Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kacie Caple D'Alessandro, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

AC 2012-4541: LESSONS LEARNED ON PREPARATION, MOTIVATION,EXPECTATION, AND REFLECTION WHILE TEACHING AND MENTOR-ING AS A GRADUATE STUDENTKacie Caple D’Alessandro, Virginia Tech Kacie C. D’Alessandro is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Structural Engineering and Materials Pro- gram of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.). She received both her B.S. and M.S. from Clemson University. Once completing the Ph.D. program at Virginia Tech, D’Alessandro plans to pursue a career in academia to teach and to continue research on concrete structures. She also plans to pursue opportunities with engineering education research and K-12 outreach programs

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard J. Aleong, Queen's University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

theunknown. I use the term ‘unknown’ to describe my situation at the start of my graduate studies.I was driven to make the most of my experience, but I did not know what I was looking for orwhat my path would look like. I present this autoethnography as an account of my experience inthe cultural phenomenon of navigating the unknown: searching to make the most out of mygraduate experience in a field that was unfamiliar to me.I define this work as autoethnography because I use myself as the primary data source, recallingmy memories and using my documented personal reflections, to explore how the culturalphenomenon of navigating the unknown has shaped who I am. As Chang1 states,“autoethnography is not about focusing on self alone, but about searching

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Cutler, Virginia Tech; Walter Curtis Lee Jr., Virginia Tech; Lisa D. McNair, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

AC 2012-5183: EASING INTO ENGINEERING EDUCATION: AN ORIEN-TATION PROGRAM FOR GRADUATE STUDENTSStephanie Cutler, Virginia TechWalter Curtis Lee Jr., Virginia Tech Walter Lee is a Graduate Assistant and doctoral student in engineering education at Virginia Tech. His pri- mary research interests focus on diversity and student retention. He earned a B.S. in industrial engineering from Clemson University.Dr. Lisa D. McNair, Virginia Tech Lisa McNair is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research includes interdisciplinary collaboration, communication studies, identity theory, and reflective practice. Projects supported by the National Science Foundation include

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ana T. Torres-Ayala, University of South Florida; Geoffrey L. Herman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Student

and outside the classroom. The Appendix is a table that summarizes the suggested teaching strategies and themotivation theories that support each strategy. The strategies were determined through a processof reflection and discussion amongst the authors about common engineering TA responsibilities.We also reflected on how motivational theories can help TAs understand the reasons behind andthe power of common teaching advice. Because previous work on motivation theories in the classroom has focused on theactions of faculty, this primer will particularly emphasize how engineering teaching assistantscan promote motivation within the context of typical teaching assistant duties: organizing adiscussion section, interacting with

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Krystal S. Corbett, Louisiana Tech University; Galen E. Turner III, Louisiana Tech University; Heath Tims, Louisiana Tech University; Narate Taerat, Louisiana Tech University; Nichamon Naksinehaboon, Louisiana Tech University; Oneka Tiwanna Cummings, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

reflect positively on their university. The conference would allow graduate students topractice presenting their research as well as gain exposure to other research conducted at theuniversity. The conference would also provide an atmosphere for socializing or networking withother students as well as faculty outside the confinement of the classroom or lab walls. Creatingan atmosphere of a social nature has been shown to increase collaboration and quality of work 3.Additionally, having a college wide conference could provide an opportunity to show newgraduate students the wide range of research being conducted. Typically new graduate studentsdo not have the knowledge of what research they are interested in1, by having a conference thestudents could

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Carl Becker P.E., Iowa State University; Joel K. Sikkema, Iowa State University; Nicole Lynn Oneyear, Iowa State University; Shashi S. Nambisan P.E., Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Student

they were administered prior to, during, and after the event. An analysis of the 185 responsesthat were received reflects the event’s success: 94 percent indicated that the department shouldsupport the event in the future, and all respondents stated that the showcase was valuable for thepresenters. In addition, 75 percent of presenters reported that they had plans to present or hadalready presented their research at a professional conference. Although the inaugural competitionwas successful in catalyzing graduate student research dissemination, future efforts are needed totranslate participation in the departmental event to presentations at professional conferences andpublications through topical peer-reviewed outlets.IntroductionA catalyst is