Project Details
Funding: National Science Foundation Award #2105156
Project PI's: Drs. Heidi Diefes-Dux & Grace Panther
Amount and Years: $349,997, 2021 - 2025
Abstract: Engineering education lags behind some other science, technology, and math disciplines in the use of best teaching practices. University engineering faculty's adoption of such practices is a national priority because the expectation is that the use of best practices will result in more innovative and creative designs, a more diverse workforce, and students that are better prepared for their career. Use of a wide array of teaching practices and strategies (WATPS) have been shown to improve student outcomes and increase persistence in engineering, especially among underrepresented groups. Yet, many university engineering faculty continue to use traditional teaching methods, hindering the success of engineering students. This project is significant as COVID-19 spurred an unprecedented change to the way university faculty deliver their courses. Studying how faculty adapted their teaching practices under unprecedented conditions that forced them to change and whether they retain these changes and continue to grow as instructors is important for guiding the design of resources to help faculty adopt a WATPS. This project will contribute to the Research in the Formation of Engineers program by identifying the supports that a range of faculty need to promote the development of a capable and diverse engineering workforce. 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 WATPS relative to their adaptability and course complexity. This project is significant because it is the first comprehensive study exploring the impacts of a crisis-induced change and persistence of change to teaching practices through an adaptability framework. The overarching research questions are: How does course complexity, as indicated by the array of teaching practices and strategies and their associated challenge to implement, change during migration to a new normal following a forced change? What supports and barriers exist for instructors of differing adaptability given the courses that they teach? These research questions will be answered using a sequential mixed-methods approach that includes a combination of surveys, interviews, and teaching artifacts. This study will contribute fundamental knowledge on instructors’ adaptability and the changing complexity of instructors’ teaching practices and strategies when faced with the need to deliver courses differently. The proposed research will be novel and original in its use of adaptability theory to understand how an external motivator impacts faculty teaching at an R1 university. 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
Journal Publications
Panther, G. & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023). Application of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Emotional adaptability lens for interpreting the teaching experiences of engineering instructors during a switch to remote instruction. International Journal of Engineering Education, 39(5), 1216-1233.
Book Chapters
Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023). Workplace learning and adaptability frameworks for conceptualizing faculty development. In S. M. Linder, C. Lee, & K. High (Eds.), Handbook of STEM faculty development. (pp. 221-234). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Conference Papers
Cover, J., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2024). Learning management system feature use in mechanical engineering second- and third-year courses before, during, and after a disruption. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Wulf, H., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2024). Indicators of change in mechanical engineering instructors’ teaching practices across five years. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Bobbett, D., Diefes-Dux, H. A., & Panther, G. (2023). Detecting dimensions of significant learning in syllabi using a course change typology. Proc. of ASEE Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, MD. https://peer.asee.org/43009
Brijmohan, Y., Diefes-Dux, H. A., & Panther, G. (2023). Response process validity of the CBE adaptability instrument when used with engineering instructors. Proc. of ASEE Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, MD. https://peer.asee.org/44127
Diefes-Dux, H. A., Panther, G., & Osen, K. (2023). A measure of engineering instructors’ adaptability based on cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions. Proc. of ASEE Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, MD https://peer.asee.org/42420
Panther, G., Diefes-Dux, H. A., & Mowat, K. (2023). Self-reported emotions of engineering instructors during and after a sudden change. Proc. of ASEE Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, MD https://peer.asee.org/44191
Brijmohan, Y., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2022). University engineering instructors’ expressions of individual adaptability during a semester of emergency remote teaching. Proc. of ASEE Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. https://strategy.asee.org/41068
Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2022). A case study of engineering instructor adaptability through evidence of course complexity changes. Proc. of SEFI Annual Conference, Barcelona, Spain.
Posters
Wulf, H., Kerr, G., Panther, G, & Diefes-Dux, H. (2024, Mar. 27). Use of syllabi to determine changes in the facilitation of learning in engineering. Student Research Days, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Zavala, S., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2024, Mar. 26). Shifts in grade weight of assessments in engineering syllabi. Student Research Days, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Cover, J., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Aug. 2 & 3). Strategies in course delivery: Effects of a significant disruption on instructors’ learning management system feature use in required second- and third-year courses. [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Cvach, M., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Aug. 2 & 3). Learning Management Systems (LMS) feature use in core 2nd and 3rd year civil engineering courses. [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Milharcic, M., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Aug. 2 & 3). Complexion of the complex: Engineering course environment complexity trends. [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Momanyi, J., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Aug. 2 & 3). A response to crisis: Instructor facilitation of learning communities as seen in syllabi. [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Wu, M., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Aug. 2 & 3). Chart the course: Identifying the presence of technical and professional skills in engineering syllabi over time. [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Cover, J., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2023, Apr. 3). Changes in course delivery: The effect of a significant disruption on instructors’ LMS feature use. [Poster Presentation]. XDBER Conference, Virtual. Poster
Osen, K., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2022, August 4&5). Differences among university engineering instructor’s adaptability [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair & Summer Research Symposium, Lincoln, NE. Poster
Bobbett, D., McArthur, M., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2022, August 4). Evidence of teaching practices and strategies through the course complexity typology [Poster Presentation]. COE Summer Undergraduate Research Fair, Lincoln, NE. Poster