Project Grant 2339884

This $211,105 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research to advance understanding of how reflection can support undergraduate engineering students in developing a professional engineering identity. The five-year project, titled "RECOGNIZING ENGINEERING FORMATION: LEARNING EXPERIENCES AS A CATALYST FOR TRANSFORMATION (REFLECT) FROM STUDENT TO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER," will investigate how early career and undergraduate engineers story their understanding of what it means to be an engineer. The research aims to develop a conceptual model of narrative constructs fundamental to professional engineering identity development, validating these constructs through a national survey of early career engineers. The project will also create longitudinal case studies documenting the professional identity development of 60 undergraduate engineers through reflection interventions. Key anticipated outcomes include a validated survey instrument for program evaluation, biographies of engineers illustrating the narrative constructs, and publicly accessible reflection interventions. The award was granted to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York, a non-profit organization serving as the fiscal agent for the SUNY system.