2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering Instructors’ Constructions of the Universality or Individuality of Neurodiversity

Presented at Equity, Culture & Social Justice Technical Session

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term highlighting an important aspect of diversity, encompassing a wide range of neurological variations such as autism (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia. Traditionally, engineering courses are designed with “average” or “typical” engineering students in mind. However, research shows that students vary in terms of their interests, cognitive skills, and needs; neurodiverse students in particular are often disengaged, and their learning compromised in traditional engineering settings. To support engineering instructors in implementing inclusive instructional strategies that engage and empower neurodiverse students (e.g., Universal Design-aligned strategies), we hosted a multi-year professional development series for a group of faculty members engaging in a course redesign process as part of a NSF Revolutionizing Engineering Departments grant. At the end of each project year, we conducted hour-long, semi-structured interviews with participating engineering instructors about the changes they implemented in their instruction to be more inclusive of the neurodiversity of students, their beliefs about neurodiversity and accommodations, and the impact of the professional development series. In this study, we analyzed six of these interviews drawing upon discursive psychology to investigate how language was used to construct and support the instructors’ understanding of neurodiversity and accommodations. We found a question that instructors are grappling with: the universality or individuality of neurodiversity (i.e., is everyone neurodiverse or only a subset of students) and its implications for instruction. This question has implications for faculty professional development related to neurodiversity, for the development of inclusive instructional practices, and for the role of instructors in supporting neurodiverse people.

Authors

Dr. Erin Scanlon University of Connecticut [biography]

Dr. Erin Scanlon (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Residence at the University of Connecticut-Avery Point. She teaches introductory physics courses as well as she conducts STEM education research focusing on moving the STEM communities toward being more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and socially just. Her service work focuses on higher education policy and supporting physics education professional organizations. Dr. Scanlon enjoys singing and spending time at the beach.
Ms. Connie Syharat http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7913-863X University of Connecticut [biography]

Connie Syharat is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education and a Research Assistant at the University of Connecticut as a part of two neurodiversity-centered NSF-funded projects. As the Program Manager of a Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (NSF:RED) project titled, "Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation", she has co-facilitated a range of Neuroinclusive Teaching Institutes and workshops for STEM instructors and Teaching Assistants. As a graduate researcher, she conducts qualitative research related to the experiences of neurodiverse graduate students in STEM fields through an Innovations in Graduate Education (NSF:IGE) project titled, “Encouraging the Participation of Neurodiverse Students in STEM Graduate Programs to Radically Enhance the Creativity of the Professional Workforce". Previously, she spent eight years as a K-12 teacher in Connecticut, where she maintained a focus on providing a varied learning environment and differentiated instruction for all types of learners.
Dr. Arash Esmaili Zaghi, P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2246-2911 University of Connecticut [biography]

Arash E. Zaghi is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut. In 2009, he received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. After he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 33, he began engineering education research aimed at highlighting the importance of neurodiversity for the creativity of our nation’s engineering workforce by promoting a fundamentally strength-based perspective toward diversity. He started his engineering education research endeavor through an NSF RIGEE grant in 2014. The promising findings of this research and the encouraging feedback of the student community motivated him to pursue this line of research in his NSF CAREER award in 2017. Since then, he has built a coalition within the university to expand this work through multiple NSF-funded research grants including IUSE/PFE: RED titled “Innovation Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation”. Because of the importance of neurodiversity at all levels of education, he expanded his work to graduate STEM education through an NSF IGE grant. In addition, he recently received his Mid-CAREER award through which, in a radically novel approach, he will take on ambitious, transdisciplinary research integrating artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and education research to advance a personalized tool to enhance the participation of middle-school students with dyslexia in STEM disciplines. His efforts on promoting neurodiversity in engineering has been twice recognized by Prism Magazine of the American Society of Engineering Education.
Dr. Maria Chrysochoou University of Connecticut [biography]

Maria Chrysochoou is a Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut.
Rachael Gabriel University of Connecticut

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