2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Impact of Community of Practice on the Integration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Faculty-Student Engagements and Pedagogical Approaches

Universities are increasingly utilizing Communities of Practice (CoPs) as strategic instruments for knowledge management and professional development to gain a competitive advantage. The CoP provided a collaborative platform for teachers to exchange experiences, address challenges, and develop strategies that foster environments and spaces that respect and support all learners to fully and independently engage and contribute. Few research studies exist on the subject of using CoP to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into Faculty-Students courses and curricula. This study therefore examines the effectiveness of CoP in considering a broad range of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds in Faculty-Students engagement in their pedagogical approaches. This study was carried out in a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the summer of 2024. Videos of Faculty-engagement with students were analyzed before and after the CoP training. The CoP focused on creating a comprehensively inclusive learning environment, approaches to inclusive teaching as well as the execution and continuous maintenance of inclusive practices in Faculty-students engagement. The impact of the CoP on a DEI-centered approach in Faculty-student engagement was assessed using a validated DEI assessment tool, which focuses on changes in classroom content, the integration of inclusive practices, and the perception of students on inclusion. All results were analyzed for statistical significance using ANCOVA and t-tests at 0.05 level of significance. Results from the study revealed there were significantly increasing integration of DEI principles in Faculty-students engagement after CoP participation. This suggests that CoPs are effective means of fostering DEI in Faculty-students engagement. This study effectively contributes to the growing literature on CoPs and DEI in professional development and knowledge management. It further emphasizes the role of CoP and DEI in promoting continuous learning and collaboration in the higher education space, especially in HBCUs.

Authors

Dr. Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E. Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty in 2010. He is the Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Smart Innovation and Resilient Engineering Research Lab at the Department of Civil Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Blessing Funmbi Sasanya http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1985-9021 Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Blessing Funmbi Sasanya is a scholar in water resources and environmental engineering, specializing in hydrology, climate science, and sustainable water management. He is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Morgan State University. His expertise includes watershed hydrology, modelling (using statistical, physical based and Machine learning algorithms) and environmental monitoring, with applications in water scarcity mitigation, agricultural productivity, and climate resilience. Dr. Sasanya has published widely in international journals, contributing to advances in rainfall probability models, hydroclimatic trend analysis, and hydrological modeling. By integrating statistical, remote sensing, and modeling approaches, he fosters multi-disciplinary collaborations for wetlands and waterways mitigation forecasting. His academic trajectory demonstrates strong intellectual merit through methodological innovation and broad impacts in advancing sustainable environmental systems .
Blessing Isoyiza ADEIKA http://orcid.org/https://0009-0007-5600-8051 Morgan State University [biography]

Blessing ADEIKA is a graduate student at Morgan State University currently studying Advanced Computing. She has interest in teaching student basic concepts by adopting an Experiment-centric approach to it. She also is currently working towards being a Data Scientist - AI/ML Expert and hope to use her skills to prefer solutions in the Medical, Financial, Technology and any other Sector she sees a need to be filled/catered for.
Jennifer Cromley [biography]

Jennifer Cromley is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on two broad areas: achievement/retention in STEM and comprehension of illustrated scientific text
Mr. Olorunfunmi Samuel Shobowale Morgan State University [biography]

Olorunfunmi Shobowale is a graduate research assistant at Morgan State University in Maryland, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Advanced Computing. He brings over nine years of professional experience spanning IT infrastructure, cloud architecture, educational technology, and STEM education. His research interests include equitable engagement strategies, inclusive learning environments, and computational approaches to environmental monitoring. He has contributed to work at Morgan State's Center for Equitable AI and Machine Learning Systems, where he mentored undergraduate researchers in developing IoT-based solutions. He has presented research at national conferences including ASEE, NOISE, and AfroTech, and is committed to broadening participation in computing and advancing inclusive, technology-driven approaches to engineering education.
Dr. Olushola V. Emiola-Owolabi http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-8521-5769 Morgan State University [biography]

Olushola Emiola-Owolabi is an engineering pedagogy specialist, researching active learning in engineering classrooms and specializing in qualitative methods research on teaching and learning – particularly in remote synchronous learning environments.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026