ERM Announcements, January 15, 2021

Dear ERM members,

Happy Friday to all of you! I always sit down to write these newsletters and reflect on what has happened since the previous time I wrote to you. And I feel like every time I do so, the answer is A LOT! Here in the United States, we are once again experiencing historic and unprecedented times, with much civil turmoil and unrest. Our president was just impeached…again. Many of, myself included, are angry and deeply saddened by the events that took place on January 6 and are fearful of ongoing and future violence. 2021 has started with a bang, to say the least. Yet, I look to our future and feel optimistic. A new president will be instated next week. And vaccines are on their way! I really feel that hope will win and by the time we turn the page on 2021, we will be in a new era!

In the meantime, we keep chugging along, doing the best we can to do research, to teach, to help others, and to change the world.

Speaking of chugging along with our work, there are a few exciting ERM announcements today! Abstracts for the 2021 Frontiers in Education (FIE) conference are due January 25. I love the FIE conference, especially the Special Sessions, and am crossing my fingers that we will be able to meet in person this October! Also, please see below for information on the Apprentice Faculty Grant (AFG) program and opportunities to volunteer as reviewers. Don’t forget also that ASEE draft papers are due February 8! No more procrastinating for me – I have papers to write!

I hope you are all doing well.

Sarah

ERM Announcements for 1/15/2021

General Announcements

ERM ANNOUNCEMENT: Abstract deadline for 2021 Frontiers in Education Conference – January 25, 2021
ERM ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for Volunteers to Review Apprentice Faculty Grant Applications
ERM ANNOUNCEMENT: 2021 Apprentice Faculty Grant Program Accepting Applications until February 26th
JEE ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for JEE Associate Editors
JEE ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for JEE Guest Editor
NSF ANNOUNCEMENT: Note from Ed Berger, Program Director, Engineering Education
CALL FOR PAPERS: Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII Designing Through Making
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Undergraduate Research Experience on the Internet of Things (IoT), University of Central Florida

Position Announcements

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Associate Professor in Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences at KTH
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Postdoctoral Research on Bucknell NSF RED Project
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment
General Announcements

ERM ANNOUNCEMENT: Abstract deadline for 2021 Frontiers in Education Conference
The annual Frontiers in Education conference has released a call for papers. We encourage authors to consider the FIE 2021 conference theme of “Envisioning Convergence in Engineering Education. FIE 2021 is scheduled to be an in-person meeting in Lincoln, NE in October. If we cannot meet physically, the conference will be held virtually, and all finalized papers will still be published

FIE welcomes Full Papers up to eight-pages and Work-in-Progress Papers up to four-pages that address the broad tracks of (1) innovative practice, (2) research-to-practice, and (3) research. Work-in-progress papers are typically in frontier areas where it is understood the work is in an early or intermediate stage and authors are seeking feedback from the community. Further, FIE welcomes proposals for panels, workshops, and special sessions in order to disseminate scholarly efforts in non-traditional ways.

The abstract submission site is coming soon. To plan ahead, download the PDF (link below) that provides submission information and review criteria. The deadline for abstract submissions is January 25, 2021.

For more information, see
https://kansas-my.sharepoint.com/personal/kgcurry_home_ku_edu/Documents/AbstractSubmissionInformation.pdf (updated link)

ERM ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for Volunteers to Review Apprentice Faculty Grant Applications
We are seeking volunteers to review applications for this year’s ERM Apprentice Faculty Grant (AFG) program. The commitment requires reviewing 3 application packages, which will take approximately 30 minutes each. You will be provided specific review criteria and your responses will be collected online. Past award winners and senior engineering education researchers are particularly encouraged to help. With thanks from your ERM AFG committee co-chairs, Rachel Anderson and Jessica Swenson. If you have any questions please contact, Rachel Anderson (rsundbe@clemson.edu) or Jessica Swenson (jswenson@buffalo.edu).

{added link} https://t.co/bhs1qUaTAJ?amp=1 to register your interest in reviewing.

To sign up to be a reviewer, please complete this form by February 26th.

