engineering education

First of all, the conference program is here. All the paper versions of the presentations will eventually be deposited in Queen's IR, QSpace, but don't seem to be there yet. I posted about my presentation here: Using a Blog to Engage Students in Literature Search Skills Sessions. Now, If there can be said to be a theme to a conference which has no official theme, then the CEEA conference's theme was nicely summed up by a question from the audience during one of the sessions: "How do you teach humbleness?" Again and again it came up -- the challenge of teaching young, confident and…
The inaugural Canadian Engineering Education Association Conference will be held this year from June 7-9 at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) is a new organization whose mission is to "enhance the competence and relevance of graduates from Canadian Engineering schools through continuous improvement in engineering education and design education." This first annual CEEA conference will integrate and grow on the previous efforts of the Canadian Design Engineering Network (CDEN) and the Canadian Congress on Engineering Education (C2E2…
One of my colleagues Amy Slaton (a historian of engineering and engineering education at Drexel) has started a new blog in conjunction with the completion of her new book, Race, Rigor and Selectivity in U.S. Engineering: The History of an Occupational Color Line. Her work is brilliant -- thoughtful, grounded, clear, and with an appalling message about the raced character of engineering education. Anyway, her new blog is STEM Equity, and you should also totally read her first book, Reinforced Concrete and the Modernization of the American Building which is similarly brilliant even though it…
This week we are reading Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. This video was produced with a dedication to Kate, who explained to me why kids like this book so much even before they understand everything that's happening in it. She wisely told me that it's because kids rarely get to hear a story about a kid getting really mad, expressing their feelings, and without a neat fairy-tale or moralistic ending. Alexander just has a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day, and he's not afraid to tell us about it. I'd also like to dedicate this post to all of…
I am not in charge of SciWo's Storytime. Sure, it might look like I'm the one reading the books and operating the video camera, but Minnow exerts the ultimate executive authority as editor-in-chief. Some weeks no videos whatsoever are allowed to be made, some weeks she's content to let me pick the book, and some weeks she is quite happy to make a whole string of videos, so long as she chooses the content. With that proviso, Minnow presents this week's edition of SciWo's Storytime featuring the book Little Squire the Fire Engine by Catherine Kenworthy and illustrated by Nina Barbaresi. Now…
I'm digging out of a mound of to-dos, but wanted to make you aware of two opportunities to explore feminist pedagogies and research methods in engineering education at the 2009 FIE later this month. Note participation in the workshop requires advance registration. Please share this notice with other colleagues who might be interested, and feel free to contact me with questions. On behalf of all the presenters, thank you, and we hope to see you in San Antonio ----------- S3A: Workshop: Feminist Engineering Education: Building a Community of Practice Sunday October 18 from 6-9 pm in El…
A couple of weeks ago, I "attended" a webinar hosted by WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) on their recently unveiled Knowledge Center. I had never participated in a webinar -- I called up a conference call phone number, and logged into a website, and saw what the presenters had on their computers. Different presenters at totally different locations could also take charge of what everyone was seeing; it was a neat experience. I was attending with participants from a few other organizations, including MentorNet, the Association of Science-Technology Centers (which is the…
I'm off visiting a set of archives for the rest of this week - Karen Tonso and I are trying to cook up a cool research idea (to expand into a manuscript) about engineering and identity in relation to this project. However, my attention was recently drawn to an article by Peg Boyle Single in Inside Higher Ed about writing your dissertation, and I noticed a connection with Robert Boice and his writing strategies. What ho! I thought. Time to bring back the ATNFM into my life. It's a sign. I've also started exploring the idea of doing research with Evernote. I'm not sure how it will work,…
I feel hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things, and the last thing I've been feeling like doing is spending more time on my computer, let alone blogging. But this video, produced for SMU's engineering program tweeted by the NAE and listed on the iFoundry blog is way cool, and, I hazard to say, is the kind of engineer I am trying to be.
