AAAL 2022 Presentation

Educating like Engineers &
Engineering like Educators:
Negotiating Tertiary Faculty
Ideologies Towards New
Pedagogical Practices
Juliet Langman, Jorge Solís, Héctor R.
Castrillón-Costa, Nguyen Dao, Andrew Walton,
Janeth Martinez-Cortes
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UTSA
The University of Texas
at San Antonio

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- Overarching goal of project: enhance learning outcomes for Latinx students
in Hispanic-Serving Institution through professional development of STEM
faculty (currently in year 4)
- Persistent low passing rates in STEM gateway courses, with underrepresented
minority students lower than others.
- Aim to increase support for Hispanic students at Hispanic-Serving Institution in
STEM disciplines to increase diversity in the STEM workforce.
Introduction: Impetus for Research
Educating like Engineers & Engineering like Educators
Passing Rate for Gateway Courses
HSI Status Engineering Science/Math
Hispanic & Low Income 56.9% 55.9%
Non-Hispanic 61.1% 61.9%
Net Difference -4.2% -6.0%

HSI & LA-STEM Framework
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Connecting previous work on STEM education and
literacy drawing on analytical frameworks (discourse
analysis, ethnography, educational policy) applied to a
university level context (Fies & Langman 2011; Garza & Langman,
2014; Langman & Hansen-Thomas, 2017; Solís, 2017; Solís, Bravo, &
Mosqueda, 2017; Solís, Kattan, & Baquedano-López, 2009)
LA-STEM Framework
Rooted in belief that a focus on academic literacy
and opportunities for interaction support success
across all academic disciplines and are a necessity for
minority students learning STEM concepts (Lee, Quinn,
and Valdés, 2013; Téllez, Moschkovich, and Civil, 2011).
Lesson Study
Professional development focused on collaborative
engagement in identifying and addressing student
learning challenges through innovative and reflective
practice. (Wood and Cajkler, 2017; Perry & Lewis, 2009).
Educating like Engineers & Engineering like Educators:

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-This paper examines the specific role of the Lesson Study
weekly meetings to support faculty identity shifts and
pedagogical shifts.
Context: Engineering Lesson Study team
- Routinely 6 members
Subject:
- Dr. Suarez, an Engineering faculty member joining year 3 of
the project
Aims

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-This case study explores how a newcomer negotiated
his identity upon joining an existing interdisciplinary
team (a Lesson Study team).
• How the instructor’s identity of the newcomer
shifted through his participation in the LS
professional development?
• What new teaching practices emerged as a
result of those shifts?
Research Questions

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Framework for Paper
Dominant
Discourses in
Engineering
Education
Professional
Development
Models
Third Spaces
for Faculty
Collaboration
Identity
Shifts
New
Teaching
Practices

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Theoretical Framework
Identity as as
Analytical
Framework
Nature
Identity
Institutional
Identity
Discursive
Identity
Affinity
Identity
The “kind of
person”
someone is

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- Affinity-Identities are made up of people that share:
● Allegiance
● Access
● Common endeavors
● Specific social practices
- “A-Identities … focus on distinctive social practices that
create and sustain group affiliations”, instead of focusing on
discourse itself. (Gee, 2000, p. 105)
Affinity Identity

A Conceptual Model
Affinity-Identity
Discourses
Engineering Education
LA-STEM
Affinity-identity
Newcomer
New teaching
practices
emerged from
the negotiation
of teaching
ideologies
between
the two
Affinity-Identity
Discourses

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- Data are drawn from twenty-six transcriptions of weekly
faculty LS meetings in which Dr. Suarez participated as the
focal faculty member.
- During this time, he developed, taught, and reflected on
two lessons; the design of an automobile cruise
controller and Mars Rover’s Controller.
- Applying Gee’s discourse analysis, the transcripts were
coded for emerging themes twice.
- Round 1 coding tracks affinity identity shifts.
- Round 2 coding identifies new teaching practices and
stances towards them.
Methodology

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Codes Definition How to Identify Them
Affinity
Identity
● Pieces of language that denote the
participants’ identification with
Affinity-identity Discourses and self-
and other- identification within them.
● Affinity-identity Discourses
○ Engineering
○ Education
○ LA-STEM
● Pay attention to the
pronouns we, you, I, us.
● Identify different identity
boundaries/connections
to a particular group.
● Identify building task
Teaching
Practices
● Pieces of language that denote
teaching practices through discourse
on in LS activities, instructors’ post
LS activities reflections, talks about
lesson plans, instructional plans
● Pay attention to
adjectives
○ typical, old,
traditional versus
○ new, special,
socioculturally
infused.
● Activities & Connections
tasks

