2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In 2021, the Navy Engineering Innovation and Leadership (NEIL) Program was established on our campus to provide leadership and research training to engineering and computing undergraduate students. NEIL Scholars were selected from engineering and computing majors, and were provided a structured way to develop and refine leadership skills through multiple activities. Engineering students are more likely to find collegiate and professional successes when leadership skill development is implemented early and repeatedly during their learning. Our work in progress aims to highlight how the NEIL Program implements an engineering leadership curriculum and how we assess scholar leadership skill development. Notably, the percentage of female and underrepresented minority student participants well exceeds their representation in targeted majors when compared with national metrics.
Instructional Approach: NEIL scholars are appointed as peer leaders in an existing peer-led team learning (PLTL) instructional approach to assist a team of near-peer students engaged in problem-solving. The peer leaders use the principle of redirection to assist in teaching difficult subject material by leading active and collaborative learning, while adapting to group dynamics, institutional changes, and life challenges. As they assist other students to succeed in challenging entry-level engineering courses, NEIL scholars concurrently enroll in organizational leadership (OL) coursework that develops student knowledge in and application of redirecting strategies, team management, and leadership theories. Reflection, a learning tool has been documented as an effective method to promote the development of one’s leadership competencies, is implemented within the OL courses and PLTL activities to enable NEIL Scholars to better connect leadership principles to professional practice. Separately, NEIL scholars also take a leadership role on a research project in a supervised setting, and they report their findings through posters at career development events and visits to Navy facilities.
Methods: NEIL Scholar leadership competencies are measured using a mixed-methods approach using both a leadership survey and a focus group evaluation. Specifically, the leadership survey instrument provides opportunity to measure four leadership factors: individual leadership abilities, interdependent relationships on engineering and society and economy, teaming and peer work, and adaptability. The leadership survey is administered when NEIL Scholars join the program prior to any OL coursework and then again after they complete a peer leader experience via PLTL or a similar activity. The focus group evaluation typically happens after at least one year of program participation.
Preliminary Findings & Significance: Our preliminary focus group data have found that when students are asked to identify aspects of the NEIL program that have impacted their own development of leadership and innovation skills, responses were related to increased confidence or self-efficacy. Specific aspects of leadership identified by students included task delegation, working through unfamiliar situations without supervision, taking initiative, and sharing new ideas. As more students participate in the NEIL program, we plan to combine our qualitative focus group data analysis with the results from our quantitative leadership survey data. This will also include differentiated data on the impact of the NEIL program on female and underrepresented minority students.