Building Capacity for Future Engineering Education Research and Scholarship

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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has great benefits to society, from supporting new technological developments that benefit humanity to preparing a 21st century workforce. As societal needs change, our nation?s education system needs to adapt by developing new educational content that stays abreast of changing technology, new ways of teaching that engage computer-literate students, and building on our increasing knowledge of how effective learning occurs. The workshop funded in this proposal will better allow the engineering education researchers who discover how to improve STEM education to effectively communicate the latest discoveries to those who help devise and implement education policy. Such communication is critical if the United States education system is to continue to effectively adapt to 21st century challenges. To help build robust communication channels, the workshop brings together leaders and emerging leaders in engineering education, policy makers in both the public and private sectors, and representatives of organizations that impact policy decisions using chain-referral sampling. The workshop uses a framework designed to develop value propositions that can resonate with the diverse entities that make up the engineering education ecosystem; these entities are represented at the workshop. In-depth evaluation will capture actionable lessons that can inform related efforts in other communities. The workshop has potentially broad impact since it builds capacity for more effectively implementing findings from research into the educational policy decisions that affect large numbers of current and future students. Participation of the needed diverse elements of the larger engineering education system is addressed.