2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Black students belong in STEM career pathways but often experience a diminished sense of belonging in their college programs. Through informal conversations, the authors learned that some Black students felt they had not had the formal pre-college engineering training and extracurricular experiences that they perceived their peers had and therefore they did not feel they possessed engineering knowledge. There is little research that identifies the diverse engineering family practices of Black families and further finds ways to connect these practices to formal higher education learning environments. Acknowledging the rich history of Black engineering, design, and invention that occurs in Black households and communities, the authors explore the following question: In what ways can engineering practices emerge as Black families engage in design challenges?

This study is informed by asset-based frameworks and a systems theory of learning to center the role of the Black family in learning how to engage in and value engineering, design, and inventive practices. To date, 15 Families have participated in activities that were modified from the Invention Convention Curriculum. Their design sessions were video recorded and were analyzed using Python and qualitative methods. This work-in-progress manuscript will focus on identifying the engineering practices of one family who participated in a set of family engineering design activities. The authors will share insights from the family narrative (synthesis of all the data generated from the family’s participation) and results of how the family enacted specific engineering practices. Also, the authors will share a preliminary reflection on how these practices might serve as a vehicle to positively impact the sense of belonging of Black engineering students.