education is often described by faculty and graduate students as “a journey”, “alearning process”, and “a transformative experience”. These descriptions speak to theexperiential nature of doctoral education which aims at bringing about some change in studentsto prepare them for their future career. In the research literature, the path and process ofbecoming an engineering education researcher is an emerging field. In this paper, we present theframing of a co-operative inquiry project to explore our personal growth as graduate students.Co-operative inquiry is a research method in which multiple people share and explore a topicfrom their own perspectives through collective dialogue, reflection, interrogation, andtransformation. Our co-operative
makes up the great bulk of what we know how to do in everyday and inprofessional life. It is what gets us through the day” (Schön, 1995). In his paper describing thisknowing-in-action, Schön suggests a concept like Dreyfus and Dreyfus, an expert who tries toteach their craft or practice must reflect on specific situations and contexts to describe how theywould approach them. It is in this manner that design knowledge is created, reflecting on thepractice and process to develop a knowledge base unique to each designer. Schön describes thisevent as either reflection-in-action or reflection-on-action.This reflection practice is crucial to design, for building knowledge and for developing a bestpractice. Reflection is also common in the
is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University. Her research interests are in meta- analysis, Bayesian methods, and latent variable modeling.Dr. Debra A. Fowler, Texas A&M University Dr. Debra Fowler serves as the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M University. Following 16 years working in industry she completed a Ph.D. is in Interdisciplinary Engineering with a specific focus on engineering education from Texas A&M University. Her research areas of focus are faculty perspectives and growth through curriculum design and redesign, interdisciplinary teaching and learning, reflective eportfolios and professional development of graduate students related to teaching.Dr. Raymundo
students that have participated. As part of the 2016 cohort of the Global Perspectives Program, students traveled to Europe during May of 2016 to visit eight different universities in three countries. Through these visits, students were exposed to a wide range of perspectives and insights into higher education. In this paper, we provide an overview of the Global Perspectives Program and its history, describe the prerequisites and presentation, describe the events of the trip for the 2016 cohort, and conclude by sharing participants’ reflections on their experiences. The Global Perspectives Program, with its focus on developing students’ perspectives of higher education, can help prepare students for
comparing sample student budgetsfrom different institutions, be certain to consider the following factors: How many semesters or months are reflected in the sample budget? Does it cover school breaks and/or the summer months, or do I need to budget for those separately? Is the tuition rate reflected in the sample budget an accurate reflection of what I would pay, based on my residency and program level (Master’s, PhD, etc.)? Are there additional fees for students in the graduate program that I’m considering that are not included in the sample budget? Does the sample budget include expenses for a vehicle? Does the housing estimate in the sample budget accurately reflect the typical rents I can
intersecting theories that lend themselves well to strategies for the “careand keeping” of graduate students. By considering the processes and mechanisms by whichgraduate students develop, faculty members can reform or revise their leadership practices(formally and informally) to better meet the needs of graduate students at various stages in theiracademic careers. Although these theories may seem disparate, they intersect and overlap in anacademic research group context. As we lead the attendees of this interactive panel workshopthrough the following activities, we ask them to reflect on how these theories impact how theymake decisions for their research group and how theory-guided decisions might help themimprove or plan for effective and productive
the outcomes demonstrated by students viathe evaluative components, grades were assigned ranging from A (attainment of all outcomes ata proficient level) to B- (attainment of 1 outcome at a proficient level).Student ProjectsThroughout the course, students were asked to maintain and continuously update a coursejournal. This journal consisted of entries similar to a diary in which students would reflect uponthe broader impacts topic being discussed and record their level of personal interest andalignment of personal values with the goals and impact of that specific broader impacts (BI)activity. The intent here was for the students to identify an area of BI activity that aligned withtheir interests and motivations right from the beginning
highly valued within the field? Is the recommender able to write a good reference letter (i.e., literate, coherent, topical)While an individual recommender may not meet all of these criteria, someone who meets few orno items on this list may not be the most effective recommender for you.How to Ask for a RecommendationWhen you ask for a recommendation, ask specifically: “Would you be comfortable writing me astrong letter of recommendation?”[4]. While most faculty and supervisors will agree to provide aletter, if you specifically ask for a strong recommendation then you may hear back that someindividuals do not feel they could write you the strongest possible letter for this particularopportunity. This is not necessarily a reflection on you
finalized list of competencies is shown in Table 2 These competencies werebroadly similar to our initial list shown in Table 1, but combined some of the competenciestogether and reflects specific emphases in graduate engineering education.Behaviorally Anchored Rating ScaleWhile the competency model described above is the core structure of the assessment protocol,there is a distinct need to create a framework for students, advisors, and peers to provide morespecific, behavioral feedback. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) were adopted in thecurrent study to rate performance. Typically, BARS are presented as a scale with several pointsand the rater chooses a level to indicate an individual’s current performance. One of the criticalaspects of
