Will EC 2000 Make Engineering More Female Friendly

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Will EC 2000 Make Engineering More Female
Friendly?

• Sue V. Rosser, Dean
• Ivan Allen College, Georgia Tech
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• February 27, 2004

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• Engineering and its product, technology, have
  had a profound impact on society one has only to
  compare the life of the average citizen of 1900
  with that of the average citizen of 2000 to
  realize that virtually all of the differences are
  the result of engineering. Moreover, the impact
  in the 21st century will be felt in every aspect
  of our lives, from our personal health to

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• our collective governance. Engineers must no
  longer limit their sense of responsibility to the
  products and infrastructure we design, but must
  include the larger effects they have.
• (William Wulf, President, National Academy of
  Engineering, April 25, 2000)

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• The engineering profession needs the substantial
  participation of women if we are to make our full
  contribution to the solution of the technical
  problems facing our society. (Sheila Widnall,
  Institute Professor, MIT, April 26, 2000)

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Engineering Criteria 2000

• Flexibility of missions with regard to university
  and departments
• Engineering as a liberal art for the 21st C
• Emphasis upon outcomes
• Measurable data on how well students achieve
  outcomes
• Curricular revision for constant quality
  improvement

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Results of studies

• Old ABET requirements met by passing courses
• Resulted in students doing well in entry-level
  jobs but somewhat problematic 10 years into
  careers
• NSF, ASEE, EEB, Aerospace Roundtable, as well as
  ABET all address liberal learning

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NSF

• Whole world is integrated and interdependent, yet
  current curriculum focuses on disparate fields
• Important to teach synthesis and analysis
• Enhance student capabilities to make connections
  between what they learn and other areas of
  knowledge

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ASEE

• Team-building and collaboration
• Communication
• Leadership
• Global and international
• Quality
• Social connections and environment

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EEB

• Focuses on fundamentals and eliminate redundancy
  in curriculum and courses
• Integrates fundamentals with design
• Orients towards practice
• Emphasizes team work
• Underlines social and business understanding and
  context

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ABET CRITERIA

• Ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
• Understanding of professional and ethical
  responsibilities
• Ability to communicate effectively

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ABET CRITERIA

• Broad educational basis to understand information
  and engineering solutions in a global and
  societal context
• Recognition of the need and ability to engage in
  life-long learning
• Knowledge of contemporary issues

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Criterion 3. Program Outcomes and Assessment

• Engineering programs must demonstrate that their
  graduates have
• (a) an ability to apply knowledge of
  mathematics, science, and engineering
• (b) an ability to design and conduct
  experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret
  data
• (c) an ability to design a system, component,
  or process to meet desired needs

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• An ability to function on multi-disciplinary
  teams
• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve
  engineering problems
• An understanding of professional and ethical
  responsibility
• An ability to communicate effectively
• The broad education necessary to understand the
  impact of engineering solutions in a global and
  societal context

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• A recognition of the need for, and an ability to
  engage in lifelong learning
• A knowledge of contemporary issues
• An ability to use the techniques, skills, and
  modern engineering tools necessary for
  engineering practice

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U.S. Engineering Workforce

• Currently, 80 white, non-Hispanic
• 90 male
• Gender composition similar to Europe
• Overwhelmingly middle-aged

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College Educational Pipeline

• In 2000, 71 of all engineering baccalaureate
  degrees went to white, non-Hispanic students
• Male undergraduates have declined from 58 in
  1968 to only 44 in 1999
• Although women earned more bachelors degrees
  than men, women earned only 21 of engineering
  baccalaureates in 2000

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Female Friendly Pedagogical TechniquesObservation
s

• Expand the kinds of observations beyond those
  traditionally carried out in scientific research.
  Women students may see new data that could make
  a valuable contribution to scientific
  experiments.
• Increase the numbers of observations and remain
  longer in the observational stage of the
  scientific method. This would provide more
  hands-on experience with various types of
  equipment.

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• Incorporate and validate personal experiences
  women are likely to have had as part of the class
  discussion or the laboratory exercise.
• Undertake fewer experiments likely to have
  applications of direct benefit to the military
  and propose more experiments to explore problems
  of social concern.

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• Consider problems that have not been considered
  worthy of scientific investigation because of the
  field with which the problem has been
  traditionally associated.
• Formulate hypotheses focusing on gender as a
  crucial part of the question asked.
• Undertake the investigation of problems of more
  holistic, global scope, rather than the more
  reduced and limited scale problems traditionally
  considered.

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Female Friendly Pedagogical TechniquesMethods

• Use a combination of qualitative and quantitative
  methods in data gathering.
• Use methods from a variety of fields or
  interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving.
• Include females as experimental subjects in
  experimental designs.

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• Use more interactive methods, thereby shortening
  the distance between the observer and the object
  being studied.
• Decrease laboratory exercises in introductory
  courses in which students must kill animals or
  render treatment that may be perceived as
  particularly harsh.

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Female Friendly Pedagogical TechniquesTheories
and Conclusions Drawn from Data

• Use precise, gender neutral language in
  describing data and presenting theories
• Be open to critiques of conclusions and theories
  drawn from observations differing from those
  drawn by the traditional observer from the same
  observations

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• Encourage uncovering of other biases such as
  those of race, class, sexual orientation, and
  religious affiliation that may permeate theories
  and conclusions drawn from observations
• Encourage development of theories and hypotheses
  that are relational, interdependent, and
  multicausal rather than hierarchical,
  reductionistic, and dualisitic.

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Female Friendly Pedagogical TechniquesPractice

• Use less competitive models in the practice of
  science and technology
• Discuss the role of scientist or engineer as only
  one facet to be integrated into life
• Increase efforts in teaching and communicating
  with non-scientific /technical people to break
  down barriers
• Discuss the practical uses of science and
  engineering in their social contexts
• Rosser, S.V. (1990) Female Friendly Science.
  Elmsford, NY Pergamon Press.