Thoughts from the Chair
Knock knock – Who’s there? – Stopwatch – Stopwatch who? – Stopwatch you’re doing because this newsletter is gonna be good! Remember that laughter can be a powerful medicine. As the spring semester is in full swing, find something to laugh about.
Bradley Bowen, PCEE Division Chair (bowenb@vt.edu)
Know Someone Deserving of a PCEE Division Award?
Do you know someone worthy of being recognized by the PCEE division for their work? Division Awards are meant to highlight excellence service and scholarly contributions within the division. One or more of the following awards will be presented each year at the Division’s annual business meeting:
- Meritorious Service – This award is given to a PCEE Division member who has provided exemplary service in alignment with the PCEE Division Vision, Mission, and Core Beliefs and in support of pre-college engineering education efforts within ASEE. Such service goes above and beyond baseline expectations for service within elected or appointed positions.
- Lifetime Achievement – This award is given to a PCEE Division member who has provided a high standard of service in alignment with the PCEE Division Vision, Mission, and Core Beliefs and in support of pre-college engineering education efforts within ASEE, and who has made significant and sustained contributions (10 years or more) to the field of pre-college engineering education.
Ready to nominate? No later than February 15 (why not now – before your forget?!), use this form to give us a name and 200-word maximum paragraph nomination that makes the case for why the candidate is appropriate for the award. Selfnominations are allowed.
PCEE Division Awards nominations form: https://forms.gle/KBErXT5thL3soE2PA
Strong Teacher Participation at NSTA Regional Conferences
Over 170 P12 teachers participated in the four engaging, hands-on sessions lead by PCEE Division members at the Seattle NSTA Regional conference! Teacher satisfaction was high as they learned new techniques and left with things to implement in their own classes. Sessions were also run by division members at the Cincinnati and Salt Lake conferences. Do you have a hands-on P12 engineering workshop that can be run in 50 minutes? We are seeking presenters for the 2020 NSTA regional conferences:
Pittsburgh, PA – October 29-31
New Orleans, LA – November 19-21
Phoenix, AZ – Dec 10-12
Contact Martha Cyr at martha.cyr@gmail.com if you are interested or have any questions. Session submission deadline is January 31st.
2020 ASEE Annual Conference – Distinguished Lecturer!
I am pleased to announce our proposal for a distinguished lecturer was accepted! We are collaborating with MIND and WIED to host Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull, Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from the University of California, Davis. She will be presenting a talk titled, “Creating Inclusive and Diverse P12 Learning Environments” on Wednesday, June 24, from 1:45-3:15 pm. Please put this on your calendar and get the word out to show our support. You can read more about Dr. Tull at https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/renetta-garrison-tull.
Can’t Make it to the Annual Conference?
ASEE has regional and section meetings and conferences that may be a better fit for your schedule. Check out the opportunities at https://www.asee.org/conferences-and-events/meetings/section-meetings.
Division Opportunities
There are many opportunities to become involved with PCEE division activities. Please contact me at bowenb@vt.edu if you are interested.
PCEE Division Bylaws
The PCEE Bylaws have been officially approved by the ASEE Board on December 18, 2019. Thank you to Martha and all the others that worked on those changes. Nice work! A full version of the bylaws can be viewed at: PCEE Division Bylaws 2019.12.18
Job Postings
Tenure track positions in the Department of Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology at Millersville
University of Pennsylvania. Assistant Professor, Automation & Electronics Technologies
https://jobs.millersville.edu/postings/8147; Assistant Professor, Manufacturing Technology
https://jobs.millersville.edu/postings/8145; Assistant Professor, Construction Management
https://jobs.millersville.edu/postings/8171
Tenure-track or tenured faculty position – Engineering Education, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://apply.interfolio.com/69641
Assistant/Associate Professor to direct the first year engineering course – College of Engineering, University of Delaware. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://careers.udel.edu/cw/en-us/job/494517
Full-time tenure track position in Technology and Engineering Studies – School of Technology at Brigham Young University. For more information and to apply, please visit: http://yjobs.byu.edu/ or contact Dr. Steven Shumway at (801) 422-6496 or at steve_shumway@byu.edu.
