Work in Progress: Developing a Foundational Engineering Course to Improve Students’ Sense of Belonging and Increase Diversity

Abstract

This work in progress paper addresses the national imperative to promote involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields across all ethnicities, races, genders, and economic backgrounds. The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan in 2021, which includes an objective to increase the participation of students from diverse backgrounds in engineering majors. Additionally, the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology recently made a commitment to diversity and is considering changes to curriculum criteria which would require engineering programs to demonstrate a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion [1]. In alignment with USAFA's strategic plan and the anticipated accreditation criteria, the authors are developing a new foundational engineering course as one element of an institution-wide effort to improve students' sense of belonging, make engineering majors more accessible to a wider audience, and ultimately increase diversity among engineering graduates.In addition to exploring best practices from literature and other institutions, this paper describes how the authors conducted surveys and interviews from students that took a summer civil engineering field course, extracted lessons learned, and developed course content for the new foundational engineering course informed by the key findings. The interviews revealed student perceptions of how activities and interactions with instructors and peers affected their selfconfidence, skill development, and sense of belonging. The first-year course under development is centered on two features: 1) a problem-based learning approach to spark interest and develop the technical skills necessary for students to be successful in an engineering major, and 2) challenging stereotypes of what types of people do engineering while stimulating a sense of belonging in engineering from students of all backgrounds.