Comparing common and discipline-specific first-year engineering programs: Examining the need and explaining the study

Work in Progress: Although there exists a variety of first-year engineering (FYE) course structures and content areas, there is little understanding supported by research of which structures or content may be more or less appropriate for novice engineering students compared to others. This Work in Progress addresses the clear need for comparing different FYE programs through a research study. We begin our comparison through the lens of community of practice because community and identity have been linked to current and important engineering issues such as retention. We employ a semi-longitudinal exploratory mixed methods design to investigate two popular FYE program structures. One of the data collection sites utilizes a common first-year and the other site utilizes discipline specific courses for each of separate engineering disciplines. Our research will result in tools that can be used to gather information about engineering community and identity development in different FYE landscapes. This research is relevant to anyone who works with FYE students and those interested in improving FYE through research.