Are you looking for more examples of historical engineers to share with your students? Do you want students to connect with historical engineers or STEM figures in your discipline? Do you want them to think about the character strengths those people exhibited and the value they created for others?

The following activity was inspired by an exhibit at the History Colorado Center called "What's Your Story" https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/whats-your-story . At this exhibit there was a quiz that asked you questions to determine your "superpower" and then connected you with a story of a Coloradan STEM figure who exhibited that "superpower" (try it out here: Take the quiz now to find out).

Instead of having students take the quiz mentioned above, this activity asks students to take the free VIA Character Strength survey https://www.viacharacter.org/ and then report the results of their top 3 character strengths. Students are then given the profiles of 3 Engineering/STEM figures that exhibit similar character strengths. The profiles include short information about the person, their character strength as well as the value they created through their career. The profiles are intended to be a diverse set of people including present day and historic figures. It is also especially meant to highlight the stories of members of minoritized populations. 

The assignment concludes with asking students to find another STEM figure that they connect with and create a profile for that STEM figure and reflecting on their learning. An alternate assignment would be to ask them to create a profile for themself and the value they have created. 

Course Context for Pilot

This assignment was piloted in a first year engineering class as 2 pre-class assignments. No time was taken in class and students submitted their assignments and reflections to the Learning Management System. It is anticipated that the first assignment would take ~20 minutes to watch the video about the character strengths and complete the assessment. And the 2nd assignment would take about  30-45 minutes to complete to read the engineering profiles, find and create their own, and then reflect.

The first-year engineering context is not critical to this assignment and this could be done in any course. It also could be changed from a pre-class activity to be an in-class activity with discussion.

Student Quotes

Student quotes from the pilot implementation:

"Something I learned was that there are numerous engineers in the world from our past that we do not know about. So many people help contribute to the products we use everyday, and yet we do not know about them."

"I really enjoyed completing this assignment- it gave me insight into various females in engineering with very diverse backgrounds. It's fulfilling to know that there is such a strong support network of female engineers out there encouraging other young girls to pursue careers in STEM and I feel honored to serve as a role model for younger students as well. "

"Attributes that define us as individuals appear in our work, especially when we are passionate about what we are working on. Our characteristics and what we deem important are things that will always drive us."

"I learned that there are many engineers who have impacted the world in many ways that we take for granted. Often times they are not well known, but their work is still important to the functioning of the society."

"Through this assignment, I realized that there are a lot of unrecognized engineers that have contributed a great deal to today's advancements of technology, and these contributions have shaped the way for other engineers to continue their work and continue innovating the future. A lot of their accomplishments go under-recognized, but hold a great impact in today's society. Many of their inventions are used daily, like my example Sophie Wilson. Additionally, many of these pioneers worked in teams with other engineers to create their inventions/discoveries, showcasing the importance of teamwork."

Connection to 3C's

Creating Value: The connection on the profiles to the value created by these STEM figures is a very important part of this activity. As noted in the student reflections above, they have used these profiles to connect with the type of value that is created and the way it has impacted society. The assignment requires students to either identify the value created by others or identify the value they have created.  

Curiosity: The reflection aspect of the assignment and having them explore the STEM figures help promote curiosity. As mentioned in the student quotes, students do seem to indicate more curiosity about engineers and their impact.  

Card Contents

In this card you will find:

• Online link to character strengths self-assessment and video link describing the assessment.
• Resources for an out of class activity with reflection appropriate for any discipline or level (~1 hour of time)
  
• Profiles of 24 STEM contributors that represent minoritized populations within STEM. The profiles include information about their lives, character strengths, and value created through their career.
• Resources for assessment and ideas for activity modifications