Monica Cardella | Florida International University (original) (raw)

Papers by Monica Cardella

He earned his Ph.D degree in Educational Measurement and Research Methodology at Purdue Universit... more He earned his Ph.D degree in Educational Measurement and Research Methodology at Purdue University. His B.S. degree is in Business Management. His principal research focus is assessment methods in engineering education and service learning program evaluation.

In our rapidly-changing, knowledge-infused society, students need to have welldeveloped informati... more In our rapidly-changing, knowledge-infused society, students need to have welldeveloped information literacy skills in order to solve problems. This is especially true of engineering students. In 2010, the presenters set out to discover what gaps existed in the information literacy skills of engineering students and how instructors could intervene to fill those gaps. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore techniques to help students become informed problem solvers. The role of information in the engineering design process will be examined, and participants will learn ways to equip their students to become independent, self-directed learners. This workshop is based on research conducted as part of the College of Engineering’s Engineer of 2020 Seed Grant program. Although the research focused on first-year engineering students, this workshop will help anyone who teaches problem-solving techniques.

she worked with the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT) and the LIFE Center (Lear... more she worked with the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT) and the LIFE Center (Learning in Informal and Formal Environments). She was a CASEE Postdoctoral Engineering Education Researcher at the Center for Design Research at Stanford before beginning her appointment at Purdue. Her research interests include: learning in informal and out-of-school time settings, pre-college engineering education, design thinking, mathematical thinking, and assessment research. Dr. Cardella is also the mother of two young children who love books, and so she often finds herself pointing out that there are other types of engineers beyond the ones that drive trains.

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, Apr 8, 2020

for additional information. This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding mod... more for additional information. This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. This journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Children spend most of their time in out-of-school settings. As a result, informal learning setti... more Children spend most of their time in out-of-school settings. As a result, informal learning settings can play a significant role in children's learning development. Museums and science centers are informal settings that are intentionally designed to promote learning and interest development. Studies show that these settings are where children begin to develop competencies, skills, knowledge and problem-solving processes that support participation in STEM-related careers. For example, many engineering exhibits have been designed for children to promote their engineering skills and practices as well as their understanding of engineering careers. One engineering practice is troubleshooting; troubleshooting is a practice used in many aspects of engineering work, including design, analysis, and programming. We situate this study in the engineering design literature as the task that our participants engaged in was an engineering design task. In this study, we examined ways young women engaged in design-based troubleshooting and compared them with what previous studies showed about the ways informed and beginning engineers troubleshoot their designs. To do so, we asked 7-11 years old girls with their caregivers to design a pneumatic ball run using pneumatic pistons in thirty minutes. The video data of four cases were then analyzed. Design-based troubleshooting was observed very often due to the immediate feedback they received (i.e., falling the ball means a problem). Our findings suggest that children can engage in some aspects of troubleshooting the same way as informed designers.

Biomedical engineering education, Sep 7, 2022

In response to the growing computational intensity of the healthcare industry, biomedical enginee... more In response to the growing computational intensity of the healthcare industry, biomedical engineering (BME) undergraduate education is placing increased emphasis on computation. The presence of substantial gender disparities in many computationally intensive disciplines suggests that the adoption of computational instruction approaches that lack intentionality may exacerbate gender disparities. Educational research suggests that the development of an engineering and computational identity is one factor that can support students' decisions to enter and persist in an engineering major. Discipline-based identity research is used as a lens to understand retention and persistence of students in engineering. Our specific purpose is to apply discipline-based identity research to define and explore the computational identities of undergraduate engineering students who engage in computational environments. This work will inform future studies regarding retention and persistence of students who engage in computational courses. Twenty-eight undergraduate engineering students (20 women, 8 men) from three engineering majors (biomedical engineering, agricultural engineering, and biological engineering) participated in semi-structured interviews. The students discussed their experiences in a computationallyintensive thermodynamics course offered jointly by the Biomedical Engineering and Agricultural & Biological Engineering departments. The transcribed interviews were analyzed through thematic coding. The gender stereotypes associated with computer programming also come part and parcel with computer programming, possibly threatening a student's sense of belonging in engineering. The majority of the participants reported that their computational identity was ''in the making.'' Students' responses also suggested that their engineering identity and their computational identity were in congruence, while some incongruence is found between their engineering identity and a creative identity as well as between computational identity and perceived feminine norms. Responses also indicate that students associate specific skills with having a computational identity. This study's findings present an emergent thematic definition of a computational person constructed from student perceptions and experiences. Instructors can support students' nascent computational identities through intentional mitigation of the gender stereotypes and biases, and by framing assignments to focus on developing specific skills associated with the computational modeling processes.