ERM ANNOUNEMENT: 2021 Apprentice Faculty Grant Program Accepting Applications until February 26th
The Apprentice Faculty Grant (AFG) Program within the Educational Research and Methods (ERM) Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) encourages and honors promising emerging engineering education scholars who have the potential for substantial contributions to the community.

In conjunction with the 2021 ASEE Annual Conference, the AFG program will grant up to four awards to emerging engineering education scholars, which may include: senior graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, junior faculty, staff members, or senior ranking faculty who meet the criteria of an emerging engineering education scholar (see website below for details). Each award will include: 1) connection with a mentor who is a senior scholar in the engineering education community at the ASEE conference 2) support for conference travel expenses (exact level of financial support is still under consideration, but will not exceed $500). AFG recipients are expected to attend the full duration of the annual ASEE conference, including conference sessions in the ERM division, the ERM Annual Community Celebration and Awards Reception (ticket included), and a meet-and-greet with the other AFG recipients and mentors. We also highly encourage AFG recipients to attend at least one workshop. For more details, including how to apply, see https://erm.asee.org/conferences/afg/. If you have any questions please contact, Rachel Anderson (rsundbe@clemson.edu) or Jessica Swenson (jswenson@buffalo.edu).

JEE ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for JEE Associate Editors
The Journal of Engineering Education (JEE), which serves to cultivate, disseminate, and archive scholarly research in engineering education, is currently accepting applications for one or more volunteer Associate Editors. Associate Editors are an integral part of the JEE Editorial Board and ensure the quality and timeliness of published material. Associate Editors serve 3-year terms that may be renewed.

An Associate Editor’s primary responsibilities are (1) reading manuscripts submitted to JEE, (2) recruiting and selecting appropriate, well qualified and responsible reviewers to review the manuscripts, (3) synthesizing reviewers’ comments and feedback, (4) integrating that feedback with their own evaluative and constructive report reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript, and (5) making a recommendation to the JEE Editor. Other duties include attending quarterly (virtual) meetings of the JEE Editorial Board, selecting the annual Wickenden award winner, and completing various tasks related to maintaining the quality and relevance of JEE such as special issues and guest editorials. Generally, an Associate Editor will be assigned 12-16 manuscripts annually, and the duties of the position will require approximately 8 – 12 hours per month.

To qualify for the position, an Associate Editor must have an earned doctoral degree, be an active researcher in engineering education or a related field, and have experience publishing in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education research. Preferred qualifications include previous experience as a peer reviewer of a scholarly journal, publication experience in peer-reviewed journals, and rank at the associate professor (or equivalent) level. If interested, please submit a cover letter, CV and list of references to Lisa Benson, JEE Editor, via email to Ms. Teri Garrett (terig@clemson.edu) . In your cover letter, please describe why you wish to serve as a JEE Associate Editor and the special skills and abilities you could contribute in this role (e.g., research methods, content knowledge, work experience, etc.), especially as they pertain to responsibilities and qualifications for the position.

JEE ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for JEE Guest Editor
The Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) has invited article submissions for a special themed section of a forthcoming issue on the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic on the engineering education community. The special themed section, a collection of related papers, will be part of a regularly published issue of JEE that includes other original research and research review articles. Articles accepted for publication in the special section is scheduled for publication in mid-2022, and these related manuscripts will be compiled in a virtual issue of JEE. The deadline for articles to be submitted for this special section is March 1, 2021. JEE is seeking a guest editor to handle manuscripts for this special themed issue. Guest editor duties include ensuring timely reviews, recommendations and decisions on manuscripts that have been sent out for peer review, curating the special themed section, and communicating with the publisher of JEE (Wiley and Sons) to publish the virtual issue online. If interested, please email Lisa Benson, JEE Editor, and describe why you wish to serve as a JEE Guest Editor and the special skills and abilities you could contribute in this role (e.g., other editorial experience).

