Engineering Education Research Briefs 2.0: Scholars and Scholarship

Summary What a year it has been?! Spend a few moments with us as we close out the season with a reflection on what we learned and what we think are the key take-aways of the year but also a look to the future. Spoiler alert - collaboration and community are key. Name Drop Thank you to this year’s guests and inspiration: Alan Cheville , Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Bucknell Uni...

Summary Dr. Berger, Virginia Tech Department Head gives us his bird’s eye view of engineering education at the undergraduate and graduate level, and for scholars in the field. He paints a picture of engineering education from the perspective as an engineer, engineering educator, NSF program officer, and department head. He challenges us to reimagine engineering education with hope for what is ahea...

Summary Dr. Trina Fletcher shares with us the origins and continued relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on STEM more broadly and engineering, specifically. Dr. Fletcher shares her journey in engineering education, from her path through UAPB’s STEM academy to her graduate experiences where she found a purpose-focused, people-centric approach to graduate engineering. Th...

Join us as we discuss engineering education in India, with a focus on the career path of Dr. Rucha Joshi, an Associate Professor at Plaksha University. Dr. Joshi shares her journey into engineering education, her current research projects, leadership role, and her perspective on the focus of the engineering education community in India. We also discuss the importance of collaborations, priorities...

Summary: This beautiful conversation was so rich we have split it into two episodes. Thank you in advance for your patience. Join us for a conversation between a recently retired mentor, Dr. Bevlee Watford and their recently promoted mentee, Dr. Walter Lee. While their faculty careers at Virginia Tech started decades apart, their stories are woven together by a shared interest in developing the sy...

Summary: This beautiful conversation was so rich we have split it into two episodes. Thank you in advance for your patience. Join us for a conversation between a recently retired mentor, Dr. Bevlee Watford and their recently promoted mentee, Dr. Walter Lee. While their faculty careers at Virginia Tech started decades apart, their stories are woven together by a shared interest in developing the sy...

Join us as we discuss life after grant terminations, keeping the work alive and relevant, and staying true to our values as researchers. Dr. Kendall shares with us her journey to engineering education and some insights into her ongoing work - The AMPLIFY Project,  a collaborative effort that leveraged participatory research to explore the knowledge and practices at Hispanic Serving Institutions in...

Dr. Sarah Rodriguez shares with us her autobiographical influenced research inquiry that explores being rural, Latina, and pursuing engineering education. We are so thankful to have had Dr. Rodriguez with us to discuss her upcoming book, endorsement of Chicana Feminist scholars during these difficult times, and place-based approaches. She shares with us her journey as a rural Latina engineering ed...

Join us in our conversation with the revolutionary Dr. Alan Cheville of Bucknell University exploring his journey to and through engineering education from Physics to Photonics to revolutionary departmental efforts to transform engineering education. He shares with us his philosophy related to dealing with change in these uncertain times, but most notably he encourages us to hold onto hope and to...

Dr. London and Dr. Ross reflect on the season including our favorites and insights followed by some words of encouragement for our fellow scholars impacted by the change in priorities of the nation and subsequent grant terminations. We acknowledge the work of scholars who may feel devalued in this changing times, we call for the generational fight for academic freedom, and announce a change in the...

Join us in listening to the ways in which Reverend Dr. Tamecia Jones honors her many talents, callings, and selves as she designs research and navigates the academy. She will share the ways in which her background, experiences, and core values shape her work. She will hip us to epistemic frames and the ways we can reimagine assessment of knowledge acquisition that is not punitive and painful. Name...

Join us as we discuss Black feminist theory and intersectionality with Dr. Yolanda Rankin. She led us through the historical foundation and her hopes for the future of intersectionality, feminist scholarship, computing, and computing education. She discusses the messiness of the theory and challenges us to continue to muddle through that messiness so that we might do better as a discipline. The ch...

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://karl...

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 Au...

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...

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,...

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 i...

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) engagi...

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...

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...

Join us in our conversation with Dr. Esther Matemba about engineering education from an international perspective. We discuss the variance in topics and priorities based on the context and how important it is for us to consider context when defining and describing research. We also explore Dr. Matemba’s experience with coalition building on the continent of Africa through the effort called the ENG...

In this episode we talk with Dr. Elizabeth Litzler about her pathway to and through engineering education. We talk about the impact of program evaluation, and the barriers and liberation associated with aligning values with research methods, more specifically participatory action research. “It [Participatory Action Research, PAR] usually has a bit more of a democratic feel to it. So, your research...

This episode we talk with Dr. Julia Williams about her pathway to and through engineering education and more specifically about her experience with change in engineering education. “I saw opportunities for change all around me. And as I struggled, sometimes, to make change happen; other times hitting it out of the park maybe. I thought, gee there are things that we do to make change happen that ar...

This episode explores the pathway of Dr. Ruth Streveler and her confidence to move out of her lane into innovation. Her words are inspiring and they challenge the community to pick up the baton in conceptual change towards a new model.    “Trust yourself. And look for opportunities, and ... have an entrepreneurial mindset... [The mindset] isn’t necessarily for something you are going to sell or a...