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2019

This study explores interactions between computational thinking, gender and engineering identity ... more This study explores interactions between computational thinking, gender and engineering identity among biomedical engineering undergraduate students. Biomedical engineering enjoys higher rates of women’s enrollment than other engineering disciplines, but nevertheless has gender disparities in persistence within the field. Additionally, trends towards greater incorporation of computation into biomedical engineering have the potential to recreate the gender inequities seen in more computationally intensive engineering disciplines. Recently, ‘engineering identity’ has emerged as a powerful analytic lens to understand persistence in engineering, particularly for underrepresented groups such as women. However, there is limited work examining how experiences using computational methods influences engineering identity formation in undergraduate biomedical engineers. Further, it remains unclear to what extent gender differentially mediates the effects of computational practice on engineering identity formation. In order to explore the intersection of these issues, we study a thermodynamics course in the biomedical engineering department of a large Midwestern public research institution in the United States. The thermodynamics course includes in-class computational modeling group activities and has an enrollment of more than 120, primarily sophomore year, undergraduate students. We use a qualitative study approach that includes gathering data through classroom observation and detailed semi-structured interviews. We analyze classroom observation data to try to understand student experiences of learning and participation during in-class computational modeling exercises. Specifically, we look for evidence of gendered differences in task sorting and engagement with the exercise. Classroom data is complemented by semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews gains student’s perspectives on how gender has influenced their learning experience and their identity as engineers.

ȠDesigners develop design skills and knowledge through experience and feedback - feedback from co... more ȠDesigners develop design skills and knowledge through experience and feedback - feedback from colleagues, clients, supervisors, users, stakeholders, the success or failure of a solution, and design educators. In this project, we focus on the feedback provided to mechanical engineering students completing their undergraduate studies and industrial design graduate students during design reviews. The design coaches (educators and industry clients) and design students must negotiate ambiguity in the process. The students must reduce ambiguity in the sense of providing clear details as they communicate their design work, reduce ambiguity in the coaches' perceptions of the design work quality by providing evidence and rationales for their design approaches. However, they also maintain ambiguity in the sense of not converging on an idea too quickly in the design process, but instead considering many possibilities. We investigate the different forms of feedback provided by coaches, stu...

Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 2019

For the past four years, our research group has conducted a series of NSF funded studies on Compu... more For the past four years, our research group has conducted a series of NSF funded studies on Computational Thinking (CT) involving elementary school students, parents, and teachers. We developed curriculum, trained teachers, observed classrooms, created museum exhibits, followed students and families, explored theory, and utilized the diverse skills of a large multidisciplinary research group to understand the intersection of STEM, literacy, and CT. As we close out this grant, we are looking to disseminate our findings, share lessons learned about research methods and data collection, and build collaborations for future research.

2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2020

The goal of this pre-conference workshop is to provide guidance on engineering education funding ... more The goal of this pre-conference workshop is to provide guidance on engineering education funding opportunities at the National Science Foundation (NSF). This will be accomplished through a series of engaging activities including (i) interactive and dynamic minipresentations by NSF program directors; (ii) a lively mock proposal review session in which participants work in small groups on a real NSF proposal previously emailed to registrants; (iii) an interactive question and answer session in which participants have the opportunity to crossexamine a panel of current NSF grantees and (iv) candid conversations with NSF program directors. The workshop will describe various funding opportunities including those that promote international collaborations and engineering education for a sustainable future. Guidance will be provided on how to write persuasive and competitive proposals. Participants will experience rich peer interactions and also have the opportunity to connect directly with NSF program directors.