NSF ANNOUNCEMENT: Note from Ed Berger
Hello all: today (12/31/20) is my last day at NSF, and I’m writing to send one more message of gratitude to you all for the work you do, and for your support of the engineering education research programs as NSF. Our community is filled with great researchers, great educators, great mentors; this is all true. But being in this role for the past 18 months has reminded me that our community is filled, at its core, with fantastic people. People who care about each other, their students, their colleagues, and about the future of our discipline and the broader field of engineering. One of the great joys of serving in this position has been to routinely engage with all of you—whether as proposers, PIs, panelists, reviewers, at conferences or via email. You continue to show that our community is strong, growing, and is thinking about the world’s challenges in important, sophisticated, compassionate ways that transcend the usual disciplinary boundaries.

I’m returning to my role at Purdue, where you can reach me at bergere@purdue.edu. I look forward to a day, hopefully soon, when our paths will cross in person. I truly encourage all of you to consider a future role at NSF. My experience has been very positive; the work environment and the people are fantastic. NSF has openings for IPAs (“rotators”) fairly frequently, and if this kind of role aligns with your career plans, you should definitely consider it.

An announcement about the new Engineering Education program officer in EEC is imminent. Right now, all I can say is that you will have a wise and passionate advocate in this role.

Best wishes for the new year,

Ed

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Edward Berger

Program Director, Engineering Education

Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC)

National Science Foundation

703-292-7708

eberger@nsf.gov

CALL FOR PAPERS: Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII Designing Through Making
Two-page abstracts to be submitted by 10 January 2021. The workshop is currently scheduled to take place in Claremont, California from May 27 to 29, 2021, but is increasingly likely to take place as an online workshop. Call for Papers and more info: https://mudddesignworkshop.com/callforpapers-mdwix/

Vision: Engineers, designers, and educators will gather to discuss and share approaches for sketching, drafting, prototyping, and producing artefacts in design related courses and activities, including industrial and entrepreneurial efforts. Prototypes are used for a variety of purposes throughout design processes, including communication, testing, exploring ideas, etc. Appropriate levels of prototyping at all phases of a design process are critical to a good design process and outcomes. Training on use of and selection of the most appropriate means of prototyping and descriptive communication for sharing, learning, exploring, and production are needed for educationally and industrially driven projects. Especially noteworthy is that the increase in distance learning and remote work may reduce access to equipment and staff as well as the informal interactions that improve the product and learning or working environment. We will explore the role of artifact exploration, description, development, and realization throughout the different phases of the design processes and explore how these can be leveraged to improve outcome and process.

Mission: We will identify the best practices, opportunities, and challenges associated with designing and creating artifacts at different stages of a design process with a focus on how educational, cultural, and institutional issues contribute to successful outcomes. Possible topics are listed in the call for papers at https://mudddesignworkshop.com/callforpapers-mdwix/.

Experience: Sessions are initiated by brief position statements from panelists followed by an open discussion. A wrap-up session will collect the most important outputs for improving engineering design education for dissemination to the community. Participants will receive a preliminary proceedings containing near-final manuscripts of presented papers. Those drafts will subsequently be refined and reviewed for publication in a Special Issue of the International Journal of Engineering Education to comprise the archival proceedings of the Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII.

Abstracts should be submitted electronically by January 10, 2021 to this link: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/MDW2021 (which requires the creation of a free account).

Please note that new users will need to create an account on CMT.

Coronavirus Statement: While the organizing committee is hopeful that the workshop will take place at the scheduled time and location, we remain aware of the continuing global health crisis. In anticipation of restrictions on an in-person workshop, the committee is considering the other options available and will keep participants informed of decisions regarding format, timing, and location.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Undergraduate Research Experience on the Internet of Things (IoT), University of Central Florida
The Computer Science Department at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL) will hold an 8‐week, 2021 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) on the Internet of Things http://iotreu.cs.ucf.edu/. REU students will be trained in research‐based theory and applications of IoT technologies, which extends the connected nature of computing devices to objects of the physical world. The REU students will join well‐established research groups under the close supervision of faculty with expertise in various IoT research areas such as smart cities, smart healthcare, and smart grids. Many of the research topics will require the students to utilize state of the art techniques of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics.

REU program dates: May 17, 2021 ‐ July 9, 2021

Application deadline: March 5, 2021

Eligibility requirements: Sophomore, junior or senior undergraduates majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering; must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; minimum overall GPA 2.7

Program Benefits: $4,800 stipend, travel allowance, UCF on campus housing, daily meal allowance

Interested students must submit applications online at http://iotreu.cs.ucf.edu/. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Damla Turgut at turgut@cs.ucf.edu.

