Using Curriculum to Change the Culture in Engineering Rebecca A. Atadero Keywords: Diversity, Inclusion, Engineering Identity Collaborators: Karen Rambo-Hernandez, Christina Paguyo NSF Award # Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Why? Engineering can present a chilly climate to women and people of color in school and in practice When people leave engineering we lose: – Their individual talents – The potential for the collective benefit that can be gained through a workforce possessing cognitive diversity Student Learning Objectives: 1.help all students, regardless of their demographic backgrounds, identify as engineers in the making; 2.help all students recognize how all kinds of cognitive skills, perspectives, and identities (not just technical knowledge) strengthen engineering practice 3.help all students learn how to interact and communicate effectively with each other

When? Baseline data collection in 2 first-year engineering courses Design interventions based on research and evidence Intervention activities in original courses Collect survey and assessment data in 2 intervention courses Baseline data in 2 additional courses Refine and re-implement intervention activities Collect additional survey and assessment data in all 4 courses

Where? Just at CSU right now West Virginia University is likely next step – Dr. Karen Rambo-Hernandez is co-PI on this project Right now we are looking at just the first semester of introduction to engineering courses

What? Examples of curriculum changes implemented to date – Welcome message from the dean – Panel of professional engineers – Presentation about engineering as design to achieve values – Reflective writing assignments – Interactive theater sketch (later this semester) Theory of change: – Engineering students need to see how diversity and inclusion is relevant to the engineering profession

Prognosis? We are collecting data this semester to measure impact In the future: extend to different schools, and extend longitudinally through the curriculum Main challenge to date: How much can individual instructors adjust the activities? (How much fidelity is needed for impact?) Advice at FOEE? – How to promote adoption – partners at different schools – Ideas for different curriculum activities