2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused classrooms to shift to online or virtual learning modes, which has caused dropouts of underrepresented engineering students taking gateway or introduction to engineering classes. In this in-situ interdisciplinary intervention method, so far, we have engaged one of two cohorts of university freshman engineering students (16 students/cohort): one with Active Learning (AL) (with a culture of inclusion through video-based activity/interaction) and the other with AL and creative video projects (CVP) activities in a 2-semester enrichment program. Our intervention investigated a new 100% (AL) method that combines video-based interaction among student-faculty and group CVP (for ex., self-reflective biography of scientists) to inspire, motivate, and improve the retention rate within TAMIU’s engineering program, promoting a culture of inclusion. The CVP was created using Echo360 software integrated into a secure course learning management system (Blackboard). This intervention seeks to develop engineering psychosocial outcomes through reflective thinking, internalization (about the challenges of engineering life and the journey to becoming a successful engineer), and collaborative creative work.

This research is ongoing, and the results we present are preliminary. We examined and evaluated, through pre-and post-intervention surveys for the first semester, the impact of the intervention on the engineering students’ scholastic outcomes, psychosocial outcomes (PSO) (e.g., engineering sense of belonging, engineering self-efficacy, and engineering self-identity), and engineering persistence outcomes (EPO) (i.e., retention, graduation, and academic performance (i.e., overall GPA, and engineering GPA). We hypothesize that students will build meaningful and supportive relationships and enhanced PSO and EPO/AP that will persist throughout their tenure at the university. We also hypothesize that the level of persistence of the enhanced PSO and EPO will be significantly higher for students in the intervention group (with CVP). We validated and analyzed the data (cleaning and quality control) and performed preliminary/complete inferential analyses using SPSS 29 was completed. We will discuss the implications of improving pedagogy in introductory engineering courses.