Position Announcements

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Associate Professor in Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences at KTH

The KTH Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences is a world class research and higher education development department comprising research and teaching units for Digital Learning, STEM Education, Languages and Global Competence, and the House of Science (vetenskapenshus.se). You can read more about the Department and our mission and research on the internet (www.kth.se/larande).

The recruitment is an opportunity for an ambitious DBER person to join a dynamic research and teaching department at KTH (currently we are approximately 90 employees) and contribute to the future of DBER and Higher Education Research and Development worldwide. The successful applicant will conduct research and teaching in their DBER area, and will also contribute to the Academic Staff Development activities of the department.

The salary range is in accordance with the current statistics for KTH, where the median salary for a Lektor (Associate Professor) in the School, where the monthly salary is currently approximately 56000 SEK before tax.

https://www.kth.se/om/work-at-kth/lediga-jobb/what:job/jobID:360701/where:4/

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Postdoctoral Research on Bucknell NSF RED Project
The Bucknell NSF RED project is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join the effort to integrate convergent problems into undergraduate courses. The postdoc will be responsible for qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. In particular we are seeking individuals grounded in the culture of engineering with skills in qualitative research who can do ethnographic studies of the program over the course of the project. This is a full-time, benefits eligible position expected to last 5 years.

For more information see the position announcement on the Jobs@Bucknell site:

https://jobs.bucknell.edu/en-us/job/496644/postdoctoral-researcher-engineering-education

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) seeks an accomplished, creative leader to serve in the inaugural position of Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment in the College of Engineering. The Assistant Dean will report to the Associate Dean for Education and Graduate Professional Programs and, as a member of the dean’s leadership team, will help maintain excellence and chart innovative directions in the college’s evolving portfolio of curricular options.

The Assistant Dean will identify opportunities for significant curricular innovations at the undergraduate and graduate levels through in-depth assessment of current programs and develop collaborative approaches to achieve those innovations. Partners in these collaborations will include Engineering Departments, the Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion, The Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education, the Engineering Office for Digital Learning, Global Engineering Engagement, The Learning Factory, Engineering Office of Institutional Research, and Engineering Technology & Commonwealth Engineering as well as Colleges of Science and the Liberal Arts. The Assistant Dean will be familiar with University Faculty Senate policies, procedures, and decisions that impact College of Engineering curricula.

The Assistant Dean will coordinate and evaluate first-year seminars across the College and assist departments and partner colleges and campuses in delivering high quality first and second year education to College of Engineering students. The Assistant Dean will help identify needs and opportunities for cross departmental courses that support curricula shared by all College of Engineering students.

The Assistant Dean will coordinate accreditation processes for undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering and serve as the Institutional Representative during accreditation reviews. They will also coordinate annual assessments of graduate and certificate programs as part of Penn State’s regional accreditation.

For additional details please go to https://psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Academic/job/University-Park-Campus/ASSISTANT-DEAN-FOR-CURRICULAR-INNOVATION-AND-PROGRAM-ASSESSMENT_REQ_0000009139-1 or contact Thomas Litzinger, chair of the search committee, at tal2@psu.edu.

ERM Announcements, January 1, 2021

Dear ERM members,

Just a short note today as I am still enjoying the last few days of our holiday break. I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday! I definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet…and lack of Zoom meetings.

Happy New Year to all you! I look forward to 2021 with optimism, hope, and a lot of patience.

