Alisha A. Waller

The future of engineering education

Thirteen engineering educators and researchers were each asked to choose a particular aspect of engineerings future to address. Each of the authors has contributed a short piece that has been edited into a discussion of the future as we collectively see it. Topics include the stimulating change, the changing university, teaching, learning, research, outcome assessment and technology as well as a look back at predictions for 2000.

Work in progress - feminist research methodologies: why, what, and how

Theoretical frameworks which undergird engineering education research projects greatly influence what questions are investigated, what data is collected from whom, and how that data is analyzed, interpreted, and reported. Traditional methodologies used in engineering education research are based on implicit norms and values which have influenced our understanding of the engineering education system. This paper presents a discussion of feminist research methodologies and how they can be applied in engineering education research. This paper explores the values and beliefs incorporated into feminist research methodologies which distinguish them from more traditional research methodologies. Feminist research opens up the field of questions which are deemed significant, changes the choice of and interaction with participants, and alters the implementation of data collection and analysis. This discussion of feminist research methodologies is not prescriptive, but illustrative. Methods discussed include survey research, interview research, and ethnography

What is feminist pedagogy and how can it be used in CSET education

Feminist pedagogy has been theorized, applied, and evaluated in many different disciplines, including womens studies, communication studies, education, and cultural studies. Until recently, however, this term was extremely rare in CSET education. This paper is the first in a collection of four papers that bring feminist pedagogy into CSET education. The goal of this first paper is to introduce background material necessary for understanding feminist pedagogy and to report the outcomes of an informal survey of current perspectives regarding feminist pedagogy. This paper includes a short history of the womens movement in the U.S. to provide context for the development of feminist pedagogy, a discussion of common values and beliefs among all feminisms, and an articulation of how three particular feminisms (liberal feminism, ecofeminism, and Black feminist thought) could improve CSET education. The paper concludes with a brief summary outlining ways in which adopting feminist pedagogy could improve CSET education

Interactive session - feminist frontiers

This interactive session explores the feminist frontiers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. The goals of the session are: 1) to assist participants in developing their definitions of feminism; 2) to assist participants in developing their definitions of feminist pedagogy; and 3) to encourage participants to begin to explore specific ways to implement feminist pedagogy in their classrooms and ways it may be useful to engineering education. The session is of interest to faculty who are interested in new pedagogical methods and/or increasing diversity in their classrooms. Together we will consider our current understanding of feminism and review scholarly distinctions between types of feminism. Then we will explore the tenets of feminist pedagogy and how it is implemented in the classroom. Finally, we discuss how engineering education can benefit from feminist pedagogy. Examples and resources was shared with participants to make the ideas more concrete.

Workshop Classroom Border Crossings: Incorporating Feminist and Liberative Pedagogies in your CSET Classroom

Effective teachers use a variety of pedagogies to engage a wider diversity of students, providing a more equitable classroom. In this workshop, participants will explore the use of feminist and liberative pedagogies in CSET classrooms. These pedagogies are founded on the ideals of social justice and democracy. The workshop will include discussions of classroom management strategies, critiques and redesign of the engineering process, and assessment and evaluation of student learning. Participants will leave the workshop with a list of concrete ideas for implementing feminist and liberative pedagogies and an annotated bibliography of helpful references. This workshop continues the collaborative work of these authors, presented in a 2004 Special Session and a 2005 Paper Session at FIE conferences

Designing education research: a mentoring opportunity

The goal of this session is to provide FIE participants with an opportunity to work on the design of an education research project of their choice, with guidance from experienced mentors. This session creates a formal space (both in time and location) for new mentoring relationships to form and research planning work to be done.

Exploring the Educational Frontiers

Summary form only given, as follows. In this interactive session, the participants and presenters will identify and analyze the frontiers, the new issues, that engineering educators should explore in the near future. We will assume the state of the art in engineering education, including concepts such as cooperative leaming, teamwork, communication skills, and authentic design, and move on from there. Three of the areas to be discussed are: 1) the intellectual development of students, 2) the culture of the classroom, and 3) interdisciplinary teaching and the changing discipline structure of engineering. For each of the areas, one speaker will give a short presentation summarizing what is currently known and then engage the audience in a discussion of its impact on the educational process, its fundamental research questions, and methods for investigating those questions. In the last 30 minutes, participants will brainstorm other frontiers and discuss how the engineering educational community can begin addressing them.