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Findings - 1 Identity Shifts
From newcomer to thought partner
First 4
weeks
Weeks 5
to 9
Weeks 10
to Present

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Team members offer help
Dr. Anderson: We are going
to be here to help you and
provide you with some
examples that we did in the
past so that you see a
connection and a clear
pathway to implement these
approaches in your classes.
Dr. Anderson: EGR faculty
“We” LA-STEM faculty
‘You’: Dr. Suarez

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S seeks help and asks questions
Dr. Suarez: If I understood
you Dr. Anderson, (you) are
saying that you already
have a bank of lessons that
you already prepared with
the help of Dr. Castro and
that the idea is that one of
those lessons might be
applicable to my class?
Dr. Suarez: newcomer “I”
“You” Engineering faculty
Dr. Anderson
Dr. Castro

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Seeks Approval
Dr. Suarez: Dr. Anderson I
was thinking of maybe
browsing and Dr. Educator you
tell me if this is acceptable for
you, but I was thinking of
browsing the internet.
Dr. Suarez: So, my next
question is, since Dr. Anderson
and I agreed that this is the
plan, that lesson it's a good
lesson, what is the next step?
Do I have to get approved by
you guys, or by some other
committee?
Dr. Suarez: newcomer “I”
“We”
Engineering faculty
Dr. Anderson & Suarez
“You guys”
LA STEM team including
Education faculty

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Begins to engage as LA STEM member
Dr. Suarez: So Dr. Educator,
how do we address the
issue of those students that
don’t look at the video?
“We” LA STEM team

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Acknowledged as and Claims Membership
Dr. Educator: We want to talk a
little bit about the lesson study.
Kind of a reminder, because, of
course, Dr. Suarez knows a lot
about lesson study now.
Dr. Suarez: On the 12 of
november I have a quiz, can we
make it the 17 of november?
Dr. Educator: Yes.
Dr. Suarez: So let's do the 17 of
november because that 'll be
good. 17 of november, so that’s
my date.
“I” Dr. Suarez as
instructor

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Becomes a thought partner
Dr. Suarez: So … we were
going to put a tracking on the
material. So in addition to
that tracking, we, we, you
think we need another poll
question?

A range of new practices were developed. Here we
focus on Interactive Group activities
Findings - 2 New Teaching Practices
Creating Group Activities

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Design an Automobile Cruise Control
R(s)
THROTTLE
CONTROLLER
ENGINE & VEHICLE
(PLANT)
C(s)
-
R: Desired vehicle
speed
C: Actual vehicle speed
TACHOMETER
Speed
Setting
Actual
Speed

The New Group Approach: Dynamics and Controls
Class Activity: Automobile Cruise Controller Design
Section:
See options at right.
(001) T/R 1:00 PM –
2:15 PM
(002) T/R 4:00 PM –
5:15 PM
Team Members:
Write name and ID:
Member
#1
Member
#2
Member
#3
Breakout Group
Look at Zooms’s
breakout group
number:

TEAM ANSWER SHEET SAMPLE
Problem #1: Closed loop transfer function of cruise-
controlled automobile
SOLUTION RATIONALE
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Dr. Suarez: And they (students) were very frank with each other
and they were talking and they were exchanging notes. So I
think that interaction was good. I thought we could do better. I
would give the students more time to work in groups. So I
corrected that problem for the second section… and gave the
students a lot more time to get together in groups and work
together.
I
The Reflection on the New Teaching Practice

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-Professional development models like the LS affords the
creation of third spaces that lead to shifts in affinity-identities
and to the development of new teaching practices among
engineering faculty.
-It remains to be explored the extent to which these new
practices become sustained curricular changes.
-Initial data suggests these changes have resulted in higher
educational success rates for Latinx Students in high-stakes
engineering courses.
Conclusions
and Future Work

Transforming STEM
Undergraduate Education
through Academic Literacy,
Mentoring and Professional
Development project is
funded by the National
Science Foundation’s
Improving Undergraduate
STEM Education: Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI
Program).
Grant #1832388
Thank you!
Questions?
LA STEM Team
● LA_STEM@utsa.edu
Website
● https://engineering.utsa.edu/
buildingcapacity/
AAAL 2022

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I
Methodology
Activites A piece of language that enacts activities.
Connections A piece of language that enacts connections or disconnections
among things.
Identities A piece of language that enacts the creation of certain identity.
Politics A piece of language that enacts a perspective on social goods.
Relationships A piece of language that enacts relationships among
participants who are present or not.
Sign & System of
Knowledge
A piece of language that enacts the privilege of one system
over another or a particular way of knowing.
Significance A piece of language that enacts significance or nonsignificance
to certain things.

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