Exploring Narrative Inquiry as Pedagogy for Professional Identity Formation in Engineering Education

• In Event: 25.086 - Sheraton Roundtable Session One - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 25.086-13 - Conceptions of Narrative Knowledge and Pedagogy

Abstract

We explored the use of narrative inquiry research practices as pedagogy to understand how engineering undergraduates experienced professional identity formation during a technical undergraduate engineering course. Participants were enrolled within a 2nd year engineering thermodynamics course at a public university located within the western United States. In this paper, we identified situational tensions described within student-authored narratives in order to examine participants’ recognition and restructuring of personal and professional identities during the course. As instructional team members, the researchers relied on their personal experiences instructing and providing out-of-class help to students in the course to support interpretation of field texts. Findings support incorporation of narrative inquiry practices within formal engineering education settings to promote professional identity formation.

Authors

• Angela Minichiello, Utah State University

• Emily Hanks, Utah State University