Maura Borrego

Definitions of Interdisciplinary Research: Toward Graduate-Level Interdisciplinary Learning Outcomes

Combining the interdisciplinary studies (primarily humanities) literature with the content analysis of 129 successful National Science Foundation proposals written predominantly by science and engineering faculty members, the authors identify five categories of learning outcomes for interdisciplinary graduate education: disciplinary grounding, integration, teamwork, communication, and critical awareness. They identify important parallels between humanities-based descriptions of interdisciplinary integration and implicit graduate learning outcomes hinted at by engineering and science faculty who more frequently work in teams. Applying the lens of interdisciplinary studies (humanities) to science and engineering provides important depth and focus to engineering and science interdisciplinary learning outcomes, particularly in detailing integration processes.

Estimates of Use of Research-Based Instructional Strategies in Core Electrical or Computer Engineering Courses

Many research-based instruction strategies (RBISs) have been developed; their superior efficacy with respect to student learning has been demonstrated in many studies. Collecting and interpreting evidence about: 1) the extent to which electrical and computer engineering (ECE) faculty members are using RBISs in core, required engineering science courses, and 2) concerns that they express about using them, are important aspects of understanding how engineering education is evolving. The authors surveyed ECE faculty members, asking about their awareness and use of selected RBISs. The survey also asked what concerns ECE faculty members had about using RBISs. Respondent data showed that awareness of RBISs was very high, but estimates of use of RBISs, based on survey data, varied from 10% to 70%, depending on characteristics of the strategy. The most significant concern was the amount of class time that using an RBIS might take; efforts to increase use of RBISs must address this.

Identifying Opportunities for Collaborations in International Engineering Education Research on Problem- and Project-based Learning

We report on the results of a study to examine the global state of engineering education research on problem- and project-based learning (PBL). This paper has two major aims. First, we analyze a large collection of conference papers and journal articles to report on research trends in PBL, including in specifi c, leading countries. Second, based upon our analysis as well as a literature review of meta-analyses/syntheses of PBL literature, we propose a theoretical model for conceptualizing international research collaborations. Based on this model, we make recommendations for future initiatives, including multinational collaborations for research on PBL in engineering education.

Challenges and promises of overcoming epistemological and methodological partiality: Advancing engineering education through acceptance of diverse ways of knowing

The purpose of this paper is to explore some challenges and promises when the epistemological diversity embedded in qualitative research traditions is introduced to research communities with one dominant research paradigm, such as engineering education. Literature is used from other fields and empirical data are used from engineering education, including the practices of the European Journal of Engineering Education and the Journal of Engineering Education, with the expectation that the ideas that are presented are relevant to a broad range of education disciplines. A number of challenges are identified as the epistemological diversity of qualitative research is introduced to the primarily positivist field of engineering education. Ultimately, embracing epistemological diversity holds the promise of researchers being able to ask: ‘What questions and answers become possible from these newly created positions and what can be learned from these alternative approaches?’.

Advancing global capacity for engineering education research: relating research to practice, policy and industry

Findings are presented from a series of moderated interactive sessions held at international engineering education conferences between July 2007 and December 2008, where attendees discussed the current state and future trajectory of engineering education research. More specifically, this study examines how session attendees described: (1) the relationship between engineering education research and educational practice, policy considerations and industry; (2) important stakeholders, mechanisms/strategies and challenges for relating research to practice, policy and industry. Thematic analysis and open coding procedures were used to analyse the data collected at each session. In summary, frequent discussion and widespread consensus was observed about the need to relate engineering education research to the practice of engineering teaching. Discussions about relating research to policy and industry remain formative, but appear to be gaining traction. The paper concludes by proposing a cyclic model to better conceptualise how engineering education research can be strategically related to practice, profession and industry across diverse local and global contexts.

Graduation rates, grade-point average, and changes of major of female and minority students entering engineering

This paper describes analysis of five cohorts of students matriculating into undergraduate engineering programs at nine southeastern universities from 1996-2002. We report retention by semester and graduation success as a percentage of all matriculated students. For students subsequently leaving engineering, we also report grade-point average, departure semester, and destination major. Statistical analyses determined which differences were significant between underrepresented and majority students. The results are compared to a previous study of engineering students at a private institution (University of Southern California). The most striking result was that the graduation rates both within engineering and elsewhere in the university are higher for female students than for males. This was true for both the current and previous data sets. Analysis of previous cohorts in the current data set indicates that this trend begins with the 1992 freshman cohort. Differences between the two studies indicate that students at the private university, particularly females, were quicker to switch out of engineering majors. In other words, retention rates in the first few semesters were lower at the private university than in the current study, though both sets converged to similar values by the junior year

From Ethnography to Items: A Mixed Methods Approach to Developing a Survey to Examine Graduate Engineering Student Retention.

As part of a sequential exploratory mixed methods study, 9 months of ethnographically guided observations and interviews were used to develop a survey examining graduate engineering student retention. Findings from the ethnographic fieldwork yielded several themes, including international diversity, research group organization and climate, perception of value, and individual and group learning. In this article, the authors present the final themes from the ethnographic analysis and discuss how these data were configured into constructs and survey questions. The authors discuss the final survey, including validity and reliability analysis, and how constructs were developed to test hypotheses for future studies. The article concludes with implications for mixed methods researchers interested in using qualitative methods to create new surveys.

Mapping international perspectives on gender in engineering education research

In this paper, we analyze the approximately 60 publications concerned with women and/or gender from our much larger database of engineering education conference papers and journal articles. We focus on four regions that had at least two publications: North America, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. In our review of these publications, we focus on geographic and disciplinary distribution of the researchers, topics and contexts represented, and the methods used. We found much overlap between regions, but also that certain topics, methods and contexts are more heavily represented in some regions than others. Regional variations as well as theoretical foundations are discussed here, and will be further analyzed in future work. Finally, we suggest that international research collaborations on gender would benefit from a theory-oriented model of collaboration.

Using journal clubs to cultivate a community of practice at the graduate level

This paper discusses the benefits of a community of practice (CoP) approach to graduate education in engineering and examines guidelines for implementation. Community of practice theory and applications to practice are presented. Journal clubs, groups of faculty and students who meet regularly to discuss literature, are identified as one specific tool to improve engineering graduate education by building a community. Although the benefits of a journal club are implicit, few empirical studies validate these claims or tie them to theory. Therefore, we undertook an observational study of a long-standing journal club at a large university in the eastern USA. The findings demonstrate that principles of community found in the theory are present in the journal club. Thick description of specific interactions further defines the benefits of (1) knowledge accumulation, (2) problem solving and creativity, and (3) collaboration and peer-learning. Additionally, specific guidelines are given for the practical implementation of CoPs in engineering education.

Crossing disciplinary borders: A new approach to preparing students for interdisciplinary research

This paper presents a research-based developmental model to aid faculty in developing interdisciplinary graduate curricula. The model progresses from the recognition of disciplinary boundaries to the integration of multiple disciplinary approaches, and finally to a meta-cognitive stage in which graduate students were able to self-consciously reflect on the knowledge construction process within and outside of engineering. The model was developed using assessment data from student and faculty interviews, surveys and productivity reporting. Analysis was grounded in the qualitative methodologies of the social sciences. The setting is the EIGER program at Virginia Tech, which aims to reshape the graduate experience for engineers by complementing traditional discipline-based study with a program explicitly designed to foster in students the interdisciplinary and team-based knowledge and skills that are fundamental to successful collaboration. The findings of this study may have significant implications for efforts to reshaping and enhance graduate engineering curricula.