Do you do research on gender and engineering or engineering education? Do you want to talk with cool European researchers about your and their research? Want to fly to Europe for free? Consider applying for the opportunity below the fold -- there are only a couple days left to apply (April 13 is the deadline) but the application process isn't difficult and I know they're still taking applications. Only restriction: you currently need to be working at a US university (I think). US-Europe Workshop for Research on Gender and Diversity in Engineering Education Announcement and Call for…
So the readers have spoken: one more vote for hearing about my PI experience than the weird convo with the deans. However, I was working on the draft, and then some more work stuff got dumped on me, then SW had her popular deconstruction of one of Greg Laden's posts and I didn't want to interrupt the flow. But it seems to have petered off, and I'm trying to dig out of my work stuff (next post will be RBOC) and so I'm finally getting back to this. Here you are, then, and caveat emptor or whatever the bloggy-equivalent is: Even though I'm co-PI on a big grant (>$3M when all is said and done…
Just super busy in the 3D world, as Janet calls it. Burning the candle at both ends. But I have a little time carved out tomorrow morning and I hope to get a blog post written then. And next week is spring break for us, so I hope to have more time then. In the meantime, let me offer a choice of blog posts running around in my head - vote in the comments by Friday morning, and I'll write the one with most votes. What microethics and macroethics are in the context of engineering education from my trip to Arizona State University 2 weeks ago A beginner's guide to NSF grantwriting, from my…
So I got back Sunday night from a workshop at Arizona State University on Engineering and Science Ethics Education. The goal of the workshop was to explore the possibilities for blending microethics and macroethics in graduate engineering and science education; we spent 2 days talking about the history of such efforts, what micro and macro ethics might mean in the context of scientific and engineering education and practice, and how we might operationalize these ideas into 4 formats: a 3-credit course, a 9-credit course, a lab-situated set of discussions, and some online formats. The…
It's that time of the year again when folks may be thinking about graduate school opportunities, and what with the current economic climate, maybe more than possible. If you'd be interested in finding more out about what a PhD in engineering education might entail, my school is having an open house at the end of March, and it would be great if you came. More information below the fold. On behalf of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University, I invite you to attend our open house for prospective PhD students on March 26 and 27. Our doctoral program, the first of its kind in the…
Call for Manuscripts: Special issue of Engineering Studies: Journal of the International Network for Engineering Studies on "Engineering and Social Justice" Editors, Engineering Studies: Gary Downey (Virginia Tech, USA) and Juan Lucena (Colorado School of Mines, USA) Special Issue Editor: Jen Schneider (Colorado School of Mines, USA) This planned special issue of Engineering Studies invites submissions from scholars across the disciplines who study engineering and its intersections with social justice. Engineering, as educational and professional practices often aimed at developing…
I've been spending the past week or two trying to get my groove on with respect to work. I scared myself quite badly with how overwhelmed I got at the end of last semester, and how quickly. I vowed to myself not to let myself get sucked into such unhealthy patterns, and then beat myself up over and over because of how often I tell myself not to get sucked in, and then how I get totally sucked in again. However. It is a new year. So I have another chance to start over. And am apparently trying to do so publicly, as what else would a blogger do? Besides, I don't want to give anyone the…
My colleague Donna Riley just sent me a way-cool call for papers: inclusive science, for a special issue of the National Women's Studies Association Journal. Get your writing hats on -- papers are due January 15! The rest of the call is after the fold. INCLUSIVE SCIENCE: ARTICULATING THEORY, PRACTICE, AND ACTION Call for papers for a Special Cluster of Papers in the National Women's Studies Association Journal It is no secret that there is a national crisis in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), particularly in terms of the involvement of women and people of…
This is it, folks - we're coming round into the home stretch of DonorsChoose, with one week left in October. And there is some great news - ScienceBlogs has decided to donate FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS to Donors Choose, distributed among the bloggers who are participating! I'm still checking about whether this is participating *blogs* or *bloggers* -- if the latter, that means Sciencewomen will have $1430 to distribute among our projects, woo hoo! So we want your help on deciding how to distribute the funds. Update at 11:34 am: Sb says $715 per blog, not blogger. However, we can still make…
Our DonorsChoose blogger challenge ends on Friday, and we've still got a couple of projects left to fund in our challenge. Yes, we've added a few along the way, but there's still a few of Alice's original picks that have been sitting there all month just waiting for your $. You're making Alice a sad engineer. And not just Alice, Academic Crossroads has also been waiting to see these projects funded, and even put a plea on her blog. Both of these projects have gone from 0% funded to well on their way to realization, but they each need Don't let your sisters down, make some kids and teachers…
Hear ye, hear ye! I am looking for an awesome up-and-coming scholar to work with on ADVANCE. See the job advertisement below! Email me with questions! Spread the word! Thanks! ADVANCE-Purdue and the Purdue Center for Faculty Success (PCFS) invite applications for a postdoctoral scholar. We are seeking a highly-motivated up-and-coming researcher to help develop and administer a series of research studies associated with increasing the number of women, particularly women of color, in faculty positions in the Colleges of Science, Technology, and Engineering at Purdue University. This…