Engineering Education Research Briefs

Listen to Dr. Smith’s predictions of the future of Engineering Education by first exploring the seven shifts in engineering education over the last 20 years. You are in for treat as he unpacks the themes that have emerged upon reflection on where we’ve been and how it shapes where we are headed. 

Name Drop/Links:

The Future of the University – Part 1 – JEE Academic Bookshelf Revisited

https://karlsmithmn.org/reflections/the-future-of-the-university-part-1-jee-academic-bookshelf-revisited/

ASEE Reports

https://www.asee.org/publications/asee-publications/asee-reports

Financial Alignment with Inclusive Teaching Excellence (FAITE) 

 https://faiteworkshop2024.blogspot.com/

https://ascnhighered.org/ASCN/cost_benefit.html

https://cdn.serc.carleton.edu/files/ASCN/20240422_faite_ascn_workshop_brief.v4.pdf

Tom Fisher (former Dean, College of Design, UMN) - Fisher, T. (2022).Space, structures and design in a post-pandemic world. New York: Routledge.

Bryan Rosenberg (Former president of Macalester College) -  Rosenberg, B. (2023). Whatever it is, I’m against it: Resistance to Change in Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. I’m working on my next JEE Academic Bookshelf reflection essay on the future of engineering education and am deeply immersed in the multitude of books on the future of higher education. Currently I have 19 books in my ereader library and another 12 in print on my bookshelf.

We do touch on the unrest in 2020 that gripped the nation catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd. As to honor the movement and those lost, please visit the Say their Names project. 

References Cited

Fisher, T. (2022).Space, structures and design in a post-pandemic world.New York: Routledge.

Fisher, T. (2024). The ‘Phygital’ Future: What Campuses Will Look Like. What higher ed will look like in 10 years: Fundamental change is coming quickly.  The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Froyd, J. E., Wankat, P. C., & Smith, K. A. (2012). Five major shifts in 100 years of engineering education. Proceedings of the IEEE, 100, 1344–1360.

Mann, C. R. (1918). A study of engineering education: prepared for the Joint committee on engineering education of the national engineering societies (No. 11). Merrymount Press.

Rosenberg, B. (2023). Whatever it is, I’m against it: Resistance to Change in Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press

Smith (2010) Social nature of learning: From small groups to learning communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2010, 123, 11-22 [NDTL-123-2-Smith-Social_Basis_of_Learning-.pdf]

Smith, K. 2011.Cooperative Learning: Lessons and Insights from Thirty Years of Championing a Research-Based Innovative Practice [Smith-FIE-CL-1240-10-draft.pdf]

Smith, K.A. & Chavela Guerra, R. (2021). Learning in the time of coronavirus. ASEE Webinar, March 30, 2021. Link to recording. Link to slides.

Smith, K.A. & Felder, R.M. (2023). Cooperative Learning in Engineering Education: The Story of an Ongoing Uphill Climb. In Robyn Gillies, Barbara Millis, and Neil Davidson, eds. Contemporary Global Perspectives on Cooperative Learning Link to Draft

Streveler R., and Smith K. (2020), Course design in the time of coronavirus: Put on your designer’s CAP. Advances in Engineering Education. https://advances.asee.org/opinion-course-design-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-put-on-your-designers-cap/

Join us as we discuss engineering education in Australia, with a focus on the career path of Dr. Anne Gardner, an Associate Dean at the University of Technology Sydney. Dr. Gardner shares her journey into engineering education, her current research projects, leadership roles, and the focus areas of the engineering education community in Australia. We also discuss collaborations with scholars in Australia and the upcoming engineering education conference - Austaliasian Engineering Education (A2E2). 

Dr. Mark Guzdial of the University of Michigan and Dr. Adrienne Decker of the University at Buffalo share their definitions of computing education and computer science education and how these disciplines fit or in some cases do not yet fit in engineering education. Listen to this engaging discussion about the history of computing, a preview of the state of computing education, and some aspirations of the future of these disciplines in engineering education. 

