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The AMPLIFY Project: Experiences of Engineering Instructional Faculty at HSIs

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42045

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/42045

Download Count

174

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Paper Authors

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Meagan Kendall University of Texas at El Paso

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Dr. Meagan R. Kendall is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and Leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, she received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in Biomechanics, from The University of Texas at Austin. An engineering education researcher, her work focuses on enhancing engineering students' motivation, exploring engineering identity formation, engineering faculty development, developing integrated course sequences, and methods for involving students in curriculum development and teaching through Peer Designed Instruction. Dr. Kendall's scholarship emphasizes the professional formation of engineers, specifically through the development and application of the Contextual Engineering Leadership Development framework. Bringing together her work in engineering leadership development, curriculum design, and collaborative design, her current focus is on developing engineering instructional faculty as leaders of educational change at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Dr. Kendall is the Division Chair of the Engineering Leadership Development (LEAD) Division of the American Society of Engineering Education and a Technical Program Chair for the Frontiers in Education Conference 2022.

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Henry Salgado University of Texas at El Paso

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University of Texas at El Paso

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Alexandra Strong Florida International University

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Alexandra Coso Strong works and teaches at the intersection of engineering education, faculty development, and complex systems design. Strong completed her doctorate in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech in spring, 2014. While a doctoral student, Strong was a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow and a member of the Cognitive Engineering Center. The goal of her doctorate research was to improve students’ abilities to think more broadly about complex systems design and to take into account stakeholder-related considerations within their design projects. Prior to attending Georgia Tech, Strong received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from MIT (2007) and a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia (2010). For her master’s degree work, she developed a mixed methods research design to examine undergraduate engineering students’ prior knowledge about interdisciplinary approaches to design and problem-solving. Strong comes to FIU after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Georgia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and three years as a faculty member at Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts. Strong’s research aims to improve the design of educational experiences for students by critically examining the work and learning environments of practitioners. Specifically, she focuses on (1) how to design and change educational and work systems through studies of practicing engineers and educators and (2) how to help students transition into, through and out of educational and work systems.

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Gemma Henderson University of Miami

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Yamile Urquidi University of Texas at El Paso

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Yamile is a graduate research assistant at The University of Texas at El Paso, pursuing a master's degree in Engineering with concentrations in Environmental Engineering and Engineering Education. Yamile's active research interests center around the intersection of engineering, education, and sustainability. Yamile plans to pursue a multidisciplinary PhD in Environmental Engineering.

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Valerie Bracho Perez Florida International University

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Valerie Vanessa Bracho Perez is an upcoming mechanical engineering Ph.D student at Florida International University. She also holds a Bachelor’s and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from FIU. Her research interest includes integrating LAs into engineering courses, and examining teaching practices in engineering courses.

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Ines Basalo University of Miami

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Abstract

The AMPLIFY project, funded through the NSF HSI Program, seeks to amplify the educational change leadership of Engineering Instructional Faculty (EIF) working at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). HSIs are public or private institutions of higher education enrolling over 25% full-time undergraduate Hispanic or Latinx-identifying students [1]. Many HSIs are exemplars of developing culturally responsive learning environments and supporting the persistence and access of Latinx engineering students, as well as students who identify as members of other marginalized populations [2]. Our interest in the EIF population at HSIs arises from the growing body of literature indicating that these faculty play a central role in educational change through targeted initiatives, such as student-centered support programs and the use of inclusive curricula that connect to their students’ cultural identities [3]–[7]. Our research focuses on exploring methods for amplifying the engineering educational change efforts at HSIs by 1) making visible the experiences of engineering instructional faculty at HSIs and 2) designing, implementing, and evaluating a leadership development model for engineering instructional faculty, thereby 3) equipping and supporting these faculty as they lead educational change efforts.

To achieve these goals, our project team, comprising educational researchers, engineering instructional faculty, instructional designers, and graduate students from three HSIs (two majority-minority and one emerging HSI), seeks to address the following research questions: 1) What factors impact the self-efficacy and agency of EIF at HSIs to engage in educational change initiatives that encourage culturally responsive, evidence-based teaching within their classrooms, institutions, or beyond? 2) What are the necessary competencies for EIF to be leaders of this sort of educational change? 3) What individual, institutional, and professional development program features support the educational change leadership development of EIF at HSIs? 4) How does engagement in leadership development programming impact EIF educational leadership self-efficacy and agency toward developing and using culturally responsive and evidence-based approaches at HSIs? This multi-year project uses various qualitative, quantitative, and participatory research methods embedded in a series of action research cycles to provide a richer understanding of the successes and needs of EIF at HSIs [8]. The subsequent design and implementation of the AMPLIFY Institute will make visible the features and content of instructional faculty development programs that promote educational innovation at HSIs and foster a deeper understanding of the framework's impact on faculty innovation and leadership.

Kendall, M., & Salgado, H., & Strong, A., & Henderson, G., & Urquidi, Y., & Bracho Perez, V., & Basalo, I. (2022, August), The AMPLIFY Project: Experiences of Engineering Instructional Faculty at HSIs Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--42045

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