Three Faculty Positions; one Assistant Professor and two Visiting Assistant Professors – Department of Technology, State University of New York at Oswego. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://www.oswego.edu/human-resources/
Postdoctoral Researcher – Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) and Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI), Tufts University. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://tufts.app.box.com/s/31ncy30sr13wxfpx7uztwygot5rxjvdk
Assistant or Associate Professor of Engineering Education – School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://careers.purdue.edu/job/West-Lafayette-Assistant-or-Associate-Professor-of-Engineering-Education-IN-47906/585050900/
Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professorship of Engineering Education – School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. For more information and to apply, please visit: https://careers.purdue.edu/job/West-Lafayette-Dale-and-Suzi-Gallagher-Professorship-of-Engineering-Education-IN-47906/585458300/
Other Opportunities and Announcements
A Workshop to Broaden Participation in Engineering by Creating Cultures of Inclusion
The planning committee for the NSF sponsored workshop to “Broaden Participation in Engineering by Creating Cultures of Inclusion” (EEC – 1946840) invites applications for participants who will come together to 1) create an inventory of research-based promising practices that promote inclusivity and 2) design a future research agenda around creating cultures of inclusion that will inform and enhance fundamental understandings of what cultures of inclusion look like and how to achieve them.
Both researchers and practitioners with interests in broadening participation in engineering and creating inclusive cultures in engineering are encouraged to apply.
The workshop will start on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 2 pm at the conclusion of the CoNECD conference in Crystal City, VA, and conclude at 2 pm Thursday, April 23, 2020. There will be some pre- and post-workshop activity, but the intent is that the majority of the work will be done at the workshop.
Applications are due Sunday, January 26th, 2020. Participants will be selected by the planning committee and be notified no later than February 21, 2020 with additional details. A travel stipend of $500 will be offered to each selected participant.
In addition to brief background information, the application will ask for:
1. A brief statement (250 words or less) on how the applicant’s participation has the potential to advance our efforts to elucidate a set of research-based promising practices that promote inclusivity.
2. A brief statement (250 words or less) on how the applicant’s participation can contribute to designing a research agenda around creating cultures of inclusion that will inform and enhance fundamental understandings of what cultures of inclusion look like and how to achieve them.
3. A 2 page version of the applicant’s biosketch or resume.
Applications are available at: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_enUt443WENgMh93. Please direct questions to Beth Holloway at holloway@purdue.edu.
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education Journal Science
Consider submitting a manuscript to the CITE Journal Science as they are trying to put together an edition on engineering education. For more information please go to https://www.citejournal.org/
Florida International University launches a PhD Program in Engineering and Computing Education
Florida International University, the fourth largest public university in the United States, and a premier majority-minority R1 research university, is launching a PhD in Engineering and Computing Education in Fall 2020. Researchers in engineering and computing education research engage in projects to understand how people learn within these fields and how we can improve the design of educational experiences for all interested learners. FIU’s PhD program seeks to prepare students to not only conduct and direct research in engineering and/or computing education, but also to be leaders in a diverse set of professional trajectories both inside and outside an academic setting. Our faculty focus on a variety of research areas in K-12, higher education, and the engineering workplace, with specialties in diversity, inclusion and equity research as well as faculty development, engineering design, and entrepreneurship. To learn more about this new program, check out our website: http://succeed.fiu.edu and reach out to our faculty. See more here: http://engineeringcas.liaisoncas.org/apply/
E4USA Project
The course, Engineering For Us All (E4USA), empowers, engages, and excites students to use what they know and find what they are passionate about to take control and boldly influence the world. Empowerment is built through an awareness of engineering in everyday life, the diversity of engineers, and by interrogating and emphasizing how engineering is embedded in society. Read more about it on this project summary document. For more information contact e4usa@umd.edu. More information is also available at https://e4usa.umd.edu/.
