ENGINEERING EDUCATION Workshop for Undergraduate Students Careers in Research and Teaching Christopher Williams Virginia Tech

ENGINEERING EDUCATION About me… Dr. Christopher Williams Virginia Tech Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Engineering Education Research interests: –Rapid Prototyping (3D Printing) –Design Methods –Design Education

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Overview Who? –Networking Why? –NSF Overview What? –Engineering Education Research –Engineering Education Programs How? –Engineering Education Degree Opportunities –Networking at Poster Sessions

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Who are you?? Find a partner… Get to know them! –Where are they from? –What are they majoring in? –What was their research project? –How was their experience? –What is their dream job? –What are their next steps?

ENGINEERING EDUCATION What is NSF?

ENGINEERING EDUCATION NSF Programs at the Awardees Conference Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institutions (BBSI) Faculty Early Career (CAREER) Engineering Education Programs (EEP) Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Innovations in Engineering Education Curriculum and Infrastructure (IEECI)

ENGINEERING EDUCATION NSF Programs at the Awardees Conference International Research Experiences in Engineering (IREE) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC) Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Engineering Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

ENGINEERING EDUCATION What is research? Reflect on your experience: –What did research entail? –What was your research methodology?

ENGINEERING EDUCATION What is Engineering Education Research? Research on how people learn engineering content Interdisciplinary: engineering, education, and other social sciences The field is dominated by engineers, many of whom want to provide students with better educational experiences than they themselves had The PhD is a research degree, so even ENGE PhD candidates who are preparing for teaching careers need to do a systematic research study

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Educational Research Criteria 1.Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically. 2.Link research to relevant theory. 3.Use methods that permit direct investigation of the question. 4.Provide explicit, coherent chain of reasoning. 5.Replicate and generalize across studies. 6.Disclose research to encourage professional scrutiny and critique. Shavelson, R., & Towne, L. (2002). Scientific Research in Education. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Virginia Tech EngE Research Agenda Current faculty have expertise and interest in professional skills including communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cross-cultural competence educational programs, with emphasis on learning mechanisms and systems, recruitment and retention (particularly of diverse groups), and spiral curricula design education at all academic levels Current projects include first-year programs as the foundation of a spiral curriculum recruitment and retention of diverse populations interdisciplinary collaboration distributed design design & service-learning

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education Affiliates Undergraduate teaching and advising (1300+ new students/year + communications topics in ECE, ESM, ME, MSE) Graduate Teaching Research Ware Lab 16 faculty with degrees in engineering education; English; information, design, and technology; learning sciences and technology design; linguistics; mass communication; mathematics; and 12 different engineering disciplines Visit us at

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Purdue University

ENGINEERING EDUCATION University of Clemson: Engineering and Science Education Certificate in Engineering & Science Education Lots of ENG departments are working with the ESE department to grant education-based research projects PhD coming January

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Utah State University: Engineering & Technology Education MS in Engineering & Technology Education PhD in Engineering Education National Center for Engineering and Technology Education

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Washington University: Human Centered Design and Engineering MS in HCDE PhD in HCDE

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Ph.D. in Engineering Education will provide graduates with the knowledge to: conduct and direct research in engineering education develop, review, and critique effective research designs effectively teach engineering subjects design and assess engineering courses address critical issues facing engineering education

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Employment potential for ENGE PhDs Universities and schools of all types –Teaching –Research –Support program development and administration –Assessment organizations Corporate training organizations –Management –Curriculum development –Trainers Educational policymaking positions

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Course requirements (VT ENGE PhD) 9-credits School of Education 15-credits Technical Engineering 12 credits Engineering Education –EngE 5014: Foundations of Engineering Education (3) –EngE 5404: Assessment in Engineering Education (3) –EngE 5604: Engineering Education Research Methods (3) –EngE 5504: Teaching Practicum (3) 6 credits Statistics –STAT or SOC credits Electives

ENGINEERING EDUCATION School of Education Courses (VT) Learning Theories –EDCI-5114 Advanced Educ Psych (online) Instructional Design (translate theory to practice) –EDCI-5164 Prin Instruct Design (online) Research Methods –EDRE-6605 Quan Res Methods in Educ I&II –EDRE-6504 Qualitative Res I and 6524 II –EDRE-6794 TS:Mixed Methods Res Design Others: STEM Ed, educational technology, gender, policy, other social science depts

ENGINEERING EDUCATION PhD Milestones (VT ENGE PhD) Core Coursework (e.g., ENGE 5104, 5404, 5604) Department qualifying exam Select topic, advisor and committee Preliminary exam (by committee) Complete coursework Conduct research Defend –consider a manuscript dissertation

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Choosing an advisor Satisfied successful grad students: Select advisors on basis of work style and topic Work with high producing faculty advisors –Proactive, check-in often, set goals/deadlines and hold students to them –Ask about personal interests Less satisfied, non-completers: Select advisors on basis of topic area alone Work with low producing faculty advisors –Passive, wait for students to come to them –Less likely to ask about personal interests Lovitts, B. E. (2001). Leaving the Ivory Tower: The Causes and Consequences of Departure from Doctoral Study. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Chapter 7.

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Application Requirements Undergraduate or M.S. degree in engineering GPA of 3.0+ (4.0 scale) for 60 most recent credits Personal statement with research interests Current GRE scores Recommendation letters (3) Resume and application Official transcript TOEFL for international applicants Deadline for Fall is mid-January

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Tuition, In-state Residency, Assistantships graduate tuition rates –In-state $4, –Out of state $8, Assistantships and earning $2000 per semester can waive addl out of state tuition In-state residency can be established after one year Research and teaching assistantships are offered by the ENGE department

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Teaching Assistantships in Freshman Courses Many ENGE PhD students teach in the departments first-year program

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Poster Sessions How did your session go? What is the purpose of a poster session?

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Poster Session Write down 3 questions that you would ask the researchers:

ENGINEERING EDUCATION Poster Session What are the major findings of the poster? Is the poster presenting work that is based on –Research? –Teaching practice? –Technical work? What methods are they using to collect/analyze data in order to draw conclusions? What interests you?