2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Project-Based Work Studio (PWS) is an NSF-sponsored program to build a more proportionate female workforce in computer science, engineering, and technology by focusing on recruiting, retaining, and graduating female students in the Studio environment. The PWS model is based on a Project-Based Learning approach to help students develop technical and professional skills through real-world project experiences under faculty mentorship. Our first cohort of students (N=10) enrolled in the program in the Fall of 2021 and our second cohort of students (N=9) in Fall of 2022. Prior research on highly successful STEM programs has revealed that three interventions are widely recognized for retaining STEM students: (1) early research experiences, (2) active learning in introductory courses, and (3) membership in STEM learning communities. Grit and Mindset are two psychological concepts associated with success and performance. This project examines both concepts as they relate to retaining students, primarily women, in STEM fields. The PWS research, categorized as “efficacy research,” focuses on two groups of our participants: (1) the students who leave the program and (2) the first-year students who participate in the seminar course for the analysis of longitudinal experiences. In this research, we examined the first 3-semester experiences of cohort 1 and the first semester of cohort 2. Collected quantitative data includes Student Attitudes toward Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and interest in STEM careers survey, Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP), and Grit scale at 3-time samples during their first year. The MAP measures students’ growth or fixed mindset while Grit captures students’ passion and perseverance toward achieving long-term goals.

Preliminary results showed that cohort 1 students had the highest interest in 21st-century skills across all 3-time samples. Engineering and technology interest had decreased mid-year but returned to close to pre-year by the end of their first academic year. Interestingly, student interest in science decreased mid-year and stayed lower than at the start of the academic year. Although the students’ Mindset scores did not change dramatically, we saw a slightly lower mindset score mid-year that then improved slightly at the end of the year, which is not surprising as students’ mindsets and abilities in STEM have yet to be challenged prior to entering college. Qualitative data have also been collected to supplement the low-N survey data. Although too early to determine how “gritty” students are, we have found that two of our female students who have the highest perseverance Grit scores are staying in the program after experiencing significant setbacks (like dropping a math course and re-taking a physics course). One of the two students who left the program was a female student with the lowest perseverance Grit score. These preliminary results could be used to monitor other students for retention and retainment support. In this paper, we discuss these results more thoroughly and also present preliminary results on our second cohort of PWS students. The future research plan is included.