Transforming Engineering Education Through the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) Program

A Change Café Webinar

Thursday, May 16, 2019

10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET

Presenter: Julie Martin (National Science Foundation)

Registration is closed.

Abstract

The National Science Foundation's Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) program currently funds 19 projects that are designing revolutionary new approaches to engineering and computer science education, ranging from changing the canon of engineering to fundamentally altering the way courses are structured to creating new departmental structures and educational collaborations with industry. A common thread across these projects is a focus on organizational and cultural change within the departments, involving students, faculty, staff, and industry in rethinking what it means to provide an engineering program. Beginning with the FY19 solicitation, too catalyze revolutionary approaches, while expanding the reach of those that have proved efficacious in particular contexts, the RED program will support two tracks: RED Innovation and RED Adaptation and Implementation (RED-A&I). RED Innovation projects will develop new, revolutionary approaches and change strategies that enable the transformation of undergraduate engineering education. RED Adaptation and Implementation projects will adapt and implement evidence-based organizational change strategies and actions to the local context, which helps propagate this transformation of undergraduate engineering education. Projects in both tracks will include consideration of the cultural, organizational, structural, and pedagogical changes needed to transform the department to one in which students are engaged, develop their technical and professional skills, and establish identities as professional engineers. The focus of projects in both tracks is on the department's disciplinary courses and program. During this webinar, program director Dr. Julie Martin will introduce the RED program and its projects and reflect on the impact RED is having on engineering and computer science education.

Audience

This webinar is designed for STEM faculty, disciplinary, and institutional change makers (e.g., department chairs, vice provosts, administrators, educational developers, faculty learning community facilitators, disciplinary association members and leaders). It may have particular interest for those who are seeking NSF funding for the change projects they have in mind.

Goals

As a result of this webinar, participants will be prepared to:
  • Understand the goals and outcomes associated with the RED program
  • Decide on the most appropriate track for their RED proposal idea
  • Identify elements of a successful RED proposals

Logistics

Registration is closed.

Time - 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET
Duration - 60 minutes
Format - Online web presentation via Zoom web meeting software with questions and discussion. Go to the webinar technology page for more information on using Zoom. Detailed instructions for joining the webinar will be emailed to registered participants one day prior to the webinar.
Preparation - There is no advance preparation required for this webinar.

Please email Mitchell Awalt (mawalt at carleton.edu) if you have any technical questions about this event.

Presenter

Julie P. Martin is the program director for engineering education in the Directorate for Engineering at NSF. She manages a portfolio with an annual budget of approximately $20M with nearly active 250 grants ranging in size from $200,000 to $2M. These projects include Revolutionizing Engineering Department (RED) grants, which support teams that serve as national exemplars of organizational culture change. Julie also manages the Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) program, the Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF) program, as well as the engineering education CAREER program. In addition to her programmatic work at NSF, she recently worked on an interagency group headed by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy with members from 15 federal agencies to write the 5-Year STEM Education Strategic Plan for the federal government. Julie considers her most important work as a program director to be cultivating a network of researchers who care deeply about improving educational experiences of students.

Program

ASCN Webinar 05.16.19 Presentation Slides (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 731kB May16 19)

  1. Welcome and introductory marks
  2. Presentation
  3. Q&A
  4. Webinar evaluation

Resources and References

Click to view or download the webinar screencast (MP4 Video 223.4MB May16 19).

  • RED Solicitation
  • RED webinar slides and transcript
  • Jamieson, L., and Lohman, J. (2012). Innovation with Impact: Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education. Washington, DC: American Society for Engineering Education.
  • Watson, K. (2009). Change in Engineering Education: Where does Research Fit? Journal of Engineering Education, 98(1): 3-4.
  • Spalter-Roth, R., Fortenberry, N., and Lovitts, B. (2007). The Acceptance and Diffusion of Innovation: A Cross-Curricular Perspective on Instructional and Curricular Change in Engineering. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association and National Academy of Engineering Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education.
  • National Academy of Engineering (2005). Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
  • Webinar Developing a Competitive RED Proposal presented by current RED awardees, https://academicchange.org/
  • Journal of Engineering Education Special Issue: The Complexities of Transforming Engineering Higher Education, April 2014, 103(2): 183-361.
  • Johri, A. and Olds, B. (2014). Cambridge Handbook of Engineering Education Research. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • National Academy of Engineering. (2013). Educating Engineers: Preparing 21st Century Leader in the Context of New Modes of Learning. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
  • ASEE. Transforming Undergraduate Education in Engineering: Phase I: Synthesizing and Integrating Industry Perspectives, May 9-10, 2013. Workshop Report