2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 324: Intelligently Preparing the Future Construction Engineering Workforce by Connecting the Professional and Educational Communities

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

The purpose of this project is to investigate how the development of a framework for Connecting the Professional and Educational Communities (ConPEC). This is aimed at improving the accessibility of construction industry practitioners to instructors, so as to ensure greater interaction of students with their communities of practice (COP). This improved interaction is targeted at enhancing the disciplinary perception and professional identity development of construction engineering students by inducting them into experts’ ways of thinking, knowing, and reasoning. The ConPEC framework will provide instructors with equitable access to the construction COP by intelligently matching the practical course support needs of instructors with the offerings of industry practitioners. The practice knowledge gaps in construction engineering education would be addressed by increasing access to industry practitioners to bridge the gaps. The framework is ideally suited for creating this learning environment as it consists of platforms and layers that allow for advanced searches using machine learning algorithms as well as complex data analysis.

The first stage of this project consists of surveys being administered to industry practitioners and instructors in construction-related programs. The surveys seek to investigate the information requirements that must be accessible on a graphical user interface of the ConPEC platform for equitable matching of instructors with industry practitioners to provide practical support for courses. Focus group discussions will be conducted to validate the outcomes of the surveys. Preliminary results will be reported in this paper. Thereafter, the early version of the ConPEC platform will be designed, developed, and deployed. By combining tools from machine learning and matching theory, this project would also develop a learning-driven matching algorithm by learning users’ (instructor and industry practitioners) needs, requirements, offerings, and preferences to support optimal and equitable matching of construction engineering instructors and industry practitioners.
The project will as well determine users’ learning-driven preferences and develop many-to-many matching algorithms. The ConPEC platform will be subjected to evaluation by users and the matching algorithms will be improved to ensure enhanced equitable matching. The project will as well investigate the influence of the ConPEC platform on students’ disciplined perception and professional identity development. Substantive theories would be developed to explain how improved accessibility, enabled by the ConPEC framework, improves the disciplined perception and professional identity development of construction engineering students.
In addition to improved accessibility to construction COP, this project would contribute to the diversity of the nation’s construction workforce and strengthen diverse forms of industry-academia interactions. Also, the platform, developed theories and algorithms, can be adapted by high schools, community colleges, and researchers to develop other technological solutions to enhance the development of students in various disciplines. The deployment of ConPEC will also produce diverse datasets for engineering education researchers, institutions, and policymakers. These data include concentration areas, current and future directions of the industry, and the extent to which institutions are preparing students to meet the demands of the industry. ConPEC will also facilitate the supply chain of industries through apprenticeship programs and talent pipelines that currently are fragmented.

Authors

Dr. Homero Murzi http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-3849-2947 Virginia Tech [biography]

Dr. Homero Murzi (he/él/his) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Homero is the leader of the Engineering Competencies, Learning, and Inclusive Practices for Success (ECLIPS) Lab where he leads a team focused on doing research on contemporary, culturally relevant, and inclusive pedagogical practices, emotions in engineering, competency development, and understanding the experiences of traditionally marginalized engineering students from an asset-based perspective. Homero’s goal is to develop engineering education practices that value the capital that traditionally marginalized students, bring into the field, and to train graduate students and faculty members with the tool to promote effective and inclusive learning environments and mentorship practices. Homero has been recognized as a Diggs Teaching Scholar, a Graduate Academy for Teaching Excellence Fellow, a Global Perspectives Fellow, a Diversity Scholar, a Fulbright Scholar, a recipient of the NSF CAREER award, and was inducted into the Bouchet Honor Society. Homero serves as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Chair for the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CDEI), the Program Chair for the ASEE Faculty Development Division, and the Vice Chair for the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN).
Andres Nieto Leal
Anthony Olukayode Yusuf http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-1574-788X Virginia Tech
Dr. Abiola Akanmu Virginia Tech
Sheryl Ball Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Dr. Sheryl Ball is a Professor of Economics at Virginia Tech. She is an experimental economist that in recent years is also doing very interesting work in the area of Neuroeconomics. Dr. Ball studies different aspects of individual decision-making as well strategic behavior both inside and out of the lab. Much of her current research is interdisciplinary and done in collaboration with others at the Virginia Tech Carillion Research Institute and Medical Center in Roanoke. In addition to her academic achievements, her contributions to research in these fields has also been acknowledged by the National Science Foundation, Hewlett Packard, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the National Institute for Dispute Resolution, Hughes Telecommunications and Space, as well as university-level research grants, including a senior fellowship from the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment. Her work has led to the development of intellectual property, including software programs to help individuals and companies prepare for and participate in auctions.

Dr. Sheryl Ball received her bachelor’s degree with honors in mathematical methods in social sciences, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in managerial economics and decision sciences from Northwestern University. She has also served as an Associate Dean for curriculum, instruction, and advising in the College of Science, Associate Department Head of Economics and Undergraduate Program Director for Economics. She is Associate Editor at Economic Modeling. As a woman in STEM Dr. Ball has presented work on active learning and research, as well as women in science and is actively involved with mentoring for Committee for the Status of Women in the Economics Profession.
Dr. Andrea Nana Ofori-Boadu http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6401-1399 North Carolina A&T State University [biography]

Dr. Andrea N. Ofori-Boadu is an Associate Professor of Construction Science and Management with the Department of Built Environment within the College of Science and Technology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA & T). Her research interests are in partial cement replacement materials, delivery of sustainable built environments, and professional identity development in STEM students, particularly architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) women.

In February 2019, Andrea received the prestigious National Science Foundation NSF - CAREER award to research professional identity development processes in undergraduate AEC women. She also received an NSF - RAPID award in 2020 to investigate decision making processes in STEM students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Ofori-Boadu has also received grants from East Coast Construction Services, Engineering Information Foundation, National Association of Home Builders, National Housing Endowment, University of North Carolina, and the Department of Education.

In 2021, Dr. Ofori-Boadu was selected as one of six female faculty to be highlighted in the Center of Product Design and Advanced Manufacturing (CEPDAM) video during Women’s History Month. She was also recognized as a 2021 College of Science and Technology STEMinist. Andrea also served as an NSF HBCU-UP Distinguished Panelist at NSF's 30th anniversary celebration of broadening participation. She received the 2020 Outstanding Educator award from the National Association of Home Builders and the 2020 Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In 2019, Andrea received the Outstanding Young Investigator award for both North Carolina A & T State University and the College of Science and Technology. In 2018, she was selected as a 2018 National Science Foundation - NC A & T ADVANCE IT Faculty Scholar. She also received the 2018 CoST Teaching Excellence Merit Award. Dr. Ofori-Boadu received both the 2017 NC A & T - CoST Rookie Research Excellence Award and the 2017 North Carolina A & T State University (NCAT) Rookie Research Excellence Award. Under her mentorship, Dr. Ofori-Boadu’s students have presented research posters at various NCAT Undergraduate Research Symposia resulting in her receiving a 2017 Certificate of Recognition for Undergraduate Research Mentoring. In 2016, her publication was recognized by the Built Environment Project and Asset Management Journal as the 2016 Highly Commended Paper. Andrea has served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and several journals and conferences.

Dr. Ofori-Boadu engages in professional communities to include the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

In 2015, Dr. Ofori-Boadu established her STEAM ACTIVATED! program for middle-school girls. She also serves as the Executive Vice-President of Penuel Consult, Incorporated. She is married to Victor Ofori-Boadu and they are blessed with three wonderful children.

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