| NSF Org: |
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | February 11, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 11, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1914647 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Kemi Ladeji-Osias
jladejio@nsf.gov (703)292-7708 EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | February 15, 2019 |
| End Date: | January 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $96,666.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $96,666.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1664 N VIRGINIA ST # 285 RENO NV US 89557-0001 (775)784-4040 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NV US 89557-0001 |
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Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EngEd-Engineering Education |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
This exploratory project investigates how engineering faculty learn to become engineering education researchers through mentoring relationships via the NSF-funded Research Initiation in Engineering Formation grants. Findings from this research are used to develop training materials and inform a networking event intended to pair engineering faculty interested in engineering education research with potential mentors at different institutions. Training engineering faculty in engineering education research expands the number of faculty adopting research-based instructional practices in their courses, and results in improved teaching, advising, programming, and policy-making by closing the research-to-practice gap.
While previous mentorship models have focused on the content of engineering education as a field, this work identifies effective strategies from successful mentoring relationships that incorporate the social and cultural components of becoming an engineering education researcher. By conducting qualitative interviews of engineering faculty and engineering education researchers mentee-mentor pairs, the study the study develops a conceptual model of the formation of engineering education researchers' identity. This model clarifies how researchers undergo a paradigm shift and potential career pivot to expand their expertise in a related, but distinct, discipline of engineering education. This novel approach provides important information to enhance existing training materials and to develop additional training opportunities for engineering faculty who are interested in conducting engineering education research. Additionally, the model has implications for understanding job retraining and approaches for engaging faculty in lifelong learning.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The project addressed the overall research question: How are engineering faculty, participating in the NSF PFE: RIEF program, trained and integrated into the engineering education community? We developed community-based solutions to support the development of engineering faculty by the following three aims: Aim #1: Understand how successful mentor-mentee relationships are formed and developed between engineering faculty and engineering education researchers. Aim #2: Develop a workshop and networking opportunity for engineering faculty to identify engineering education research mentors. Aim #3: Build a community for the NSF PFE: RIEF program to facilitate interactions across teams to share experiences, best practices, and expand the networks of mentees in EER.
Engineering faculty bridge two dependent but sometimes separate disciplines of engineering and engineering education research. The training of engineering faculty as engineering education researchers will expand and diversify engineering education research community. As more engineering faculty join the engineering education community they will bring new perspectives and ideas, and will promote collaboration between engineering education researchers and engineering practitioners. Diversifying the engineering education community by training engineering faculty to conduct engineering education research will expand the number of faculty adopting research-based pedagogy in their courses, allowing these best practices to reach more students. Increased adoption of research-based pedagogy will further enhance engineering education and broadening participation efforts. The study generated the following outcomes:
1) Two manuscripts under development: submission target Fall 2021: (1) a paper detailing the development of mentees as they first conduct engineering education research, with the writing and analysis driven by the postdoctoral scholar (UNR) with contributions from the team, and (2) a paper exploring challenges and successes in faculty peer mentorship in the context of RIEF grants, with the writing and analysis driven by the graduate assistant (UIUC) with contributions from the team.
2) Multiple ASEE accepted conference papers: 2020 (2); 2021 (4); posters (3)
3) Research Tasks: interview protocol developed with feedback from the advisory board; pilot study to train graduate students; a total of 18 interviews completed and analyzed; results from the interview analysis identified barriers to entry in engineering education research and specific challenges associated with faculty peer mentorship, such as navigating the logistical challenges and discomfort between faculty mentors at different institutions and/or at different stages of their careers. We leveraged our interview analysis towards the community building networks by helping prospective RIEF grantees forecast challenges posed by their project.
4) Feedback on a networking event attended by a total of 23 participants during the NSF EEC Grantees conference was collected and thematically analyzed by the PI and presented during the ASEE 2020 virtual conference. Results from the community survey suggest that the greatest perceived need for engineering faculty entering the field of engineering education is networking opportunities. We addressed this need through our community building efforts.
5) A listserv, website, and social media accounts were created for program participants and continue to be updated to share resources amongst the community. An REU supplement was awarded to support a related project designed by the undergraduate research assistant (UIUC). The undergraduate student submitted a proposal to expand the study looking at faculty motivation and barriers to joining the engineering education research community.
Last Modified: 03/18/2021
Modified by: Kelly J Cross
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