Graduating the Next Generation of Engineering Technology Professionals by Promoting Competence, Group Identity, and Autonomy

Rochester Institute Of Tech, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Over its 5-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 36 undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Civil, Computer, Electrical, Electrical Mechanical, Mechanical, and Robotics and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. Students will receive scholarship support for their first five semesters at RIT. To increase retention, the project will use faculty and peer mentors, create individualized scholar support networks, and improve instruction through faculty development aimed at fostering a more welcoming environment for all students. Because the percentage of African American, Latin American and Native American (AALANA), first generation, and deaf/hard of hearing students enrolled in Engineering Technology programs at RIT exceeds national levels, the broader impact of this project lies in its potential to increase diversity in the engineering workforce. This project also has the potential to significantly advance the understanding of best practices that address the social and environmental factors which have historically contributed to low retention of underrepresented students in Engineering Technology programs. Thus, it supports a key strategic objective of NSF, to grow a more capable and diverse STEM workforce. The guiding principle of this project is to promote competence, develop relatedness (or a sense of group identity), and nurture autonomy in Engineering Technology students through the implementation of support networks and pedagogical reform. As posited by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), when these three basic psychological needs, competence, relatedness, and autonomy are met, individuals will be intrinsically motivated to support their own personal growth and well-being. This project is important because it will help to fill the void in the literature on evidence-based strategies to improve retention of underrepresented groups specifically in Engineering Technology. This project will investigate if three particular strategies designed to address social and environmental factors, indeed improve scholars' motivation and persistence. First is programmatic implementation, using an SDT framework, to address the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Second is utilization of faculty and peer mentors along with individualized scholar support networks. Third is the adoption of evidence-based practices to engage and improve learning for a diverse group of students in the Engineering Technology classroom. The effectiveness of these strategies will be evaluated quantitatively using GPA and retention data along with results from an SDT measurement instrument. The evaluation also includes a qualitative component featuring focus group interviews with scholarship recipients. The results of this project will be disseminated through conference papers, peer reviewed journals, and RIT's and the College of Engineering Technology's social media accounts. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.