Transcript Virginia Tech Department of 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
www.me.vt.edu/dreams
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
Research
Undergraduate
teaching
and advising
(1300+ new
Graduate
students/year +
Teaching
communications
topics in ECE,
ESM, ME, MSE)
Ware Lab
Affiliates
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 www.enge.vt.edu
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Purdue University
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ENE/Academics/Graduate/
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 2011
• http://www.clemson.edu/ese/
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Utah State University: Engineering & Technology Education
• MS in Engineering & Technology
Education
• PhD in Engineering Education
• National Center for Engineering and
Technology Education
• http://www.ete.usu.edu/
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Washington University:
Human Centered Design and Engineering
• MS in HCDE
• PhD in HCDE
• http://www.hcde.washington.edu/
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 5615-5616 or SOC 5204-5224
• 6 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
• 2008-2009 graduate tuition rates
– In-state $4,867.50
– Out of state $8,433.00
• Assistantships and earning $2000 per
semester can waive add’l 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
department’s 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:
1.
2.
3.
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?
ENGINEERING EDUCATION