In 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF) organized a workshop in Washington D.C. to introduce a new methodology, SenseMaker®, to the engineering education research community. This paper describes the development and implementation of a SenseMaker study, “The Engineering Experience Project,” at [Name of University]. Through sharing our experiences with using this novel approach, the purpose of this paper is to start a conversation about the affordances and limitations of using SenseMaker to investigate and transform cultures and practices of engineering education. To this end, we hope readers will finish this paper with a working understanding of what SenseMaker is, what is involved in designing and conducting a SenseMaker study, what the results look like, how this approach has been used in the past, and questions we are currently reflecting on as we plan our next round of data collection.
Dr. Nicola Sochacka is the Associate Director for Research Initiation and Enablement in the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) in the College of Engineering at UGA. Dr. Sochacka’s research interests include systems thinking, diversity, STEAM (STEM + Art) education, and the role of empathy in engineering education and practice. Her work has been recognized through multiple best paper awards and keynote presentations at international and national conferences and workshops.
I am a 3rd Year Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate at the University of Georgia. I am with the Honors College, and I have worked under Dr. Nicola Sochacka as a Student Assistant as of Spring 2019.
Julie is a recent alumni of the University of Georgia’s College of Engineering.
Dr. Joachim Walther is a Professor of engineering education research at the University of Georgia and the Founding Director of the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) in the College of Engineering. The Engineering Education Transformations Institute at UGA is an innovative approach that fuses high quality engineering education research with systematic educational innovation to transform the educational practices and cultures of engineering. Dr. Walther’s research group, the Collaborative Lounge for Understanding Society and Technology through Educational Research (CLUSTER), is a dynamic interdisciplinary team that brings together professors, graduate, and undergraduate students from engineering, art, educational psychology, and social work in the context of fundamental educational research. Dr. Walther’s research program spans interpretive research methodologies in engineering education, the professional formation of engineers, the role of empathy and reflection in engineering learning, and student development in interdisciplinary and interprofessional spaces.
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