ASEE 2022
Catalyzing Collaborations: Networking to build teams for NSF RIEF grants was held in-person at ASEE 2022. This event was focused on helping those new to the field of EER and those experienced in the field find others to work on NSF: RIEF grants. It also provided an opportunity for both parties to expand their EER network and find inspiration from other researchers. A total of 15 participants attended the event, and attendees were encouraged to create a “baseball card”, or a one slide introduction of themselves. These cards were made available to all participants prior to the event in a slide deck in order to better facilitate connections. A majority of the participants felt that the event was beneficial to participate in and that it helped them expand their professional network.
ASEE 2021
Poster Presentation
Below you can find a recording of our poster presentation from ASEE 2021, given by our very own Joe Mirabelli. In it, he discusses our progress towards our goal of building a community around mentoring in EER, for example researchers participating in the NSF PFE: RIEF program.
Link to presentation on Google Drive.
ASEE 2021 Virtual Networking Event
Our virtual networking event was held on June 23, 2021 over Zoom. Around 50 participants attended the event. Mentors and mentees were encouraged to create a “baseball card”, or a one slide introduction of themselves, to be added to the Baseball Card Directory. This encouraged participants to connect with one another both prior to and after the event. Participants were then encouraged to use our Miro board, an interactive cork board- like online tool. Mentees and mentors added topics they were interested in discussing to the Miro board and topics were voted on by the group. These topics were then assigned to a Zoom breakout room to facilitate deep conversation between participants. An image of the Miro board can be seen below.
Overall, participants agreed that the event was useful to them and that they would recommend it to a friend or colleague. There was also a positive trend indicating that mentees and mentors were able to connect with one another meaningfully. Finally, participants found that the event introduced them to a large number of people in EER and that it expanded their EER network.
ASEE 2020
ASEE 2020 Virtual Workshop (Pathways into Engineering Education Research: Where Do I Get Started?)
Our virtual workshop “Pathways into Engineering Education Research:
Where Do I Get Started?” was held on June 23, 2020. Participants were initially encouraged to discuss their thoughts on engineering education versus engineering education research. They were then given an overview of entering the engineering education sphere and introduced to the EER way of conducting research.
From here, the importance of mentorship was covered, as well as tips on finding the right mentor and coming up with a mentorship plan. Finally, the NSF PFE: RIEF was discussed, with real life examples given from our own Dr. Kelly Cross and Dr. Karin Jensen.
2019 RIEF Community Networking Event
Our inaugural networking event was held at the NSF EEC Grantees meeting in October 2019. 21 participants attended the event. Participants were encouraged to meet and talk with people in the EER community, specifically those interested in the NSF PFE: RIEF. Food was supplied and most said they had a wonderful time. As one participant said in an event feedback survey,
“The event made me feel as if there is a strong RIEF community, and the sense of community is important to me, especially since stepping away from my engineering research and into social science research is a big step for me.”
Feedback was also given on what participants are looking for in the community. The participants agreed that they wanted more events and more opportunities to meet people in the community. For this purpose, we have created the EMN community to connect those interested in EER with like-minded individuals.