Sarah

 

ERM Announcements for 1/1/2021

General Announcements

NSF ANNOUNCEMENT: Note from Ed Berger, Program Director, Engineering Education
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Handbook of STEM Faculty Development Call for Abstracts
CALL FOR PAPERS: Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII Designing Through Making
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Edited Volume on Engineering Education
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Conference – X-DBER
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: National Dialogue on Transforming STEM Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education
REU POSITIONS: REU in Engineering Education at Utah State University

Position Announcements

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Faculty Position in Department of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Director of the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida International University
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Multiple open-rank positions available in engineering and computing education at Florida International University

General Announcements

 

NSF ANNOUNCEMENT: Note from Ed Berger
Hello all: today (12/31/20) is my last day at NSF, and I’m writing to send one more message of gratitude to you all for the work you do, and for your support of the engineering education research programs as NSF. Our community is filled with great researchers, great educators, great mentors; this is all true. But being in this role for the past 18 months has reminded me that our community is filled, at its core, with fantastic people. People who care about each other, their students, their colleagues, and about the future of our discipline and the broader field of engineering. One of the great joys of serving in this position has been to routinely engage with all of you—whether as proposers, PIs, panelists, reviewers, at conferences or via email. You continue to show that our community is strong, growing, and is thinking about the world’s challenges in important, sophisticated, compassionate ways that transcend the usual disciplinary boundaries.

I’m returning to my role at Purdue, where you can reach me at bergere@purdue.edu. I look forward to a day, hopefully soon, when our paths will cross in person. I truly encourage all of you to consider a future role at NSF. My experience has been very positive; the work environment and the people are fantastic. NSF has openings for IPAs (“rotators”) fairly frequently, and if this kind of role aligns with your career plans, you should definitely consider it.

An announcement about the new Engineering Education program officer in EEC is imminent. Right now, all I can say is that you will have a wise and passionate advocate in this role.

Best wishes for the new year,

Ed

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Edward Berger

Program Director, Engineering Education

Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC)

National Science Foundation

703-292-7708

eberger@nsf.gov

 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Handbook of STEM Faculty Development Call for Abstracts
The editors of the Handbook of STEM Faculty Development are looking for high quality submissions that focus on all stages of faculty development for those in STEM focused higher education fields.

Faculty in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines face intensifying pressures in the 21st century, including multiple roles as educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. In addition to continuously increasing teaching and service expectations, faculty are engaged in substantive research that requires securing external funding, mentoring other faculty and graduate students, and disseminating this work in a broad range of scholarly outlets. Societal needs of their expertise include discovery, innovation, and workforce development. It is critical to provide STEM faculty with the professional development to support their complex roles and to base this development on evidence derived from research. This edited handbook provides STEM faculty, STEM researchers, educational researchers, professional development providers, higher education administrators and other stakeholders with an opportunity to share studies and/or experiences that explore STEM faculty development (FD) in higher education settings. More specifically, we encourage work that examines professional development planning, techniques/models, experiences, and outcomes focused on supporting the teaching, research, service, and/or leadership responsibilities of STEM faculty. We particularly encourage submissions examining these roles and responsibilities within higher education from a holistic point of view, crosscutting teaching, research, service, and leadership.

We invite you to submit an abstract (due February 28th, 2021) of no more than 500 words. Please see the link below for more details. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of us.

https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Handbook-of-STEM-Faculty-Development

Sandra Linder (sandram@clemson.edu)

Cindy Lee (LC@clemson.edu

Karen High (khigh@clemson.edu)

 

CALL FOR PAPERS: Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII Designing Through Making
Two-page abstracts to be submitted by 10 January 2021. The workshop is currently scheduled to take place in Claremont, California from May 27 to 29, 2021, but is increasingly likely to take place as an online workshop. Call for Papers and more info: https://mudddesignworkshop.com/callforpapers-mdwix/

Vision: Engineers, designers, and educators will gather to discuss and share approaches for sketching, drafting, prototyping, and producing artefacts in design related courses and activities, including industrial and entrepreneurial efforts. Prototypes are used for a variety of purposes throughout design processes, including communication, testing, exploring ideas, etc. Appropriate levels of prototyping at all phases of a design process are critical to a good design process and outcomes. Training on use of and selection of the most appropriate means of prototyping and descriptive communication for sharing, learning, exploring, and production are needed for educationally and industrially driven projects. Especially noteworthy is that the increase in distance learning and remote work may reduce access to equipment and staff as well as the informal interactions that improve the product and learning or working environment. We will explore the role of artifact exploration, description, development, and realization throughout the different phases of the design processes and explore how these can be leveraged to improve outcome and process.

