Collaborative Research: Preparing engineers to address climate change and its implications on sustainability: modeling impact of college experiences on students

合作研究：让工程师做好应对气候变化及其对可持续发展的影响的准备：模拟大学经历对学生的影响

• 批准号: 1635204
• 负责人: Allison Godwin
• 金额: $ 5.95万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1635204&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Preparing; engineers; address

Engineers are an essential part of solving the effects of climate change and must not only be aware of the issues but empowered to make change to reduce and shift the impact of humans on the planet. This research will investigate engineering students' experiences during undergraduate programs that predict their beliefs about climate change and empowerment to address its related implications for sustainability in their careers. This study is the first of its kind to explore how experiences in college impact students' climate change beliefs and interest to address related implications for sustainability. To advance understanding, undergraduate engineering seniors' attitudes, empowerment, career goals, and experiences will be measured using a nationally representative survey just prior to students entering the workforce. When topics related to climate change and its implications for sustainability are included in these settings, the expectation is to find an increase in student willingness to take action to address the issues. This quantitative approach can provide generalizable trends about what happens during college and how it affects students' self-beliefs and long-term goals. Findings will be translated into practice through 1-2-page research briefs that explain the implications of the research to discipline specific engineering faculty. Educators can then develop curriculum to empower students to make change in their world and will likely to lead to more consideration for sustainability interests when setting career goals. By strengthening the relationship between awareness and action about climate change we can increase the number of U.S. educated engineers ready to address such complex sociotechnical challenges.This research builds on critical engineering agency theory in which students' learning and interest is enhanced when they see an opportunity to make change in their world. Critical engineering agency includes an individual's growing professional identity and attachment to their practice as an engineer. The guiding research question is, how do engineering students develop critical engineering agency and beliefs in college to address climate change and its implications for sustainability in their careers? This question will be answered using a nationally representative survey (n=4000) distributed to students in senior design or capstone courses. This quantitative approach will provide generalizable trends about influential experiences during college. A panel data analysis will help uncover differences among students' sustainability beliefs compared to prior collected data. We will also investigate differences in engineering identities among disciplines and predict both engineering agency and career expectations from their college experiences using MANOVA. Without recognition of climate change, action to address the issue is less likely to occur. The long-term vision is that this research becomes a catalyst for teaching about topics related to climate change and its implications for sustainability. Teaching will support students' critical engineering agency (e.g., empowerment and identity in engineering contexts) and beliefs about sustainability. Students' agency and beliefs may influence their career choice and expected career outcomes. As a result, more engineering students will pursue careers to solve societal challenges that mitigate and prepare for climate change and its global implications for sustainability.

工程师是解决气候变化影响的重要组成部分，不仅必须意识到这些问题，而且还必须有权进行变革以减少和改变人类对地球的影响。这项研究将调查工程学生在本科课程中的经验，这些课程预测了他们对气候变化和授权的信念，以解决其对职业可持续性的相关含义。这项研究是第一个探索大学经验如何影响学生气候变化信念和兴趣以解决对可持续性的相关影响的兴趣。为了促进理解，将在学生进入劳动力之前，将使用全国代表性的调查来衡量本科工程高年级学生的态度，赋权，职业目标和经验。当这些环境中包括与气候变化及其对可持续性的影响有关的主题时，期望学生意愿采取行动解决这些问题的意愿。这种定量方法可以提供有关大学期间发生的事情及其如何影响学生自信心和长期目标的概括趋势。调查结果将通过1-2页的研究简介将其转化为实践，这些简介解释了研究对纪律特定工程教师的影响。然后，教育工作者可以开发课程，以使学生能够改变自己的世界，并可能在设定职业目标时对可持续性利益进行更多考虑。通过加强对气候变化的意识与行动之间的关系，我们可以增加准备应对这种复杂社会技术挑战的美国教育的工程师的数量。这项研究以关键的工程机构理论为基础，当学生看到学生的机会变革时，他们的学习和兴趣就会增强。关键的工程机构包括个人不断增长的专业身份和对工程师的实践的依恋。指导研究的问题是，工程专业的学生如何在大学中建立关键的工程机构和信念，以解决气候变化及其对职业生涯中可持续性的影响？ This question will be answered using a nationally representative survey (n=4000) distributed to students in senior design or capstone courses.这种定量方法将提供有关大学期间有影响力的经验的普遍趋势。与先前收集的数据相比，面板数据分析将有助于发现学生可持续性信念之间的差异。我们还将调查学科之间的工程身份差异，并通过使用Manova从大学经历中预测工程机构和职业期望。没有认识到气候变化，解决问题的行动就不太可能发生。长期的愿景是，这项研究成为教授与气候变化有关的主题及其对可持续性的影响的催化剂。教学将支持学生关键的工程机构（例如，工程环境中的授权和身份）和对可持续性的信念。学生的代理和信念可能会影响他们的职业选择和期望的职业成果。结果，越来越多的工程专业的学生将从事职业，以解决缓解气候变化及其对可持续性的全球影响的社会挑战。

项目成果

Civil engineering students’ beliefs about the technical and social implications of global warming and when global warming will impact them personally and others

• DOI: 10.18260/1-2--34285
• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: Dr. Andrew Katz

Exploring Gender Differences in Students’ Sustainability Beliefs in Upper-level Engineering Courses

• DOI: 10.18260/1-2--30490
• 发表时间: 2018-06
• 作者: M. Swift;Allison Godwin;Tripp Shealy