2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work-in-progress paper explores instructional strategies that may promote cognitive belonging and engagement in engineering courses. Belonging uncertainty contributes to significantly lower than average STEM graduation rates for historically underrepresented students. Lang (2021) posited that if we promote a sense of cognitive belonging in the classroom, i.e., helping students feel like they belong in the courses they are taking, that we can remove a significant barrier to students’ learning. One approach he recommends is designing courses with high amounts of structure, which according to Hogan and Sathy (2022) directly contribute to creating an inclusive classroom. To add more structure to an upper-level architectural engineering course, the following will be implemented into the course: regular and deliberate opportunities for practice, clear instructions and expectations for all assignments and in-class activities, and scaffolding during lectures. In addition to incorporating elements of high structure to promote a more inclusive classroom environment, the following aspects will be incorporated: an inclusive syllabus, classroom participation agreement, and collaborative, in-class learning activities. This combination of high-structure and inclusive strategies will be implemented to promote cognitive belonging, which may also result in demonstrated changes in behavioral and social engagement. The long-term outcome of this work will likely show that these strategies increase cognitive belonging and/or engagement, such that other instructors may consider incorporating these types of changes into their courses to support their students.

Zumbrunn et al. (2014) state that a supportive classroom environment will promote feelings of belonging, which leads to several outcomes, including increased engagement. Kahu and Nelson’s (2018) student engagement framework aligns with this claim since belonging is listed as one of the four psychosocial constructs that contribute to engagement. Lastly, according to Bowden et al.’s (2021) four pillars of engagement, the specific forms of engagement most closely related to cognitive belonging are social and behavioral.

A mixed methods approach will be used to evaluate if the identified teaching strategies influence cognitive belonging, social engagement, and behavioral engagement. A questionnaire will be administered to all students three times during the semester in which the course is offered. Quantitative data will be obtained from a series of closed-ended questions, while qualitative data will be gathered through the students’ responses to open-ended questions. Additional qualitative data will be collected through in-class observations. The paper will include more details about the instructional strategies implemented, the questionnaire, and the observation protocol.

The preferred presentation format for this WIP is a lightning talk.