2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

SPARK is the first project at ________________University designed to recruit and retain low income, female, first year students who show an early interest in majoring in engineering and computer science (ECS). Female students who show an initial extrinsic interest in these majors can be driven away far too easily by their experiences. SPARK has two primary goals: (1) create an environment where belonging to a like-minded cohort nurtures a strong sense of self, and (2) deliver high quality, high impact practices that engender female students’ success and retention in ECS.

Guided by Albert Bandura and Frank Pajares’ research on self-efficacy in theory and practice, the SPARK project sheds light on self-efficacy and confidence as predictive of persistence for female students in ECS. Additionally, the effect of SPARK students’ spatial visualization skills was assessed and tracked throughout the life of the project, utilizing Sheryl Sorby’s research correlating spatial visualization skills to STEM success. Current research-based approaches to student engagement provide good evidence that mattering and sense of belonging are also highly correlative with persistence, particularly for first year students. This is important because the national conversation on what works to mend the gender gap in STEM is currently wedged between Sheryl Sandberg’s “leaning in” and Angela Duckworth’s views on “grit” as an indicator of persistence.

In this paper, we will discuss the context and history of the SPARK program, present assessment outcomes about impact to date, share lessons learned, and consider future directions. This work will contribute to the growing body of research on retaining females in ECS by developing and analyzing student motivation; recognizing factors that may contribute to aspirational deficient, attrition, and marginalization; and designing and assessing activities that strengthen self-confidence, self-efficacy, and persistence in retention programs for females in ECS.

References

Duckworth A.L., Peterson C., Matthews M.D., Kelly D.R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 92(6), 1087-101.

Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research.
Winter 66(4), 543-578.

Sandberg, Sheryl (2013). Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Sander, P. and Sanders, L. (2003). Measuring confidence in academic study. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology and Psychopedagogy. 1, 1-17.

Schreiner, L., Louis, M.C, & Nelson, D.D. (Eds.) (2013).Thriving in Transitions: A Research-Based Approach to College Student Success. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Sorby, S. A. (2001). A Course in Spatial Visualization and its Impact on the Retention of Women Engineering Students. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. 7(2), 153-172.