Abstract
Rapid and cutting-edge technological advances have driven persistent national and global interest in expanding the engineering workforce. Broadening access to engineering education is a critical step in that direction; it can create interest in engineering among more students and invite diverse perspectives to address a broader range of engineering problems more innovatively and effectively. Through my research, which aligns with this vision, I explore ways to create, support, and sustain inclusive pathways in engineering education, and to introduce learning-centric improvements to engineering education pedagogy. During my talk, I will discuss several research studies which I have led to improve the accessibility of engineering education. I have worked closely with blind and low vision (BLV) community members to address the inaccessibility of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) education to BLV learners, due to the field’s heavy reliance on visual representations, including students’ use of CAD schematics, paper sketching, and graphical tools to learn how to design, simulate, and debug circuits. I will discuss (1) an autoethnography study that uncovered the inequitable barriers faced by BLV learners in ECE, (2) pedagogical and institutional support mechanisms that I identified to improve BLV learners’ experiences, and (3) the co-design of a novel, BLV-accessible electronic circuit simulator over 2.5 years with the BLV community. Additionally, I will present my work on developing the CARE (Challenging and Rewarding Experiences) assessment methodology that has informed improvements to the introductory ECE pedagogy at Stanford University. Finally, I will conclude with an overview of my ongoing and future research directions. This includes developing and evaluating technology-based education tools, instructional methodologies, and assessment frameworks to create and sustain inclusive learning pathways in engineering education for different groups of learners, as well as implementing learning-centric evaluations and interventions to improve ECE educational offerings.
Bio
Aya Mouallem is a 5th year PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and a MA candidate in Education at Stanford University. She is advised by Professor Sheri Sheppard and supported by the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program. She conducts research at the intersection of engineering education, accessibility, and human-computer interaction. Her research supports and sustains inclusive pathways in engineering education for minoritized learners by developing diverse educational tools and learning-centric interventions to improve ECE education pedagogy. Her research has been accepted at ASEE, ACM ASSETS, and ACM CHI, and her work recently received the 2024 ASEE Best Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Paper Award.