AAAS STEM Volunteer Program
The AAAS STEM Volunteer Program (stemvolunteers.org) has placed retired and still working STEM professionals in DC area K-12 classrooms for 15 years. The program began in 2004 when a group of retired AAAS members approached the science supervisor in Montgomery County Public Schools to ask how they could assist teachers in the classroom. The key word is “assist.” Our volunteers develop partnerships with teachers to give them support teaching STEM. This can include giving presentations about STEM topics, being a content resource for students, helping design and evaluate experiments, helping with science fairs, and so on. They commit to the entire school with retirees typically in classrooms a couple of hours a week and volunteers still working a few hours every 2-3 weeks. They are currently recruiting new volunteers for the 2019-2020 school year. Around 200 volunteers supported teachers in 10 school districts in the 2018-2019 school year. Please contact Betty Calinger, Project Director American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at bcalinge@aaas.org for more information and to volunteer.
https://youtu.be/I5LcNk0OymY (Fairfax County)
https://youtu.be/HP4vvqKf4bQ (Montgomery County)
Research Participation Opportunity – Survey to bridge the researcher-practitioner divide
Existing studies suggest that researchers and practitioners view the role of research in education differently; and this difference partly explains the disconnect between research and practice. Though reasonable argued, this idea has not been empirically investigated. In an effort to take steps toward bridging this gap between research and practice in engineering education, a survey was developed to test this idea (http://tinyurl.com/y3xkqjjz). Complete this brief survey today and enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card. Feel free to contact Drs. Jeremi London (jslondon@vt.edu) or Bev Watford (deuce@vt.edu) if you have questions. This work is supported by NSF Award #1911331.
Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) Research Collaborative Partners with the American Society for Engineering Education to Establish a Defined and Cohesive Educational Sequence for P-12 Engineering
The Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) research collaborative (www.p12engineering.org) announces a partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to establish a defined and cohesive educational sequence to serve as the foundation for P-12 Engineering Standards. National educational content standards in science and technology have included engineering practices and content as way to facilitate design-based, engineering learning experiences in the classroom. Previous standards, however, may provide a too narrow of a view to adequately describe authentic engineering, specifically with concern to engineering content and competencies beyond design.
In 2016, the AE3 research collaborative initiated a “call to action” to build a community with a shared focus, vision, and research agenda to develop a coherent framework for P-12 engineering learning in an effort to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to think, learn, and act like an engineer. “It is clear through curricula efforts such as Engineering is Elementary, Engineer Your World, and Engineering 4 Us All that P-12 schools are eager for engineering learning experiences developed by the engineering community,” said Michael Grubbs, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at AE3. “Our partnership with ASEE will enable us to better leverage the knowledge generated through those efforts and experts from the educational and engineering fields to develop a Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning. This foundational work will serve as a launching point to advance the quality and reach of P-12 engineering programs throughout the country and will, inevitably, set the foundation for the nation’s first P-12 educational standards for engineering.”
The partnership with ASEE will provide a pathway for ideas and innovations in engineering education to reach school systems eager to implement engineering with fidelity. ASEE Executive Director Dr. Norman Fortenberry said, “There is an increasing proliferation of products and activities that claim to provide either an understanding of engineering work or to prepare students for the collegiate study of engineering. At ASEE, we think it critical that these products and activities be part of an age-appropriate cohesive education sequence and, ideally, consistent with national P-12 Engineering Standards. We want students to understand what engineering is and what it is not.” Fortenberry elaborated, “We view ‘truth in advertising’ as an ethical obligation to ensure that students make informed choices about whether and how studying engineering contributes to their long-term career goals. Our collaboration with AE3 is a crucial first step in providing quality assurance for P-12 engineering programs.”
AE3 is a research collaborative that seeks to promote collaboration across the engineering and education communities to, foremost, pursue a vision and direction for P-12 Engineering Education; and second to develop a coherent and dynamic content framework for scaffolding the teaching and learning of engineering in P-12 schools. In 2016, AE3 launched the Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning project to establish a coherent curricular structure for the dimensions of engineering literacy and conduct research on the learning of engineering concepts/skills to better understand how to achieve engineering literacy for all. AE3 consists of researchers, teachers, industry and K-12 schools district partners, and thought leaders with a shared vision to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to think, learn, and act like an engineer.
Any question or comments regarding this partnership can be forwarded to your ASEE P12 Board of Directors Representatives; Martha Cyr (martha.cyr@gmail.com) or Bradley Bowen (bowenb@vt.edu)