Mission: We will identify the best practices, opportunities, and challenges associated with designing and creating artifacts at different stages of a design process with a focus on how educational, cultural, and institutional issues contribute to successful outcomes. Possible topics are listed in the call for papers at https://mudddesignworkshop.com/callforpapers-mdwix/.

Experience: Sessions are initiated by brief position statements from panelists followed by an open discussion. A wrap-up session will collect the most important outputs for improving engineering design education for dissemination to the community. Participants will receive a preliminary proceedings containing near-final manuscripts of presented papers. Those drafts will subsequently be refined and reviewed for publication in a Special Issue of the International Journal of Engineering Education to comprise the archival proceedings of the Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop XII.

Abstracts should be submitted electronically by January 10, 2021 to this link: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/MDW2021 (which requires the creation of a free account).

Please note that new users will need to create an account on CMT.

Coronavirus Statement: While the organizing committee is hopeful that the workshop will take place at the scheduled time and location, we remain aware of the continuing global health crisis. In anticipation of restrictions on an in-person workshop, the committee is considering the other options available and will keep participants informed of decisions regarding format, timing, and location.

 

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Edited Volume on Engineering Education
As part of a NSF project, I am starting work on a new handbook of engineering education with a broader scope and more diverse contributions in topics and authors. If you are interested in participating, please sign up here (you will also have the opportunity to provide input on what the volume should cover). The book will be published as an open educational resource and available publicly for free.

Survey link: http://bit.do/engehandbook

If you’ve any questions, please contact Aditya Johri at johri@gmu.edu

 

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Conference – X-DBER
We are pleased to invite you to X-DBER 2021, a conference exploring themes in discipline-based education research across STEM disciplines. This virtual conference will take place March 1-3, hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We look forward to fostering cross-disciplinary conversations focused on several core themes: educational tools and interventions; learning and cognitive research; diversity, inclusion, and equity; student experiences and affect; and integrating disciplinary practices. The conference will be free for all participants.

Conference Webpage: https://scimath.unl.edu/x-dber/2021/

Abstracts due: January 17, 2021

General Registration: Closes February 21, 2021

Contact: Grace Panther, grace.panther@unl.edu

 

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: National Dialogue on Transforming STEM Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education
There are growing national discussions about the critical importance of providing high-quality, evidenced-based, inclusive undergraduate STEM educational experiences across various modes and locations of delivery. How we evaluate teaching is one lever for heightening attention to the quality of teaching. Grappling with better methods to evaluate teaching is a driver to engage faculty in re-envisioning approaches to high quality teaching and learning. Recent rapid transitions in teaching and learning in higher education, along with concerns about equity in students’ experiences and demands on faculty, create an opportunity to rethink the process for evaluating faculty work, including teaching.

The National Dialogue is a three-part series of virtual events to be held in January 2021 to further the national conversation about transformation of teaching evaluation. It has these goals:

Contextualize the critical importance of effective and inclusive teaching
Understand an array of models and approaches to improve the evaluation of teaching;
Examine strategies for addressing challenges to reforming processes for evaluating teaching.
Opening Plenary: National Dialogue on Reforming STEM Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education: Thursday, January 14, 2021 from 12:00-1:30pm ET

Teaching Evaluation Poster Symposia and Small Group Events: January 14 – January 22, 2021

Closing Session: Cross-cutting Challenges and Opportunities to Improving Teaching Evaluation: Wednesday, January 27 from 1:00-4:00pm ET

Hosted by the Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in collaboration with the Association of American Universities, Transforming Higher Education-Multidimensional Evaluation of Teaching (TEval), the Bayview Alliance, Accelerating Systemic Change in STEM Higher Education, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, and the Network of STEM Education Centers. Funding support is from the National Science Foundation via the TEval Project. This dialogue builds upon the Recognition and Evaluation of Science Teaching in Higher Education workshop we organized in September 2019.

To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/national-dialogue-on-transforming-stem-teaching-evaluation-tickets-131187662831?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN-Undergrad_Grad_Covid_Response_COPY_).

