James L. Huff

From methods to methodology: Reflection on keeping the philosophical commitments of interpretative phenomenological analysis

This paper details the transition of one researcher in his journey from attending to the methods of research to identifying and enacting the methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In the backdrop of this paper is a larger qualitative study that is employing IPA to understand a rich picture of how engineering student become engineers, particularly by attending to the fuzzy boundaries between technical and social features of this identity. To ground the discussion of the paper, we draw on a transcript from a single interview in this study conducted with Kevin, a graduating mechanical engineer. We transparently share a reflexive account of conducting IPA research in order to introduce IPA as an excellent research tool for open areas of engineering education research. Further, our goals are to instill confidence in novice qualitative researchers as they embark on the arduous but rewarding path of conducting engineering education research using qualitative methods.

Work in progress: Understanding professional competency formation in a service-learning context from an alumni perspective

Engineering educators daily negotiate the formidable task of developing the twenty-first century engineers competence to enter and thrive in the workplace. With this focus, many have conducted investigations into both what defines such professional competence and how such competence forms within students. In this investigation, we study how professional competence has developed among alumni of Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), as understood through their retrospective perceptions. We are conducting a mixed methods study in order to understand competence development, and this paper presents the design and administration of a survey questionnaire that is informing the qualitative portion of the study. Findings from both aspects of the study will be presented at the conference.

Integrating Service, Learning, and Professional Practice: Toward the Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025

AbstractThe ASCE Body of Knowledge and the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission have emphasized a broad set of competencies required by 21st century civil engineers. In addition to competencies that are traditionally technical, these organizations recognize that professional competencies such as leadership, the ability to design sustainable systems, effective communication, and interdisciplinary teamwork are among the many skills required by engineers of the future. To develop and enhance all of these proficiencies within the undergraduate curriculum, there is a need to take an approach that interconnects all of these outcomes throughout the curriculum, or a “networked” approach. This paper discusses service learning as a potential approach for facilitating the broad set of foundational, technical, and professional learning outcomes cited by ASCE and ABET, by investigating two case studies within the Engineering Projects in Community Service program at Purdue University. The case studies are two serv...

Qualitative research on psychological experience: A starting point for using interpretative phenomenological analysis

This special session invites academic researchers to temporarily adopt the commitments of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in order to gain insight into psychological experiences in engineering education research. In this session, we will introduce participants to IPA as a methodology that is committed to understanding the lived experience of particular phenomenon while also recognizing that the researcher plays an interpretive role in generating such understanding. The participants will gain an introduction to doing IPA to systematically interpret a transcript through multiple iterations of understanding a text. This experiential learning session will be vibrant with focused activities of conducting qualitative analysis and reflecting on the process. Additionally, we will connect the intentional, analytic processes that are practiced to more holistic principles related to quality in interpretive engineering education research. The expected outcome of this session is that participants will have a robust foundation to begin or advance their inquiries using IPA or other forms of qualitative research.

Investigating how service-learning alumni construct their engineering selves

Prior research has demonstrated that traditional academic pathways tend to provide engineering students with a predominantly technical sense of professional identity. We respond to this research by investigating how a non-traditional pathway, marked by a large service-learning program, engenders a sense of engineering identity. We approach this investigation using a thematic analysis and are currently developing themes related to how alumni/ae of this program construct their engineering selves. We are currently in the early stages of analysis and will present the elaborated themes at the conference.

Exploration of New Frontiers for Educating Engineers through Local and Global Service-Learning Projects

Competencies well-recognized by the National Academy of Engineering, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission all illustrate a broad set of skills required by the twenty-first century engineer. However, while these bodies challenge construction engineering programs to inculcate these competencies in their graduates, they do not provide the pedagogical tools needed to develop these competencies. By examining two case studies, this paper demonstrates Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) as a curricular structure that provides considerable opportunities to develop these important proficiencies. The case studies are two projects from one large, multidisciplinary, vertically-integrated student design team. One project focuses on sustainable and energy efficient housing for Habitat for Humanity (HFH) in Indiana while the other project focuses on affordable houses for HFH in Hinche, Haiti. While these projects are dramatically different in their setting, they both provide a unique opportunity for students to develop a broad set of professional and technical skills.

Identity in engineering adulthood: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of early-career engineers in the United States as they transition to the workplace

Prior research has established emerging adulthood to be a time characterized by robust identity explorations in professional and nonprofessional domains. However, extant literature provides little contextual explanations in relation to how these identity explorations are experienced by early-career professionals. This article presents idiographic findings from a qualitative study that used interpretative phenomenological analysis on interviews with seven engineering students as they transitioned to their respective workplaces. These findings describe how the participants experienced a strong sense of commitment to their career identities while also exploring features of their identities that were unrelated to their careers. Additionally, we discuss how women participants experienced a gendered form tension in managing their career and family roles. In sum, this article contributes detailed insight regarding coherence and complexity of personal identity development as lived by early-career professionals.

Exploring shame in engineering education

Individual experiences of inclusion or exclusion are increasingly recognized for their relevance in relation to attracting and retaining diverse students in engineering programs. Referring to this emerging body of work, this article explores the emotion of shame as a psychological and sociological construct that might underpin student experiences of inclusion, exclusion, or belonging in engineering majors. To begin unpacking this underexplored concept in the engineering context, we draw on literature from psychology that conceptualizes shame as a construct of emotion with dynamics that greatly affect an individuals perceived experience. We also examine sociological perspectives on shame that attend to how this emotion exists in an intersubjective reality between an individual and his or her social context. Finally, we review the sparse literature in engineering education that explicitly mentions shame and examine a larger body of literature that suggests how engineering student experiences that can be understood as phenomena related shame. This survey of the literature points to the importance of considering shame in engineering education and, in its synthesis, provides the theoretical basis for future empirical studies.

Panel: Engineering and development: Facilitating successful project work in diverse global contexts

Over the last decade, a growing number of initiatives have emerged to provide engineering students, faculty, and professionals with opportunities to work on service-oriented projects in developing contexts. And while these courses and programs provide needed resources and services to communities in far-flung locations, they also pose unique challenges and difficulties. For example, projects of this type often require knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are not typically covered in traditional engineering courses nor possessed by many faculty. Additionally, there is growing recognition regarding the need to predict and evaluate the full range of impacts that student projects have on partner communities - both positive and negative. This panel engages these kinds of challenges by bringing together a group of individuals with extensive experience preparing engineering students for project work in developing contexts. In addition to representing programs at four institutions (Colorado School of Mines, Michigan Technological University, Purdue University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute), the presenters are involved with a host of related national and international initiatives. Each panelist will give an overview of their efforts, with particular emphasis on observed successes and failures, conceptual hurdles faced by students and professionals, pedagogical approaches employed, and most useful resources. The primary audience for this panel includes faculty, staff, and students who lead, support, and/or study global service learning. To enable a more engaging, interactive, and productive session, ample time will be provided to allow attendees to describe their own experiences, share resources, and pose questions. The primary intent of the panel is to help university students, faculty, and staff be more effective when undertaking engineering work in developing contexts. including by promoting scholarly community and collaboration, sharing resources, and seeding new research initiatives.