Name Drop

Barbara Ericson

Katie Cunningham

Bahare Naimipour

Aman Yadav

Sean Mackay

Holliday Sims

Dr. Villanueva Alarcón shares with us how she arrived at hidden curriculum as a theoretical framework, how she’s adapted it for engineering education and the ways she continues to extend this very insightful framework that has roots in sociology, psychology, and disability studies. 

Name Drop

Drs. James Holly Jr, Monica Cox, Alex Mejia, Renata Revelo, Joyce Main

Drs. Karina Vielma, Jeremy Waisome, Sindia Rivera, Janice Mejia, Saira Anwar

Given the changing landscape of the academy across the U.S. driven in large part by the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, unrest on campuses, and the legislation targeting high education we were moved to invite an activist in engineering education - Dean Riley to talk about how to activate the activist within us. We had a candid conversation about living an activist life but also some inspiring words to disrupt the paralysis so many are feeling given the current climate in the academy. Join us as we hear Dean Riley’s life of activism and her call to us all to tap into our inner activist.

Name Drop

Nuclear Nuevo México

Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos

Myrriah Gómez (Author)

Kelly Cross

Cindy Rottmann (University of Toronto)

Brooke Coley - Center for RARE Justice

Darshan Karwat - Activist Engineering

Idalis Villanueva

Andrea Haverkamp

Joey Valle

Corey Bowman

Karl Smith

Stephanie Adams

Gregory Cajete - Native Science, Look to the Mountain

Reference Links

The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education

Inclusive Mindset Report

Latin* Students in Engineering

What a season it has been! After completing our first season as hosts of Research Briefs 2.0, we spent some time reflecting on the themes of the season and what and who inspired us this year. Thank you for listening! We look forward to sharing more scholars and scholarship with you in the Fall. In the meantime, go back and listen to the amazing scholars we hosted this year. Be safe and rest up!

This two part episode is a continuation of our conversation with Dr. Cindy Atman. In part one, she shared an intriguing history of engineering education and the role of centers in establishing the field (Pt. 1). But in part two she shares the wisdom she has gained related to leadership in engineering education. If you are: 1) considering establishing an engineering education department;  2) engaging in the arduous process of looking for engineering education departmental leadership; or 3) considering a leadership role in engineering education yourself this episode is a must. It was an absolute joy to engage with Dr. Atman. I hope you enjoy her wisdom, quotes, and insights as much as we did. 

“Centers are an important way to address specific challenges that can be contextualized, …ways to connect with other parts of campus or institutions, …or a national resource that everybody can draw on.”

This two part episode is a must listen for anybody intrigued by the history of engineering education and the role of centers in establishing the field (Pt. 1). Likewise, a great listen for those looking to establish engineering education departments and/or are looking for engineering education departmental leadership (Pt. 2).

“Centers are an important way to address specific challenges that can be contextualized, …ways to connect with other parts of campus or institutions, …or a national resource that everybody can draw on.”

Resources:

Websites:

• Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE)
• Consortium for the Promotion of Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE)
• Design Signatures website

Papers/reports:

Atman, C. J. (2019). Design timelines: Concrete and sticky representations of design process expertise. Design Studies, 65, 125-151.

Atman, C. J., Sheppard, S. D., Adams, R. S., Fleming, L. N., Stevens, R., Streveler, R. A., Smith, K. A., Miller, R. L., Leifer, L. J., Yasuhara, K., Lund, D. (2010). Enabling Engineering Student Success: The Final Report for the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. San Rafael, CA: Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

Atman, C. J., Adams, R. S., Cardella, M. E., Turns, J., Mosborg, S., & Saleem, J. (2007). Engineering design processes: A comparison of students and expert practitioners. Journal of engineering education, 96(4), 359-379.

Engineering Education Community Resource

Dr. Smith shares with us her full-circle journey to and through engineering education. Dr. Smith is a community-engaged scholar that leverages asset-based frameworks along with humility to learn with the families she engages with for her work. She reminds us the importance of an ethic of care when designing and executing research. 

“You have to position this work very carefully. So anyone that is doing community-engaged scholarship, you have to be very thoughtful in how you write about what you do on your CV or communicate it to your colleagues.”

Name drop: Ann Ishimaru, Natalie King