2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Identifying Educational Communication Patterns through Social Media Interactions: The Case of Engineering Education in Oklahoma

Presented at Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 2

Social media platforms (SMP) are used to share ideas and information in an interactive manner. As such, SMPs are increasingly recognized in engineering education with the potential to support student and faculty participation and engagement. A rigorous analysis of social media data can offer meaningful insights on engineering education. By examining social media interactions (i.e., contents of user-generated posts), educators and researchers can identify emerging topics that are gaining traction in the engineering community. Such analysis provides valuable insights into student engagement, revealing what topics or concerns resonate most. It also offers a platform for students to express concerns related to engineering education, which can be instrumental in shaping curricular and pedagogical improvements. Moreover, patterns of networking as evident on social media can inform efforts to foster interdisciplinary learning opportunities. Social media data can also serve as a basis for the effectiveness of educational resources and tools shared online. These insights could also highlight areas where diversity and inclusivity efforts may be lacking, guiding institutions towards more equitable practices. Finally, tracking the post-graduation trajectories of alumni through social media can provide feedback on the real-world applicability and success of engineering programs, enabling continuous refinement and adaptation to industry needs.
Recruiting and retaining engineers in various sectors pose challenges for the state of Oklahoma, as is the case for many other states in the U.S. This shortage can have implications for the state's economy, infrastructure development, and technological advancements. In this study, we analyzed large-scale social media data generated within Oklahoma, obtained from X (colloquially known as Twitter), using several machine learning and natural language processing techniques (i.e., sentiment analysis, bigram analysis, user classification). The extensive data (~110K tweets observed for the year 2020) was gathered using the academic Application Programming Interface (API) that releases complete, unbiased data for researchers to use. Study findings reveal positive sentiments on topics related to engineering majors (biomedical, software), engineering professions, institutional care, distance learning, equity, and tech-related discussions. In contrast, topics related to educational systems for underrepresented groups, loan debts, and some engineering majors (civil, electrical) showed negative sentiments. Understanding such diverse educational communication patterns from social media provides meaningful insights for informing strategies to attract and retain engineering talent and addressing the challenges of recruiting and retaining engineers in Oklahoma and other underserved communities.

Authors

Asif Mohaisin Sadri International Islamic University, Malaysia [biography]

Asif Mohaisin Sadri is an experienced Senior Executive specializes in Supply Chain Management. His interdisciplinary journey blends academic achievement with professional leadership. He began with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, laying a strong foundation for his problem-solving skills. Recognizing the importance of understanding diverse aspects of business, he pursued a Master of Development Studies, diving into socio-economic complexities. Further enhancing his data science expertise, he completed a Master of Business Intelligence and Analytics, refining his skills in data-driven decision-making. His research interests include equitable engineering systems design, data analytics and artificial intelligence in engineering education, and broadening participation in engineering.
Dr. Arif Mohaimin Sadri http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5571-6741 University of Oklahoma [biography]

Dr. Arif Sadri is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Sciences (CEES) at the University of Oklahoma. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure & Sustainability (MSCIS) at the Florida International University (FIU). He was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an Adjunct Professor in the Civil Engineering Dept. at the Valparaiso University. Dr. Sadri received his doctoral training from the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University with a solid background in Civil Engineering (Transportation), Network Science, and Social Science. Dr. Sadri's research focuses on how transportation systems depend on social and other physical systems in the context of natural and man-made hazards. Dr. Sadri develops data-driven and network-based solutions to enhance bottom-up resilience in complex, interdependent systems. Dr. Sadri specializes in resilience engineering, evacuation modeling, shared mobility, social influence modeling, machine learning, agent-based modeling, and network modeling. Dr. Sadri's research is currently funded by National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Dr. Sadri’s previous research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Mr. Khondhaker Al Momin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4548-9837 University of Oklahoma [biography]

Khondhaker Al Momin is a senior lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at Daffodil International University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in civil engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Currently, he is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Civil Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman, USA. In addition to his academic pursuits, he also serves as a graduate research assistant at OU. His research interests encompass diverse areas such as traffic incident analysis and prevention, traffic flow theory, autonomous connected electric shared (ACES) vehicles, big data analytics, network science, natural hazards, machine learning, and system optimization.
Dr. Javeed Kittur http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6132-7304 University of Oklahoma [biography]

Dr. Kittur is an Assistant Professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering at The University of Oklahoma. He completed his Ph.D. in Engineering Education Systems and Design program from Arizona State University, 2022. He received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s in Power Systems from India in 2011 and 2014, respectively. He has worked with Tata Consultancy Services as an Assistant Systems Engineer from 2011–2012 in India. He has worked as an Assistant Professor (2014–2018) in the department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, KLE Technological University, India. He is a certified IUCEE International Engineering Educator. He was awarded the ’Ing.Paed.IGIP’ title at ICTIEE, 2018. He is serving as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET).

He is interested in conducting engineering education research, and his interests include student retention in online and in-person engineering courses/programs, data mining and learning analytics in engineering education, broadening student participation in engineering, faculty preparedness in cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning, and faculty experiences in teaching online courses. He has published papers at several engineering education research conferences and journals. Particularly, his work is published in the International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education (ICTIEE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Computer Applications in Engineering Education (CAEE), International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE), Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET), and IEEE Transactions on Education. He is also serving as a reviewer for a number of conferences and journals focused on engineering education research.
Tahrima Rouf http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7973-9008 University of Oklahoma [biography]

Dr. Tahrima Rouf is a visiting assistant professor at the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). She received her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and her doctoral degree from Purdue University. Her academic training and research experience have provided her with an excellent background in multiple interdisciplinary fields, including nanotechnology, materials science, chemical engineering, microbiology, and biochemistry. Her independent research program's main goal is to harness the capabilities of nanomaterials for biomedical applications to produce safer and more effective sensing technology and drug delivery. She gained expertise in the controlled synthesis and biochemical characterization of complex protein nanocomposites. In her teaching, she has been dedicated to engaging students in an interactive learning environment, and she is strongly committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a visiting assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, she continues to build on her previous training in biopolymers and nanoparticles by moving into a biological system that will allow her to address additional questions regarding the utilization of nanomaterials in disease diagnosis and drug delivery. Dr. Rouf's teaching, research, and outreach activities serve as strong evidence of her passion to be successful in making long-term impacts through cutting-edge research and education.

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