2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Evaluating Interventions Intended to Increase Self-Efficacy of Graduate Engineering Students as Professional Writers

Presented at GSD Session 1: Professional Development

Graduate students in engineering are expected to perform a significant amount of writing as part of their degree program. This includes major writing projects such as journal and conference papers, theses, and dissertations. However, minimal systematic writing support is provided to these students, with the burden for mentoring writing typically resting on research advisors who similarly have limited formal training in technical writing. These challenges in writing education are compounded by a mindset that often puts writing as a last step in the research process, rather than being integrated throughout as a way of generating and synthesizing knowledge. Further, variations in writing expectations across disciplines introduce challenges to teaching technical writing in STEM at the graduate level. Our educational goal in this work is to improve graduate engineering students’ self-efficacy and writing outcomes through systematic writing instruction. We implemented four interventions at a Carnegie R1 (research intensive) university over the span of a three-year NSF study. The four interventions are: 1. graduate writing workshops, 2. discipline-specific graduate-level technical writing courses, 3. facilitated peer writing groups, and 4. an Open Educational Resource (OER). These interventions represent a range of durations and levels of independence for the students. Although educators in different contexts have individually implemented and evaluated such interventions, their individual and combined effectiveness has not been studied in the context of graduate-level engineering education. To evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions for improving self-efficacy and self-regulation in writing, students participating in individual program components were invited to complete the Metacognitive Strategy Knowledge Test (MSKT) Survey and an adapted Writing Self-Regulatory Efficacy Scale (WSRES). After completing the surveys, students were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to provide additional qualitative information about their experiences participating in the writing interventions. The surveys and interviews were analyzed to evaluate changes in students’ writing self-efficacy. An analysis of responses from 24 participants indicated that engineering graduate students possess a generally high sense of writing self-efficacy. It was observed that students were proficient at identifying gaps in the literature and monitoring their writing for content alignment. Opportunities exist for targeted instruction on managing digital and physical distractions and for integrating writing processes as a discovery tool into research workflows.

Authors

Dr. Russell W. Mailen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5092-8964 Auburn University [biography]

Dr. Russell W. Mailen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. Mailen leads the Polymer Mechanics Research Laboratory, which focuses on the characterization of the thermal and mechanical properties polymers (including viscoelasticity), self-folding origami, and mechanical metamaterials. His research group has a significant number of undergraduate researchers, and the group engages regularly with professional development activities. Dr. Mailen is also the PI of The Writing SySTEM: A Systemic Approach to Graduate Writing Instruction and Intervention, a funded NSF IGE grant.
Katharine H. Brown Auburn University [biography]

Dr. Katharine H. Brown is the Associate Director of University Writing at Auburn University, where she focuses on graduate student writing support. Her research addresses graduate student writing self-efficacy, embodied contemplative pedagogies, and welcoming practices in writing centers. She has published in venues including The Writing Center Journal, WAC Clearinghouse, and Composition Forum. She is a co-PI in the NSF study, "The Writing SySTEM: A Systemic Approach to Graduate Writing Instruction and Intervention."
Christopher Ryan Basgier Auburn University [biography]

Christopher Basgier is Director of University Writing at Auburn University. In that role, he consults with departments about integrating writing and high-impact practices throughout undergraduate and graduate curricula. His research, which spans writing across the curriculum, writing centers, genre, threshold concepts, and digital rhetoric, has appeared in venues like Across the Disciplines, Composition Forum, Studies in Higher Education, The WAC Journal, and The Writing Center Journal. He is active in national organizations like the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the WAC Clearinghouse, and he is a founding member of the RhetAI Coalition.
Dr. Sushil Adhikari P.E. Auburn University [biography]

Dr. Sushil Adhikari is a Professor in the Biosystems Engineering Department and the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Director at Auburn University. He is the Co-Principal Investigator of the NSF REU site: Research experience through collaborative teams in bioprocessing for conversion of waste into products of value. Adhikari devotes his efforts to teaching and research in the area of bioenergy and bioproducts and circular economy. He teaches Heat and Mass Transfer, Renewable Energy and Biomass and Biofuels courses for both undergraduate and graduate students.

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

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