Applying Research-Based Instructional Methods in the Classroom

This project is introducing and increasing the rigor of education-related research in engineering technology programs through professional development for engineering technology faculty in two-year colleges. It is adapting a successful NSF project, Rigorous Research in Engineering Education: Creating a Community of Practice (NSF 0341127), which helped engineering faculty to conduct rigorous educational research. The project is helping faculty find and apply previously tested instructional methods in educational research literature. Other objectives include assisting engineering technology faculty to improve their skills in literature review research, problem definition development, proposal writing, and presentation of their educational research findings as well as promoting ongoing utilization of support services of the NSF-ATE-sponsored National Centers. This project is establishing ongoing communities of practice among educators to continue to discuss and test innovations at their home colleges. It is testing the transferability of the rigorous research model to an entirely different subject group, evaluating the effectiveness of the significant use of synchronous and asynchronous communication support tools, and testing the effectiveness of NSF-ATE-sponsored National Centers in support of required literature reviews and publication support. Women and underrepresented groups are participating in the intensive professional development workshop.