Evaluating an Intervention to Broaden Research Participation and Enhance Research Engineer Identity Among Graduate Students

• In Event: Teaching and Learning: Higher Education

Abstract

A fundamental challenge faced by STEM departments is to build an infrastructure capable of providing engineering graduate students access to the relationships and resources needed to develop a mature research stature and perspective as part of their research-based degrees. As part of an NSF-funded study, an intervention with eight workshops was implemented in the nation’s largest HBCU to provide engineering graduate students with relationships and resources needed to enhance their identities as research engineers. We conducted mixed-methods data analysis of exit surveys and a focus group to evaluate affective and behavioral facets of graduate students’ attitudes toward workshops. Findings suggests workshops may be effective at broadening research participation among underrepresented groups and enhancing research identifies among engineering graduate students.

Authors

• Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, North Carolina A&T State University

• Tobin Walton

• Bala Ram

• Chrysafis Vogiatzis

• Juanda Johnson-Taylor, North Carolina A&T State University