Work In Progress: Implementation of a Skills Based Approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Senior Undergraduate Aerospace Capstones

Abstract

In 2019, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) updated their student outcome accreditation standards to specifically address team collaboration, leadership, and inclusivity. While Penn State's 2016-2020 University-wide Strategic Plan clearly highlights diversity as one of its core foundations, the College of Engineering 2020-2025 Strategic Plan reaffirmed and clarified this commitment by making one of its unit objectives the integration of ethics, inclusivity, and sustainability into undergraduate programs throughout the college. In the Aerospace Engineering Department, senior undergraduate capstone courses offer ideal conditions for exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues since these classes are team-based experiential learning environments intended to mirror the engineering workplace. While Penn State's year-long Aerospace Engineering capstone courses have historically included a unit on DEI presented at the beginning of the Fall semester, these concepts were introduced in a lecture-based format and embedded within the broader context of professional behavior and team dynamics. With the addition of 2-3 team peer review surveys throughout the Fall and Spring semesters to assess team communication, collaboration, and student perceptions of team productivity, this approach satisfies the ABET student outcome accreditation criteria. However, a wealth of research into DEI training over the last decade has indicated that lecture-based approaches are the least effective pedagogical method for ensuring concept retention, changes in empathetic thinking, and recognition of personal implicit biases. In addition, the majority of senior engineering undergraduates have limited experience navigating professional norms, team conflict, and diverse team environments. The combination of these factors created a capstone environment in which students were aware of DEI in the context of professional behavior, but lacked the deeper appreciation of DEI issues resulting from workplace/team culture and other barriers to STEM equity and inclusivity within teams. Furthermore, even when students recognized these issues, they were unfamiliar with methods to mitigate them. To bridge this knowledge gap, the Penn State Aerospace Engineering Department has implemented a skills-based approach to its DEI learning modules within all capstone courses. This approach combines a variety of pedagogical techniques including interactive video-based bystander training; self reflections on microaggressions and implicit bias; and in-class team exercises and discussions on the intersection of power dynamics, team interactions, and discrimination, as well as strengthening empathy though a recognition of societal privilege and economics factors. Throughout these trainings, activities, and discussions, an emphasis is placed on development of concrete actions that students can take within their current and future teams to promote an inclusive, collaborative, and psychologically safe environment for all members. As implementation of these active learning techniques to DEI concepts within the senior undergraduate aerospace capstones is a relatively new update to the curriculum, development of metrics to gauge effectiveness is ongoing. Planned assessment options include in-class and senior exit surveys, as well as CATME-based or customized evaluation models containing questions related to psychological safety, communication, collaboration, productivity, team climate, and team interdependence.