Special session — Connecting and expanding the engineering education research community

Several universities have established or are considering establishing engineering education research centers and PhD programs. The aim of this special session is to provide an opportunity for representatives of established engineering education research programs to network with one another, to welcome representatives from emerging programs, and to provide guidance to colleagues who are considering establishing centers and PhD programs. Colleagues from established programs are encouraged to bring descriptions of their programs to distribute, and to be prepared to help others establish engineering education research programs. The session is open to everyone who is interested in fostering the continued development of the engineering education research community. We propose to utilize the occasion to brainstorm new and innovative ideas for improving the intellectual climate in engineering education research programs, as well as identify ways to continue to network. We will set up a space on the Collaboratory for Engineering Education Research (CLEERhub.org) where we will post the program descriptions (and links). We will encourage session participants to review the materials that are posted prior to the Special Session. We will encourage participants to use CLEERhub.org as a means for following up after the session.

Introduction

The engineering education research community is growing rapidly through the emergence of PhD granting programs in the US (Purdue, Virginia Tech, Utah State, Clemson, Carnegie Mellon, and Arizona State) and Europe, India, Malaysia, and Mexico. Also, several universities have established Centers that emphasize engineering education research, including the University of Washington, Colorado School of Mines, Ohio State University, Washington State University, Michigan State University, and others.