Research Foci:
The major research focus of the ITL Program is exploring and assessing hands-on engineering education across a wide variety of engineering disciplines and teaching techniques. Research questions spanning the K-16 continuum of immediate interest include:
- What is the importance of societal impact within hands-on design projects? Do projects with significant societal impact provide a better learning experience? Does it motivate students to higher levels of effort? Does the societal factor affect some students more than others?
- What is the impact of visualization tools in teaching the subject of dynamics? Do computer-based modeling and simulation tools provide a better learning experience? Do the effects vary depending on the learning styles of the students?
- What is the importance of homework (problem sets) in engineering education? If students are given the choice to do, and be graded on, homework or to be graded solely on exams, what impact does it have on their learning? What impact on teaching assistant and course resources?
- How can active learning techniques be integrated into traditional lecture formats? What techniques allow committed lecturers to improve the effectiveness and popularity of their courses?
- What techniques provide the largest impact for the smallest time investments? What can we learn from standardized concept inventory exams? Are they reliable metrics of student learning for various institutions with varied curricula? What information can they provide to current and future instructors? Is their primary value in measurement or as a tool in a continuous improvement cycle?
- What impact does early and pervasive (weekly in grades 3-8) engineering experiences have on high school students’ interest in engineering?
- Why do we differentially lose both girls and under-represented minority youth retaining their interest in engineering as they transition from middle school to high school?
- Are the attitudes of our participant high school girls — who have had early and pervasive engineering experiences — different from those reported by 14-17 year old girls in the Extraordinary Women Engineers study? The NAE Public Understanding of Engineering study? If yes, to gain understanding of those differences to better understand the role that authentic elementary and middle school engineering experiences have on girls’ later choices.
- What is the impact of integrated exposure to engineering as part of a science and technology focus high school on students’ collegiate interest in engineering — especially those typically underrepresented in engineering: women, students of color, first-generation and low-income students?
- Do traditional engineering merit scholarship criteria over- or under-predict actual engineering program academic success of women, students of color and low-income engineering students?
- What is the impact of a first-year engineering projects course experience on student retention?
- For young children, how early do students associate and understand engineering as a different enterprise (such as they do at an early age for doctors, firefighters, teachers, etc.)?
Contact Information:
Jacqueline F. Sullivan
Co-Direcotr, ITL Program
303-492-8303
jacquelyn.sullivan@colorado.edu
Derek T. Reamon
Co-Direcotr, ITL Program
303-735-0484
derek.reamon@colorado.edu
University of Colorado at Boulder
Integrated Teaching and Learning Program
College of Enginering and Applied Science
1045 Regent Drive
522 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0522