2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: QuantCrit Analysis of the Impacts of Teaching Innovations on Student Development

Presented at Marginalization, Identity, and Student Development (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 9)

This WIP research paper examines impacts of a faculty development initiative rooted in the ECSJ pillar, “the classroom as a terrain of struggle and site of possibility.” The initiative prioritizes an asset-based approach to systems change, emphasizing meeting faculty where they are and fostering sense-making through coaching and community. Fifteen engineering and computer science faculty implemented teaching innovations categorized into scaffolding learning (e.g., paired programming, feedback opportunities) and design-focused projects (e.g., semester-long authentic projects). This study explores how these innovations influence students' perceptions of their engineering identities. Using QuantCrit as a lens, asset-oriented pre/post survey data were analyzed via repeated measures ANOVA and regression modeling. Results indicate that design-focused interventions significantly enhanced students’ sense of belonging, identity, and perceptions of cultural compatibility within engineering, compared to scaffolding-focused interventions. These findings underscore the importance of design-focused pedagogy and inform faculty interventions to support equity-centered teaching practices.

Authors

Dr. Vanessa Svihla http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4342-6178 University of New Mexico [biography]

Dr. Vanessa Svihla is a Professor in Organization, Information & Learning Sciences and in Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Svihla received the National Academy of Education / Spencer Postdoctoral Scholarship and the NSF CAREER Award, which President Biden also recognized with a PECASE. Their scholarship has been recognized for its contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion by the American Society for Engineering Education and the Professional and Organizational Development Network. Dr. Svihla, a disabled and chronically-ill scholar, studies how people learn as they frame problems in power-laden systems and how these activities relate to identity, agency, creativity, equity, and organizational change.
Dr. Donna M Riley http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0319-9583 University of New Mexico [biography]

Donna Riley is Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing, and Professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at the University of New Mexico.
Dr. Ruben D. Lopez-Parra http://orcid.org/0009-0007-8901-5688 Universidad del Norte [biography]

Ruben D. Lopez-Parra is an Assistant Professor in the Instituto de Estudios en Educación (Institute of Education Studies) at Universidad del Norte in Colombia. His Ph.D. is in Engineering Education from Purdue University, and he has worked as a K-16 STEM instructor and curriculum designer using various evidence-based learning strategies. In 2015, Ruben earned an M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, where he also received the title of Chemical Engineer in 2012. His research interests are grounded in the learning sciences and include how K-16 students develop engineering thinking and professional skills when addressing complex socio-technical problems. He aims to apply his research to the design of better educational experiences.
Dr. Susannah C. Davis http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-4610-8052 University of New Mexico [biography]

Susannah C. Davis is a research assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Washington and a B.A. from Smith College. Her research explores how postsecondary institutions, their faculty, and thei
Prof. Eva Chi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7448-9943 University of New Mexico [biography]

Eva Chi is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of New Mexico. The research in her lab is focused on understanding the dynamics and structures of macromolecular assemblies including proteins, po

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