Free ticketed event
The format of the workshop will be interactive, with ample time for participants to reflect on their own understanding of rigorous research in engineering education as well as to identify their goals for how they wish to engage in rigorous research.
After attending the workshop, participants should be able to do the following:
1. Define rigorous research and contrast it with scholarship of teaching
2. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative methods and identify common data collection tools
3. Identify available resources and opportunities to improve research knowledge and skills
4. Identify available outlets for presentation and publication of engineering education research
5. Develop a plan for how they will engage in rigorous research in the future
Cynthia Finelli is associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and Faculty Director of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering at University of Michigan. She studies faculty adoption of evidence-based teaching practices, student resistance to active learning, and institutional change, and in her role at CRLT-Engin, she supports other faculty as they learn about and implement both scholarship of teaching and learning activities and more rigorous engineering education research efforts. She is a fellow of the American Society of Engineering Education. She can be reached at cfinelli@umich.edu or 734-764-0244.
Daria Kotys-Schwartz is the Director of the Idea Forge—a flexible, cross-disciplinary design space at University of Colorado Boulder. She is also the Design Center Colorado Director of Undergraduate Programs and a Senior Instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Daria has focused her research on engineering student learning, retention, and student identity development within the context of engineering design. She is currently investigating the impact of cultural norms in an engineering classroom context, performing comparative studies between engineering education and professional design practices, and exploring informal learning in engineering education. Daria has collaboratively taught courses and several workshop at the University of Colorado Boulder focused on engineering education methods. She can be reached at daria.kotys@colorado.edu or 303-918-5843.
Sarah Zappe is Senior Research Associate and Director of Assessment and Instructional Support in the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education at Penn State. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology with an emphasis on applied testing and assessment. In her role in the Leonhard Center, Sarah works with faculty on improving their teaching, leads assessment efforts on projects relating to educational innovations, and conducts research in engineering education. She has led many workshops for faculty at Penn State and beyond and often works with College of Engineering faculty on research projects and scholarship of teaching activities. She can be reached at ser163@psu.edu or 814-360-8171.