Learning through service engineering faculty: Characteristics and changes over time

Abstract

This research explored the demographic characteristics of the engineering faculty who offer and mentor Learning Through Service (LTS) experiences. Research has found a burgeoning interest in service; i.e., helping people, among engineering students, and it is important to understand how engineering faculty will help foster this desire and assist in retaining these students in engineering. The research explored how the number and type of engineering faculty who are active in LTS activities has changed over time. The research utilized a data mining approach, characterizing faculty active in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) around engineering education via the authors of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference papers. Author-supplied biographical information in the papers and online research was used to identify the demographic characteristics of interest, including rank, disciplines, institutional affiliations, and gender. The results identified over 500 unique engineering faculty who have authored papers on LTS at the ASEE annual conference from 1996 to 2014; the rate of new faculty joining the ranks of authors of LTS papers averaged 41 per year from 2003 to 2013. The ranks of these authors averaged 23% assistant professors, 33% associate professors, and 32% full professors. The percentage of non-tenured/tenure track (non-T/TT) engineering faculty among the authors of LTS papers increased from none in 1996-1999 to 23% in 2014. Compared to the disciplines of engineering faculty nationally, engineering faculty authoring LTS papers are over-represented in civil/environmental engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering, and under-represented in chemical, electrical and computer engineering. The percentage of women among the authors of engineering LTS papers generally increased from 2001 to 2014. The authors of LTS papers were 20% women in 2001 and this increased to 50% in 2014; this includes co-authors who are students, staff, and nonengineering faculty. The engineering faculty authors of LTS papers were 15% women in 2001; this percentage increased to 39% in 2014. This is much higher than the percentage of women among engineering faculty (14% in 2013) and ASEE members (24% in 2013). Further, the engineering faculty authors of LTS papers represented 175 unique institutions; these were 36% Baccalaureate or Master's institutions and 26% research universities with very high activity (Carnegie RU/VH). This institutional representation differed somewhat from engineering faculty nationwide who were employed 16% at Baccalaureate or Master's institutions and 54% at RU/VH institutions. These data indicate the ways in which LTS faculty who are active in SOTL have changed over time and are different than typical engineering faculty.