2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research on student learning and pedagogical beliefs is underexplored relatively to those beliefs of instructors. This is an important research gap to address from the student-instructor power dynamics in the classroom. Literature has shown that classroom power dynamics tend to favor the instructors, with students rarely being engaged for their learning experiences, aside from the formal course evaluations. To implement learner-centered strategies, instructors must share power with their students to improve the learning environments. This work-in-progress project strives to address this research gap by answering two research questions: (1) What are some of the learning and pedagogical beliefs do engineering students express, and (2) How do the students perceive their power dynamics in relation to their instructors from the perspective of their learning and pedagogical beliefs?

This study will engage students with a survey that will ask students several questions about their learning and pedagogical beliefs, and their perceptions of power dynamics in relation to these beliefs. First, in terms of framing, we use Conception of Learning framework to situate learning beliefs and learner-centered and humanizing pedagogies to situate pedagogical beliefs. As for power dynamics, we engage with Foucault’s definition of power where power is granted to a person by how they exist in the society. These frameworks help create the survey questions, such as “How do you think learning helps with the growth of your ability in using engineering concepts to solve problems,” “How often do your instructors get to understand your background while they teach,” and “Where do you typically sit in the classroom, and please estimate the distance between you and your instructor?” These questions can elicit the student participants’ beliefs about learning and pedagogical beliefs, while also engage them to think about the power dynamics in the classroom. Data collection is currently ongoing, with the plan of having preliminary results for the first draft of this manuscript.