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focuses on the needs of ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs and the engagement of faculty in the process of creating a welcoming environment where all ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs can thrive. Students at most of our nation’s institutions come from disparate backgrounds and have different learning styles and abilities; often, our professors can feel at a loss on how to teach ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs effectively and inclusively.

¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) prides itself on strong faculty-¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ mentoring and advising programs, teamwork, and close interaction between ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs and faculty in classrooms, laboratory, and research settings. Based on previous work I have done, colleges that examine their courses critically and change content to emphasize the human and societal connections of engineering and computing are critical to the retention of women, Underrepresented Minorities (URMs), and ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs with different backgrounds and identities. The theme within ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ’s CEC creates that connection.

The (CTE) and Howe Center for Writing Excellence on ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ’s campus are useful resources for faculty. They each conduct workshops periodically to develop collective efficacy, and they both value beliefs that are required for change in engineering and computing education. It has been shown that engineering and computing disciplines that emphasize thinking from a broad systems perspective, in which faculty link topics and course content by building on previous knowledge, usually allows ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to thrive and succeed. This was done quite effectively by in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME) department by integrating writing across the MME curriculum. It is also important when teaching engineering or computing concepts that we contextualize learning through real life examples such that the concepts are not abstract.

Other recommendations for practical implementation of inclusive pedagogical practices include creating spaces where collaborative problem solving is encouraged and where it is safe for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to make mistakes; by empowering ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to bring prior knowledge and experience into the classroom; by creating heterogeneous teams; and by ensuring we explore people from diverse backgrounds who made important contributions to the field.

As we examine our pedagogy critically, it is also important that we change our testing styles. We must ensure that we measure learning outcomes using multiple metrics to prevent the stereotype threat associated with traditional testing. It is also important for instructors in engineering and computing to provide clear guidelines on how learning outcomes will be measured, instead of grading on a curve, so that all ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs feel like they can succeed. Teamwork, which is at the heart of everything we do, should be properly valued. As teaching professionals, it behooves us to examine our pedagogy regularly and adapt based on current engineering education research. By including these practices in our pedagogy, we can promote belongingness and help retain ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs in engineering and computing.

With love and honor,

Beena Sukumaran, Ph.D.
Dean College of Engineering and Computing
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