 

REU POSITIONS: REU in Engineering Education at Utah State University
The Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University will hold a ten-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program https://engineering.usu.edu/eed/reu/annoucement, starting May 18, 2021, to provide undergraduate students (in either 4-year or 2-year schools) in a science, technology (including engineering technology), engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline with intensive experience in engineering education research, such as how learners’ experience, background, and perception play a role when they learn engineering knowledge and skills. The central theme of the REU program is “Problem Solving in Engineering Education.” This shared theme of problem solving is broad enough to relate to the diverse lines of inquiry and research projects in engineering education at USU. Due to the uncertain health situation resultant to the Covid-19 pandemic, this ten-week program will be conducted at the participant’s home or internet capable area, via internet and computer access, and facilitated by USU’s Canvas learning management system and other online communication media.

Each REU student will receive up to $8,450, including 1) a stipend of $6,000, 2) a housing and meal allowance of $1,700, and 3) up to $750 for a round-trip airfare ticket to use to travel and attend any conferences. Additionally, this last amount will also help to support your research experience.

The applicants must be at least 18 years old by the time the program starts on May 18, 2021, must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States, must be an undergraduate student who will not graduate before September 1, 2021 (in either 4-year or 2-year schools) with a good academic standing in a professional undergraduate program in science, technology (including engineering technology), engineering, or mathematics.

The deadline of application is March 8, 2021. Interested students must submit applications online via https://engineering.usu.edu/eed/reu/application. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Oenardi Lawanto at olawanto@usu.edu or Dr. Wade Goodridge at wade.goodridge@usu.edu.

 

Position Announcements

 

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) seeks an accomplished, creative leader to serve in the inaugural position of Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Program Assessment in the College of Engineering. The Assistant Dean will report to the Associate Dean for Education and Graduate Professional Programs and, as a member of the dean’s leadership team, will help maintain excellence and chart innovative directions in the college’s evolving portfolio of curricular options.

The Assistant Dean will identify opportunities for significant curricular innovations at the undergraduate and graduate levels through in-depth assessment of current programs and develop collaborative approaches to achieve those innovations. Partners in these collaborations will include Engineering Departments, the Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion, The Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education, the Engineering Office for Digital Learning, Global Engineering Engagement, The Learning Factory, Engineering Office of Institutional Research, and Engineering Technology & Commonwealth Engineering as well as Colleges of Science and the Liberal Arts. The Assistant Dean will be familiar with University Faculty Senate policies, procedures, and decisions that impact College of Engineering curricula.

The Assistant Dean will coordinate and evaluate first-year seminars across the College and assist departments and partner colleges and campuses in delivering high quality first and second year education to College of Engineering students. The Assistant Dean will help identify needs and opportunities for cross departmental courses that support curricula shared by all College of Engineering students.

The Assistant Dean will coordinate accreditation processes for undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering and serve as the Institutional Representative during accreditation reviews. They will also coordinate annual assessments of graduate and certificate programs as part of Penn State’s regional accreditation.

For additional details please go to https://psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Academic/job/University-Park-Campus/ASSISTANT-DEAN-FOR-CURRICULAR-INNOVATION-AND-PROGRAM-ASSESSMENT_REQ_0000009139-1 or contact Thomas Litzinger, chair of the search committee, at tal2@psu.edu.

 

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Faculty Position in Department of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University

The Department of Experiential Engineering Education (ExEEd) within the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering invites applications for tenure-¬track faculty position(s) at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank. ExEEd was launched as a new Department in 2016 to cultivate a collaborative environment for engineering education research, implement educational innovations in the classroom, and lead the College’s undergraduate engineering educational mission in the first and sophomore years. ExEEd also oversees the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering BSc. in Engineering Entrepreneurship, a novel undergraduate degree program that blends engineering with business skills. Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to build or sustain a robust, externally-funded research program focused on engineering education. The candidate’s research plan should show evidence of publications within the engineering education community and provide insight into their plans for obtaining funding associated with their proposed research agenda. As part of ExEEd, they will also have the opportunity to work collaboratively to further develop the research-to-practice model of graduate engineering education. Their teaching role within the department will consist of engaging in high quality, evidence-¬based teaching and contributing to the development of innovative projects, pedagogies and curricula in an environment where excellence in teaching is strongly valued. Candidates who can support the university’s commitment to a growing sustainability (people, planet and prosperity) research agenda are preferred. This can include,but is not limited to: providing methodology expertise applicable to sustainability based projects (community based, university focused, or industry); building strong interdisciplinary collaborations, for example, with Education, Social Sciences, Entrepreneurship; and/or furthering our understanding of effective teaching as related to sustainability. The successful candidate must demonstrate commitment to working with students and faculty from different engineering disciplines and from diverse backgrounds including women, students of color, LGBTQ students, first¬‐generation to college students, students with disabilities, students with low socioeconomic status, and veterans.