International Journal of Engineering Education, 2015

This study focuses on characteristics of written feedback that influence students’ performance an... more This study focuses on characteristics of written feedback that influence students’ performance and confidence in addressingthe mathematical complexity embedded in a Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA). MEAs are authentic mathematicalmodeling problems that facilitate students’ iterative development of solutions in a realistic context. We analyzed 132first-year engineering students’ confidence levels and mathematical model scores on a MEA (pre and post feedback), alongwith teaching assistant feedback given to the students. The findings show several examples of affective and cognitivefeedback that students reported that they used to revise their models. Students’ performance and confidence in developingmathematical models can be increased when they are in an environment where they iteratively develop models based oneffective feedback.

2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2017

Careers in the U.S. that require STEM knowledge have grown rapidly, reinforcing the need to devel... more Careers in the U.S. that require STEM knowledge have grown rapidly, reinforcing the need to develop a future workforce that is prepared to meet growing business needs and solve global challenges. Considering that there is a low number of students pursuing STEM degrees and the low percentages of minority students in the STEM pipeline, STEM education has been a focus of local and national education curriculum reform efforts. Extending beyond the classroom, university, industry, and other stakeholders have partnered to develop the future workforce by focusing on STEM K-12 outreach programming. We discuss a unique partnership that moves beyond the traditional context of university based outreach programming in which the National Society of Black Engineers (a non-profit organization) is working toward scaling up a nationwide summer outreach program through partnering with major research institutions and industry sponsors. We introduce the partners, provide an overview of the research and assessment plan, and discuss preliminary lessons from the partnership.

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 2021

A central challenge in engineering education is providing experiences that are appropriate for an... more A central challenge in engineering education is providing experiences that are appropriate for and accessible to underserved communities. However, to provide such experiences, we must better understand the process of offering a geographically distributed asset-based out-of-school program. This paper focuses on a collaborative research project that examined the broad implementation of the Summer Engineering Experiences for Kids (SEEK) program organized by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). SEEK is a three-week summer program that engages participants in hands-on, teambased engineering design projects. NSBE's goal is to make SEEK culturally sustaining, communityconnected, and scalable. The purpose of this paper is to provide a retrospective reflection on various aspects of our collaborative project and highlight a series of tradeoffs that must be carefully considered to offer and examine the effectiveness of an intervention designed both to affirm cultural background as well as to broaden access. Guided by Yosso's community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, we engaged in individual reflection and group discussions about the evolution of our three-year project. We considered the six types of capital outlined in CCW to examine various program design elements and tradeoffs. By illuminating the tradeoffs that are required, we hope this paper can help other program designers and researchers to intentionally, preemptively, and proactively consider such tradeoffs.

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

In his research, Hynes explores the use of engineering to integrate academic subjects in K-12 cla... more In his research, Hynes explores the use of engineering to integrate academic subjects in K-12 classrooms. Specific research interests include design metacognition among learners of all ages; the knowledge base for teaching K-12 STEM through engineering; the relationships among the attitudes, beliefs, motivation, cognitive skills, and engineering skills of K-16 engineering learners; and teaching engineering.

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

He completed his PhD degree majoring in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Engineerin... more He completed his PhD degree majoring in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Engineering Education and minoring in Educational Psychology as well as an MS degree in Petroleum Engineering at Texas Tech University. He also obtained an MEd degree from Clemson University. His research interests focus on teacher education and students learning issues within Engineering Education/Pedagogy and Computational Thinking/Pedagogy field of studies. He received national and international recognitions including an Early Career Researcher award from European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) and a Jhumki Basu Scholar award from National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). In addition, he is one of two scholarship recipients awarded by NARST to attend the ESERA summer research program inČeské Budějovice, Czech Republic in 2016. He can be reached at

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Broadening participation in engineering, increasing students interest in engineering, and increas... more Broadening participation in engineering, increasing students interest in engineering, and increasing technological literacy are concerns that engineering programs and engineering education researchers continue to address. One important group to consider in this process is parents. Parents play a number of roles in engineering education: they can motivate interest in engineering in early childhood, they can provide support when their child is in the process of selecting a major at college, they can provide experiences for learning engineering concepts and skills, and can serve as role models if they themselves are engineers. Using multiple case study analysis, this paper examines different roles parents play in engineering education through five distinct studies. In these five studies, participants range from parents of young children up to high school age, in a variety of different settings. The collection of these five studies provides unique insights into a more comprehensive understanding of the ways that parents are engaged in engineering education.

