Projects

Collaboratively Developing Research-Based Curricular Materials to Improve Conceptual Understanding in Engineering Education

This project is boosting the dissemination of findings from education research through collaboration of 20 educational researchers and engineering instructors at different colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest, who are creating and implementing new approaches to teaching the engineering course Mechanics of Materials.Specifically, this project is focusing on deeper understanding of fundamental engineering concepts such as stress, strain, and equilibrium.

CAREER: Characterization of Cognitive Models of Conceptual Understanding in Practicing Civil Engineers and Development of Situated Curricular Materials

This CAREER engineering education research project will advance our understanding of the differences in how engineering students and practicing engineers understand fundamental concepts of civil engineering. By mapping these differences, the project will help bridge the gap between what is taught in college and what students need to know to become effective civil engineers. Using the results of this research, educators understand be able to develop curricular materials that allow students to more rapidly enter the professional practice of engineering.

Enhancing STEM Education at Oregon State University (ESTEME@OSU)

ESTEME@OSU is an effort born out of action research and working to broadly implement innovative evidence-based instructional practices - specifically, interactive engagement in lecture and formal cooperative learning in studio workshop laboratories - into core undergraduate courses in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics at OSU.

Tool of EngAgement Measurement to Propel Academic Success of Students (TEAM PASS)

This project supports engineering faculty in their efforts to develop, evaluate, and improve delivery of their courses. The work is supported by the Course Social and Cognitive Engagement (CSCE) Framework. The expected outcomes of this project are: (1) an exploratory framework for how engineering faculty make choices and engage in evaluation processes; (2) a deeper understanding of processes that underlie cognitive and social engagement in engineering classrooms; and, (3) a valid and reliable CSCE instrument with modular subscales to measure student engagement of STEM education.