Collaborative Research: Career development: from senior undergraduates to navigating assistant professorship

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This engineering education research project is implementing a series of one day workshops at each of the three partner institutions (The University of Akron, The University of Houston, and Mississippi State University), led by the PI team with faculty from each institution. The goal of the workshops is to increase the numbers of underrepresented engineering students who complete graduate degrees in engineering and pursue academic careers. It is expected that approximately 200 students will attend each workshop which will include discussion of the following topics: faculty careers, time management, the science of STEM teaching, culturally responsive teaching, mentoring/career coaching and graduate education. The proposed activity, if successful, will advance our knowledge of best practices in the recruitment and training of underrepresented graduate students for faculty careers.The broader significance and importance of this project is in its intent to have engineering students view the engineering faculty profession as a viable career alternative. With the preparation provided through these workshops, the potential for success of those that choose to join the engineering faculty ranks will be strengthened through knowledge of successful practices. By exposing workshop participants to the concept of culturally responsive teaching, this project will result in engineering faculty who practice inclusive pedagogies in their classrooms. This, in turn has the potential to impact large numbers of undergraduate students, improving their educational environment to facilitate improved learning outcomes.This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goals of working with academic institutions seeking to enhance capability for their faculty and students, sharing learning and expanding effective practices focused on broadening participation. Additionally, NSF values and promotes the use of inquiry-based instructional practices that improve the nation?s capacity to draw in and retain students in STEM fields, including students from underrepresented groups and institutions.