Characterizing How Engineering Undergraduate Students Define and Develop Data Proficiency

This work in progress presents current findings from a funded mixed-methods investigation of the relationship between data proficiency and engineering identity among undergraduate students throughout their curriculum. This study aims to understand ways engineering undergraduate students conceptualize data proficiency and develop data skills over time. Through semi-structured interviews with four undergraduate engineering students from different class levels, we examined their understanding of data proficiency and the importance of data skills in engineering practice. The interviews were guided by the How People Learn framework, which provided a lens through which to investigate students' attitudes, beliefs, and experiences related to data and data analysis. The findings suggest that students view data proficiency as an important skill for their future careers but differ in their preferences for learning data skills through assignments, projects, or lectures. This research contributes to the understanding of how engineering students define and develop data proficiency, which can inform the design of effective data skills curricula in engineering education.