Stanford Engineering
Designing Education Lab

CARE Methodology

 

Researchers: 

Aya Mouallem (PhD candidate, Electrical Engineering) with Gene Kim (Undergraduate); Trisha Kulkarni (Masters student), Mirelys Mendez-Pons (Undergraduate)

Time frame: 

January 2022 to December 2025 (expected)

Goals/Guiding Research Questions:

  • How can we make electrical engineering education more accessible to students who are blind or have low vision?
  • What are the main challenges that blind or low-vision (BLV) students face in an electrical engineering educational context? 
  • What are potential tools that could enable BLV students to overcome those barriers? 
  • How can I employ community-based research practices to co-design and build those tools in collaboration with the BLV community? 
  • How can I scale the proposed solutions in a low-cost, open-access manner to improve equity in access to engineering education globally?

Methods

  • Collaborative autoethnography exploring the experience of the first blind student to complete ENGR 40M: Intro to Making – What is EE at Stanford.
  • Qualitative and quantitative research methods for need-finding (surveys, observation, informal conversations, intercepts) to identify students’ challenging and rewarding experiences in an introductory electrical engineering and maker lab setting
  • Co-designing new, accessible education technology (ed-tech)
  • tools to be integrated in engineering lab settings
  • Community-based research to evaluate the new tools with the blind and low-vision community in the Bay Area via a key partnership with a leading community partner

Why am I excited about this research?

I’ve been involved in technology literacy and education efforts worldwide for more than 5 years now, and I see myself dedicating my energy to this space long-term. My current research is a natural next step in this career trajectory, allowing me to explore the importance of community-based research in strongly technical contexts, elevating community needs, documenting marginalized experiences, co-designing solutions, and scaling impact in academia and beyond to directly touch and transform lives of individuals with all abilities by democratizing equitable access to education.

Presentations and Publications

Mouallem, A., & Horowitz, M., & Sheppard, S. (2023, June), The CARE methodology: A new lens for introductory ECE course assessment based on student challenging and rewarding experiences Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. https://strategy.asee.org/44057