Current Projects
Enhancing Engineering Students' Ability to Think Deeply about their Learning Through Formal and Continuous Reflection
Project PI's: Drs. Heidi Diefes-Dux, Grace Panther, & Logan Perry
Amount and Years: $597,668, 2023 - 2026
Funding: National Science Foundation Award #2235227
This project aims to serve the national interest by improving engineering students' ability to reflect deeply on their learning. An ability to reflect is a necessary workforce skill. It helps one to learn on their own at work. It is needed for U.S. innovation and economic competitiveness. This project is significant because it focuses on investigating the use of reflection activities across entire engineering degree programs. Engineering teachers will be trained to create and use reflection activities in their classrooms. Practical teacher resources to build reflective capacity will be created. One target outcome is students with a well-developed ability to use reflection to guide their learning as they do engineering work. A second outcome sought is a change in engineering teaching practices.
REU Site: Unpacking the Significance and Rigor of Engineering Education Research
Project PI's: Drs. Grace Panther & Heidi Diefes-Dux
Amount and Years: $392,226, 2023 - 2026
Funding: National Science Foundation Award #2244323
This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site project will support the training of eight students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. Students will be engaged in investigating questions in the area of engineering education research. Professional development activities will help students improve their research and workplace people skills. Professional development activities will be held weekly and include topics such as preparing for the graduate record exam, writing personal statements, networking, finding and reading research, writing about research findings, and mock research presentations.
Research: Evidencing Epidemic Change in Engineering Education: Shedding Light on Instructor Adaptability and Course Complexity for Sustained Change
Project PI's: Drs. Heidi Diefes-Dux & Grace Panther
Amount and Years: $349,997, 2021 - 2024
Funding: National Science Foundation Award #2105156
The objective of this project will be to investigate and document the effects of COVID-19 on engineering faculty’s teaching practices and sustained use of a wide array of teaching practices and strategies (WATPS) relative to their adaptability and course complexity. Outcomes from this work include a typology of teaching complexity, knowledge of instructor adaptability, and rich descriptions of course complexity trends. These outcomes will help inform a Program of Tiered Commitments that engineering colleges, departments, and faculty developers can use to support instructors’ adoption of best teaching practices
Improving Engineering Student Engagement, Self-Efficacy, Diversity Awareness, and Retention using Visualization and Virtual/Augmented Reality Technologies
Project PI's: Drs. Ece Erdogmus (Georgia Tech), Heidi Diefes-Dux, Erica Ryherd, Kyungki Kim, & Catherine Armwood-Gordon (Tennessee State University)
Amount and Years: $1,700,000, 2021 - 2026
Funding: National Science Foundation Award #2111561
Abstract: This project serves the national interest by creating visualization and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) education modules in architectural engineering and construction (AEC) courses that will help improve students’ persistence in the program, self-confidence, and diversity awareness.