Applicants must have earned a minimum of a B.S. degree in Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering, Engineering Education, STEM Education or an equivalent field. In addition, the successful candidate is expected to demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to teach in a multidisciplinary, hands‐on, project and problem¬‐based learning environment.

For more details and application requirements please see: https://jobs.rowan.edu/cw/en-us/job/494833/tenure-track-assistantassociate-professor-experiential-engineering-education. For more information, please contact Dr. Cheryl Bodnar, Associate Professor and Search Chair at bodnar@rowan.edu

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at San José State University (SJSU) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Applicants must have a strong academic background in mechanical engineering, as evidenced by a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in mechanical engineering or closely related field, and expertise in mechatronics. Applicants must have demonstrated experience in a field of mechatronics such as robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, embedded systems, human-machine interface, etc.

More details at: https://jobs.sjsu.edu/en-us/job/497876/assistant-professor-mechanical-engineering

Contact: Vimal Viswanathan – vimal.viswanathan@sjsu.edu

 

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Director of the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) invites applications and nominations for Director and head of the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED, https://succeed.fiu.edu/), which is an academic department dedicated to engineering and computing education. SUCCEED is part of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing, collaborates closely with the university’s STEM Transformation Institute (STEM TI, https://stem.fiu.edu), and has created the first engineering and computing education program at a minority-serving institution. The School houses two-degree programs: a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Computing Education, and also houses the College’s Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing (CD-SSEC).

Florida International University (FIU) is the fourth largest public university in the United States, and is majority-minority R1 research university and Hispanic Serving Institution. FIU has a vibrant STEM education research institute, and there are also ample education research opportunities afforded in Dade and Broward counties which host the nation’s largest and 4th largest state colleges and two of the largest public school districts.

More information about this position can be found on the SUCCEED website: https://succeed.fiu.edu/about/faculty-staff-positions/index.html . To apply visit https://facultycareers.fiu.edu/?posting=522526 .

Please feel free to contact Mark Weiss (weiss@fiu.edu) if you have interest, and/or to spread the word to colleagues in other engineering education disciplines.

 

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Multiple open-rank positions available in engineering and computing education at Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) invites applications and nominations for open-rank faculty in the newly formed school dedicated to engineering and computing education. Our new School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED, https://succeed.fiu.edu/), which is part of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing and collaborates closely with the university’s STEM Transformation Institute, (STEM TI, https://stem.fiu.edu/) and the Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing (CD-SSEC, https://cec.fiu.edu/academics/student-resources/cd-ssec), is the first engineering and computing education program at a minority-serving institution. The School houses two degree programs: a Bachelor’s of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Computing Education (https://succeed.fiu.edu/academics/degree-programs).

Florida International University (FIU) is the fourth largest public university in the United States, and is a majority-minority R1 research university. FIU has a vibrant Discipline-Based Education Research community (https://stem.fiu.edu/about/team/) and there are also ample education research opportunities afforded in Dade and Broward counties which host the nation’s largest and 4th largest state colleges and two of the largest public school districts.

We are seeking faculty at all levels as we continue to grow our community. More information available at the SUCCEED website https://succeed.fiu.edu/about/faculty-staff-positions/index.html and at the official FIU job posting website https://facultycareers.fiu.edu/?posting=522491. Please feel free to contact STEM TI Director, Laird Kramer (lkramer@fiu.edu) or Interim SUCCEED Director, Mark Weiss (weiss@fiu.edu) if you have interest, and/or to spread the word to colleagues in other engineering and computing education disciplines.