IUSE/PFE: RED: REvolutionizing Diversity Of Engineering (REDO-E)

IUSE/PFE：RED：彻底改变工程多样性（REDO-E）

• 批准号: 1730693
• 负责人: Rodney Bowersox
• 金额: $ 200万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-07-15 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1730693&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IUSE; PFE; RED; REvolutionizing; Diversity

Numerous national reports assert improving diversity of students in key engineering majors, such as aerospace, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering, are national priorities. While lack of diversity in aerospace engineering has been acknowledged as a problem for over 20 years, past and current initiatives have not achieved substantial progress. Through the REvolutionizing Diversity Of Engineering project, the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University will dramatically improve the diversity, inclusion, and quality of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members. The transformation will be achieved through three strategies: (a) Increasing department activity and visibility of non-traditional applications of fundamental aerospace engineering content, such as a shifting from an almost exclusive focus on airplanes and spacecraft to emphasizing more modern applications, including energy systems, the environment, healthcare, and quality of life; (b) Supporting student success through widespread use of student-engaged instructional strategies to address more diverse learners and learning styles, faculty development programs to improve student-team dynamics and student-instructor relationships, and self-paced, competency-based modules to complement existing curricula for all undergraduate aerospace students; and (c) Increasing diversity and excellence of departmental faculty through changes in faculty hiring practices. This project applies the literature on organizational change, faculty development, student engagement, microaggressions, implicit bias, and student success to design and enact a comprehensive departmental transformation. The project will (a) create and annually update self-paced, competency-based online modules to remediate barriers faced by aerospace engineering students with non-traditional demographic characteristics, backgrounds, and learning styles; (b) include non-traditional applications in the curriculum; (c) train faculty to use instructional strategies to address and remediate microaggressions and implicit biases and incorporate active learning pedagogical techniques in their classrooms; and (d) improve breadth of recruitment and retention efforts to support increased diversity and success of students. Addressing the issue of diversity from multiple dimensions (including recruitment, curriculum redesign, student-engaged instructional approaches, faculty development, and interventions to improve faculty diversity) increases the likelihood that project goals will be achieved. The REDO-E project has prepared extensive research and evaluation plans to determine the extent to which these initiatives are achieving transformation goals. Research initiatives will address each of the above goals through four research questions: 1) How will incorporating non-traditional applications of aerospace into the core curriculum affect diversity? 2) To what extent will an intensive faculty development program affect diversity, classroom climate, and department climate? 3) How will use of online, self-paced, competency-based modules affect diversity? 4) To what extent do the proposed set of interventions impact the diversity of an aerospace department over time? This project aligns with college goals for improving diversity and college administration support for groundbreaking project approaches. The department, which is part of a university system that has nine engineering programs, will further team with department heads from highly ranked peer institutions and participate in a yearly forum of aerospace engineering department heads from across the nation. These resources will be engaged to support discussions on adaptability and scalability that can lead to larger impacts and revolutionize engineering education.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Undergraduate Education; the Division of Engineering Education and Centers; the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation; the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems; and the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships; reflecting the alignment of this project with the respective goals of the divisions and their programs.

许多国家报告都声称，提高航空航天、机械、电气和计算机工程等关键工程专业学生的多样性是国家的优先事项。虽然20多年来，航空航天工程缺乏多样性一直被认为是一个问题，但过去和目前的举措都没有取得实质性进展。通过工程项目的革命多样性，航空航天工程系在得克萨斯州A M大学将大大提高多样性，包容性和本科生，研究生和教师的质量。（a）增加部门活动和基本航空航天工程内容的非传统应用的可见度，例如从几乎只关注飞机和航天器转向强调更现代的应用，包括能源系统、环境、保健和生活质量;（B）通过广泛使用学生参与的教学策略来支持学生的成功，以解决更多样化的学习者和学习风格，教师发展计划，以改善学生团队的动态和学生与教师的关系，以及自定进度，（c）通过改变教员聘用做法，提高系内教员的多样性和优秀性。该项目应用文献组织变革，教师发展，学生参与，微侵略，内隐偏见，学生的成功设计和制定一个全面的部门转型。该项目将（a）创建并每年更新自定进度的、基于能力的在线模块，以弥补具有非传统人口特征、背景和学习方式的航空航天工程学生所面临的障碍;（B）在课程中纳入非传统应用;（c）第（1）款培训教师使用教学策略来解决和补救微攻击和内隐偏见，并将主动学习教学技术纳入他们的教室;以及（d）扩大招聘和留住人才的工作范围，以支持增加学生的多样性和成功。从多个维度（包括招聘，课程重新设计，学生参与的教学方法，教师发展和干预措施，以提高教师的多样性）解决多样性问题增加了项目目标实现的可能性。REDO-E项目已经制定了广泛的研究和评估计划，以确定这些举措在多大程度上实现了转型目标。研究活动将通过四个研究问题来解决上述每一个目标：1）将航空航天的非传统应用纳入核心课程将如何影响多样性？2)一个密集的教师发展计划在多大程度上会影响多样性，课堂气氛和部门气氛？3)使用在线、自主节奏、基于能力的模块将如何影响多样性？4)随着时间的推移，拟议的一套干预措施在多大程度上影响了航空航天部门的多样性？该项目符合大学的目标，以提高多样性和大学管理支持开创性的项目方法。该部门是拥有9个工程项目的大学系统的一部分，将进一步与来自高级别同行机构的部门负责人合作，并参加来自全国各地的航空航天工程部门负责人的年度论坛。这些资源将用于支持关于适应性和可扩展性的讨论，以产生更大的影响并使工程教育发生革命性变化，该项目由本科教育司、工程教育和中心司、土木、机械和制造业创新司、电气、通信和网络系统司以及工业创新和伙伴关系司联合资助;反映了该项目与各司及其方案的各自目标的一致性。