover the expenses as well as to support their families. Furthermore, first generation students also face challenges with respect to "social capital" as they do not come with an established social network that they can lean on when they need support. Similarly, research suggests these students also lack the "cultural capital", which refers to an experiential gap in their parents compared to those whose parents have academic qualifications and experience that they share with their children. While several intervention methods can be found in higher education literature to improve the academic and social experience of first-generation students, mentoring and summer bridge programs are two key methods that are widely adopted. This paper presents a case study of a first-generation engineering (FGEn) student mentoring program at a large U.S. university. The program currently focuses on first year students in the college of engineering. The Texas A&M University has a common first year program for all engineering and engineering technology majors. The FGEn program was established in 2017 and has been providing mentoring services to about 150 to 160 freshmen every year. The mentor pool consists of both engineering faculty/staff and peer mentors. Unlike many first-generation student programs, the FGEn program is a one-on-one mentoring and does not provide any financial assistance to mentees. However, the program offers a variety of programs during the academic years that help engage the students. Academic performance of the FGEn students and their social experience over the last three years are presented in the paper. The results suggest that the FGEn mentoring program has demonstrably improved the academic performance and generally provided a positive social experience for the students. Lastly, the paper also provides a brief discussion on the findings of a survey of first-generation students at Texas A&M university with respect to the challenges they face in maneuvering their academic and social lives as a university student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project uses an ecological belonging intervention approach [1] that requires one-class or onerecitation/discussion session to implement and has been shown to erase long-standing equity gaps in achievement in introductory STEM courses. However, given the wide social and cultural heterogeneity across US university contexts (e.g., differences in regional demographics, history, political climates), it is an open question if and how the intervention may scale. This project brings together an interdisciplinary team across three strategically selected universities to design, test, and iteratively improve an approach to systematically identify which first and second year courses would most benefit from the intervention, reveal student concerns that may be specific to that course, adapt the intervention to address those concerns, and evaluate the universality versus specificity of the intervention across university contexts. This systematic approach also includes persuasion and training processes for onboarding the instructors of the targeted courses. The instructor onboarding and the intervention adaptation processes are guided by a theory-of-action that is the backbone of the project's research activities and iterative process improvement. A synergistic mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods is used throughout the study. In this paper, we describe our theoretical framing of this ecological belonging intervention and the current efforts of the project in developing customized student stories for the intervention. We have conducted focus groups across each of the partner institutions (University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, and University of California Irvine). We describe the process of developing these contextually relevant stories and the lessons learned about how this ecological belonging intervention can be translated across institutional contexts and for various STEM majors and systemically minoritized populations. The results of this work can provide actionable strategies for reducing equity gaps in students' degree attainment and achievement in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work-in progress study is to explore the impact of digital nudging strategies on the students' app engagement while using an educational application (i.e., CourseMIRROR). CourseMIRROR prompts students to reflect on their learning after each lecture and uses natural language processing algorithms to generate summaries of those reflections. Although, prior studies have provided evidence on the effectiveness of the educational apps on students' learning, there have been concerns about their inability to keep students engaged with the application. However, it is observed that behavioral interventions can be the way for positive reinforcements. Drawing from the "Nudge Theory" in behavioral sciences, we aim to use nudging strategies to enhance students' app engagement. In this study, we outline the process of introducing nudge interventions in application CourseMIRROR. In this paper, we describe the method to introduce the application in three sections of STEM course at Midwestern University. Furthermore, this study describe a quasiexperimental approach to understand the effectiveness of nudging strategies on students' app engagement. We suggest the methodology by dividing the sections of the course into three groups, where two groups will be nudged with two different nudge interventions, and third group is suggested to be a control group with no intervention. As the use of nudging strategies is new to educational applications and engineering education, the approach and effectiveness of nudging may help the future educators to use the educational apps in more effective ways to keep students engaged and eventually help students for their performance in large courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emerging Engineering Education (3E) transformation has been implemented in China to meet the society's needs of high-quality talents in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The transformation has stimulated some new forms of engineering learning which were organized in communities of practice such as engineering studio, engineering laboratory in some universities. However, little is known about the characteristics of engineering learning in communities of practice. In the paper, we would like to bridge this gap and make some deep explorations about these new forms of engineering learning under the guideline of situated engineering learning framework. Following the principles of the purposeful and theoretical sampling method, We selected four different types of engineering communities of practice at Zhejiang University. We made some iterative semi-structured interviews with students in these communities and used an inductive as well as constant comparative approach to analyze the qualitative materials we gathered from interviews. At last, we identified four salient themes about the characteristics of engineering learning in communities of practice from our analysis: (a) authentic-task driven, (b) collaborative inquiry, (c) reflective-design process, (d) engineering identity. Future we will build on this study and develop some valid instruments to measure these characteristics in order to clarify the relationship between community of practice and engineering students' learning effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2017 our institution has hosted, through a special office in our engineering college, an intensive summer program for underrepresented groups drawn from incoming freshmen who intend to major in a STEM discipline. The stated purpose of the program is to recruit and retain students in STEM. In particular, the program targets women and minorities, though it is open to all incoming freshmen. This three-week, on-campus summer program introduces the participants, many of whom are first-generation college students, to the rigors of higher education. Their daily schedule includes a regimen of condensed STEM courses, with a special emphasis on first semester calculus. Their days are similar to those of typical freshmen in a STEM major, with the addition of evening tutoring, mentoring, and counseling sessions. In this paper, we present initial results from a longitudinal study to track the academic progress of students who participated in this enrichment program in the summers of 2017 and 2018. We consider persistence in STEM and college retention and compare the program participants to their non-participant classmates. We also consider, in much more detail, two important introductory STEM courses: Calculus I and Physics I. For these two courses our data allow us to compare participants and non-participants in the grade categories final course average, final exam, and classroom attendance. We also calculate ABC rates for Calculus I - that is, the percent of students earning a grade of A, B, or C. In most cases, our data allow us to make comparisons of participants and non-participants by various demographic subgroups. We find some evidence that the program is successful in preparing students for Calculus I - both the overall under-represented minority population and the African American population show some benefit from program participation. We also see some positive results for these populations with regard to retention in STEM majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pursuit of deepening ones understanding of physics and its implications on biological functions, Biophysics presents itself as the forerunner in useful courses serving in this capacity. As a modern, interdisciplinary field of science weaving concepts of Physics, Biology, Math, and Chemistry, Biophysics provides the space for novel approaches and discoveries answering the questions of many scientists and engineers. Due to the broad reach of its purposes, Biophysics requires a multidisciplinary education. Students working towards degrees in any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree can benefit from taking a Biophysics course. In this paper, course design and types of instruction are presented and discussed, as well as student outcomes and feedback for the first iteration of this biophysics course. This course will offer undergraduate students a look into a multitude of techniques, based on physical principles and laws, which are used to explore biological functions. In addition, students will be challenged to improve their understanding of molecular structures in biological contexts and will explore the thermodynamic and kinetic regulation of biological systems as well as the bioenergetics of molecular and environmental interactions. Due to the level of coursework expected, students will have the opportunity to participate in active and passive learning activities, will be given learning assessments utilizing all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, and will be assigned a project involving Research as Inquiry. Check points will be built into the course to monitor students' progress on projects, at which time feedback and guidance will be offered. Upon completion of this course, STEM students will be able to clearly express their scientific thinking in both written and verbal form while successfully connecting concepts across their undergraduate curriculum. Students will be required to sharpen their skills as researchers as they learn how to focus their questions of inquiry and will then present their findings. Through developing an undergraduate course in Biophysics, a roadmap is presented helping STEM students to make necessary connections among their foundational undergraduate education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]