NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Garnering Useful Instruction on Developing (Project) Effectiveness: ATE PI GUIDE

Elizabeth T. Cady; Norman L. Fortenberry

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Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Female Faculty, Learning, NSF, and ABET Issues at Two-Year Colleges
Tagged Division: Two Year College Division
Page Count: 6
Page Numbers: 22.1107.1 - 22.1107.6
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--18942
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/18942
Download Count: 447

Paper Authors

biography

Elizabeth T. Cady National Academy of Engineering

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Elizabeth T. Cady is a Program Officer at the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE) at the National Academy of Engineering.

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biography

Norman L. Fortenberry American Society for Engineering Education

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Dr. Norman L. Fortenberry is the founding Director of the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE) at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). CASEE facilitates research on and deployment of, innovative policies, practices, and tools designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of systems for the formal, informal, and lifelong education of engineers. He previously served in various executive positions within the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources. He has also served as executive director of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (The GEM Consortium) and as a faculty member in the department of mechanical engineering at the Florida A&M University, Florida State University College of Engineering. Dr. Fortenberry was awarded the S.B., S.M., and Sc.D. degrees (all in mechanical engineering) by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As of May 2011, he is the current Executive Director of ASEE.

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Abstract

NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Garnering Useful Instruction on Developing [Project] Effectiveness (ATE PI GUIDE)Across the set of ATE program tracks, the more successful projects are those where principalinvestigators (PIs) have not only acquired core knowledge in areas relevant to their project’sgoals, but also acquired key skills in project management and change management. PIs new tocomplex projects, irrespective of their success with simpler projects, may not possess the skillsets required to optimally implement change management and project management strategies inmore complex projects. Mentorship is a well established academic strategy for building suchskills, and typically such mentorship is conducted one-to-one or one-to-many. However, it wouldbe an immense task to arrange such mentorship for each of the new PIs within various DUEprograms on an individual basis. Nonetheless, across the set of new and current PIs it may bepossible to find more time- and cost-efficient means to approach the same task through the use ofgeneral workshops and technological means.Our fundamental assumption is that there are answers to key questions as well as guidingstrategies that experienced PIs can share with novice PIs to significantly aid their ability tosuccessfully achieve the goals of their projects. Our primary activities are the organization of adiscussion session at the October 2010 ATE PI meetings and the establishment of an interactiveweb site for PI guidance. The web site will feature: (a) at least 10 short video segments of theexperienced PIs discussing these two topics, (b) written case studies, and (c) a moderatedelectronic community of practice to build peer mentoring networks among novice andexperienced PIs. It is expected that these tools will also be useful to prospective PIs and thoserecently declined for awards. The variety of materials to be offered on the site (text and video)can be expected to appeal to a variety of learning styles.In collaboration with ATE staff, we have developed desired “learning outcomes” for knowledge,skills, and abilities to be developed by new ATE project PIs to enhance their project managementand change management skills. These learning outcomes will frame the interviews to beconducted with ATE project and center PIs. The panel session at the ATE PI meeting will serveas a forum for discussion between new and continuing PIs of anticipating, encountering, andsurmounting challenges in project management and change management within ATE projects.We have also developed case study scenarios of change management and project management toguide the discussions during the session at the 2010 ATE PI meeting. We are developing aproject web site for use by new and continuing ATE PIs that will include video clips ofexperienced PIs discussing aspects of the scenarios as well as a moderated electronic communityof practice.This presentation will summarize the project findings and showcase the website features as theyexist at the time of the ASEE meeting.

Citation
Format

Cady, E. T., & Fortenberry, N. L. (2011, June), NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Garnering Useful Instruction on Developing (Project) Effectiveness: ATE PI GUIDE Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18942

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                  NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE)                             Principal Investigators               Garnering Useful Instruction on Developing [Project]                                  Effectiveness                                (ATE PI GUIDE)Across the set of ATE program tracks, the more successful projects are those where principalinvestigators (PIs) have not only acquired core knowledge in areas relevant to their project’sgoals, but also acquired key skills in project management and change management. PIs new tocomplex projects, irrespective of their success with simpler projects, may not possess the skillsets required to optimally implement change management and project management strategies inmore complex projects. Mentorship is a well established academic strategy for building suchskills, and typically such mentorship is conducted one-to-one or one-to-many. However, it wouldbe an immense task to arrange such mentorship for each of the new PIs within various DUEprograms on an individual basis. Nonetheless, across the set of new and current PIs it may bepossible to find more time- and cost-efficient means to approach the same task through the use ofgeneral workshops and technological means.Our fundamental assumption is that there are answers to key questions as well as guidingstrategies that experienced PIs can share with novice PIs to significantly aid their ability tosuccessfully achieve the goals of their projects. Our primary activities are the organization of adiscussion session at the October 2010 ATE PI meetings and the establishment of an interactiveweb site for PI guidance. The web site will feature: (a) at least 10 short video segments of theexperienced PIs discussing these two topics, (b) written case studies, and (c) a moderatedelectronic community of practice to build peer mentoring networks among novice andexperienced PIs. It is expected that these tools will also be useful to prospective PIs and thoserecently declined for awards. The variety of materials to be offered on the site (text and video)can be expected to appeal to a variety of learning styles.In collaboration with ATE staff, we have developed desired “learning outcomes” for knowledge,skills, and abilities to be developed by new ATE project PIs to enhance their project managementand change management skills. These learning outcomes will frame the interviews to beconducted with ATE project and center PIs. The panel session at the ATE PI meeting will serveas a forum for discussion between new and continuing PIs of anticipating, encountering, andsurmounting challenges in project management and change management within ATE projects.We have also developed case study scenarios of change management and project management toguide the discussions during the session at the 2010 ATE PI meeting. We are developing aproject web site for use by new and continuing ATE PIs that will include video clips ofexperienced PIs discussing aspects of the scenarios as well as a moderated electronic communityof practice.This presentation will summarize the project findings and showcase the website features as theyexist at the time of the ASEE meeting.
AU  - Elizabeth T. Cady
AU  - Norman L. Fortenberry
CY  - Vancouver, BC
DA  - 2011/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Garnering Useful Instruction on Developing (Project) Effectiveness: ATE PI GUIDE
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/18942
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--18942
ER  -