large universityin the Midwest with more than 3400 graduate students spread among 13 different engineeringprograms. This sample size, though small, is sufficiently large for quality qualitative work in thisinitial exploration.33 This small sample size was also a reflection of the limited population ofreturners. A potential list of students was initially identified through Graduate School records,sorted by the number of years between the BS or MS degree and when the students started theirPh.D. With those criteria, only 29 domestic engineering students at the University met ourdesired conditions. We emailed these students to invite them to participate in the study andscheduled interview times with those who responded. The demographic data for our
for a sample assessment question).Students completed self-assessments of each competency in which they rated their currentstanding on a nine-point scale, with a score of nine reflecting expert status. An open-endedquestion was posed for each competency in which justifications for the rating were solicited.Additionally, advisors completed assessments rating their graduate students on each competency.Individual feedback reports were generated for each student based on the assessment results (SeeAppendix A for a sample feedback report).Following the assessment phase, each student and his or her advisor were presented with anindividualized feedback report. A member of the research team then met with each student-advisor pair to review the
scope isinterdisciplinary including design, development and research. The research paper is relevantto Chi Xu’s Ph.D. dissertation. Furthermore, the information is also used in a graduate levelpublic works engineering and management class that is offered each fall semester. Thismakes it relevant to the theme of the ASEE Graduate Studies Division.IntroductionThe solar energy is an ideal energy can gain from the sun, as a type of renewable energy, solarenergy has its advantage: widespread, low contamination and flexibility. High concentratedphotovoltaics is new solar technology which can produce electricity cost-effectively. Byusing a reflection system to concentrate solar radiation can decrease cost and increase theefficiency. HCPV uses cooling
in fall 2016. The goal of the course was to providegraduate students who come with undergraduate degrees in engineering, plant sciences, or datasciences, with a common knowledge base in the area of predictive plant phenomics. The firstoffering of the course was successful, but areas for improvement were identified, and includebetter coherence between course topics and improved student assessment throughout the course.A revised course is now being planned for fall 2017.AcknowledgementsThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under GrantNumber DGE-1545463. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressedin this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
Technology,Inc., ABET) [3] agencies already have communication requirements. In addition, ABET intro-duced new language for 2016-17 requiring an ability to communicate effectively with a range ofaudiences [4], reflecting the fact that the communication demands of engineers are increasing inscope as well as intensity.Recent graduates likewise recognize the importance of communication in their professional lives.A recent study of graduate opinion places communication as fourth out of twelve ABET require-ments in terms of importance (related “teamwork” placed first) [5]. Nevertheless, graduates them-selves have emphasized communication as a weakness [6], with most feeling insufficiently pre-pared [1].1 These findings suggest that communication is one
State University’s 2000-2005 Strategic Plan, which reflected an expanded mission with a focus on research. From itsinitial founding, the ECE department had significant collaborations with local industry and inparticular from two major technology corporations that surrounded it. As the program grew andexpanded, the need for a doctoral program was seen as a natural next step in the progress of theuniversity and critical to serving the needs of local industry.Since this would be the first doctoral program in engineering and only the third at the university,several challenges existed. The first was the high cost associated with such a program, thesecond was resistance to the university in moving from a comprehensive institution to a
improvecourses by bettering integrating the training and laboratories, applying inquiry based learningmethods such as flipped classrooms and more judicious selection of topics. The managementteam is also working at better defining the course requirements for the student cohorts to betteraccommodate different levels of expertise in biology, mathematics and data science.AcknowledgementsThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under GrantNumber DGE-1545463. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressedin this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.Bibliography[ASPB, 2013] American Society of Plant Biologists, Unleashing a Decade
stories as a group. The thematicanalysis section of the paper is useful when considering the larger implications of this research.For example, by examining how all participants reflect on their graduate school experience andwhat they wish would have been different, we can provide insight to current graduate studentsand their advisors. Graduate students might feel empowered to pursue a teaching opportunitydespite it taking away time from research, and advisors might consider different ways ofsupporting their graduate students to achieve their career goals.Six new engineering assistant professors, two females and four males, were interviewed as partof a larger research project exploring the pathway to and current experiences of faculty membersat
verification, andengaging with customers. Initially, Zach was excited about generating ideas, and he enjoyedbeing part of the entire product design process. Then the company displaced manufacturing toChina, and Zach had to tackle non-engineering related issues. Zach began to reflect on his workand subsequently determined he should either seek a new position or enroll in graduate school.Zach realized most of his time was spent working with CAD software for tasks that did notrequire an engineering degree. He felt the medical device company’s other divisions(orthopedics) were doing more important work. Zach considered leaving the medical devicecompany when his wife relocated for a medical residency position. At that point, he had twooptions: find a test