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 2020

In the last two decades, pre-college engineering education has increased, with research on pre-co... more In the last two decades, pre-college engineering education has increased, with research on pre-college engineering education emerging as a nascent field. However, limited research, if any, has considered aspects of engineering thinking of children with neurodiversity. In line with calls for broadening participation in engineering education, consideration of neurodiverse children is critical. Among various neurodiverse conditions, the number of children with autism is rapidly growing. In addition, studies have shown that individuals with autism have the potential to perform well in activities that require systematizing abilities. Engineering is one such activity. Prior research has provided evidence of the importance of early engineering learning opportunities in terms of future performance and interest in engineering; therefore, it is critical that children with autism have access to appropriate engineering experiences. We thus need to gain a deeper understanding of how they engage in engineering learning activities. In this study, we conducted a qualitative single-case-study analysis in which we closely looked at ways a nine-year-old child with mild autism engaged in problem scoping along with his mother. We focused on three main components of problem scoping in engineering design: (1) Problem Framing, (2) Information Gathering, and (3) Reflection. The instances that we have seen in mother-child interactions and conversation provided evidence that the child with autism was capable of engaging in all three aspects of problem scoping. The behaviors we have observed were mostly associated with Problem Framing and Information Gathering. However, we have also seen some evidence of Reflection. We believe that the findings of this study lay a foundation for future studies of children with autism and engineering design, and how to effectively engage them in these activities.

International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2020

Just as engineering and computational thinking have recently gained increased attention in pre-co... more Just as engineering and computational thinking have recently gained increased attention in pre-college school-based education, many museums and science centers have also designed exhibits and experiences to promote computational thinking and engineering learning. Recent reports suggest that computational and engineering thinking can empower each other, and engineering design can be an appropriate context for children's engagement in computational thinking. Previous studies have documented young children's abilities to engage in engineering thinking and other studies have collected evidence of young children's abilities to engage in computational thinking. However, there is little research that explores how children's engagement in both engineering and computational thinking can support each other. Hence, in this qualitative case study, we aimed to examine how 5 to 7-year-old children engage in computational thinking competencies in the context of a family based engineering design activity. This activity was conducted at a small science center exhibit. In our presented findings we map children's enactment of at least one CT competency to children's engagement in engineering design actions.

Science and Children, 2019

omputational thinking (CT) is a fundamental skill for all and not just for computer scientists. C... more omputational thinking (CT) is a fundamental skill for all and not just for computer scientists. Computational thinking can provide a basis for problem solving, for making evidence-based decisions, and for learning to code or create programs. Therefore, it is critical that all students across the K-12 continuum-including students in the early grades-have opportunities to begin developing problem solving and computational thinking skills. With that in Computer Science Unplugged mind, we have designed an engineering design activity to engage children in kindergarten through second grade in computational thinking (see Table 1 for a description of computational thinking competencies). This 30-minute play-based activity entails a task in which children create a safe play space for Eva's puppy. The activity was implemented in an informal learning setting with the presence of adults. Adults apply strategies that aid children as they employ computational thinking throughout the task. This same activity can also be used in school settings. Computational Thinking Integration Computational thinking (CT) has been defined by researcher Jeanette Wing as involving "solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior, by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science" (Wing 2006, p. 33). Although computational thinking is central 56 • •

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, Apr 8, 2020

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Biomedical engineering education, Sep 7, 2022

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2019

Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 2019

2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2020

International Journal of Engineering Education, 2015

2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2017

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 2021

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 2020

International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2020

Science and Children, 2019