CGHE webinar series: Exploring the outcomes of educating scientists and engineers
- Reneé Smit, Centre for Research in Engineering Education, University of Cape Town
- Margaret Blackie, Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning, Rhodes University
- Ashish Agrawal, College of Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
- Nicole Pitterson, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
- Alaa Abdalla, Philosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
- Jan McArthur, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University
- Paul Ashwin, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University
- Jenni Case, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
This CGHE webinar series is based on a CGHE seven-year longitudinal research study that tracked the same participants through their undergraduate degrees in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering at two English, two South African and two American universities (the Knowledge, Curriculum and Student Agency project) to their first few years after graduation (the Graduate Experiences of Employability and Knowledge project). The webinar series will explore the educational intentions of the degree programmes that the participants studied, the ways in which the participants reflected on the knowledge they gained at university after they had graduated, and how, as graduates, they saw their role in society as graduates. The final seminar will reflect on the methodological and substantive insights that were generated by this in-depth study of the educational outcomes of studying two STEM disciplines.
Webinar 1: Enabling change: Science and engineering programme leaders’ reflections on educational intentions
12th March 2024, 14.00 – 15.00 (UK)
Speakers:
Reneé Smit, Centre for Research in Engineering Education, University of Cape Town
Jan McArthur, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University
More information here
Webinar 2: Shaped by knowledge: Science and engineering graduates’ reflections of what they gained from their university degrees
14th March 2024, 14.00 – 15.00 (UK)
Speakers:
Margaret Blackie, the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning, Rhodes University
Ashish Agrawal, College of Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
More information here
Webinar 3: Professional expectations and personal motivations: Science and engineering graduates’ reflections on their role in society
19th March 2024, 14.00 – 15.00 (UK)
Speakers:
Nicole Pitterson, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
Alaa Abdalla, Philosophy and Ethics Group, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
More information here
Webinar 4: Graduates, knowledge, and society: Reflections on a seven-year study of the educational outcomes of science and engineering
21st March 2024, 14.00 – 15.00 (UK)
Speakers:
Paul Ashwin, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University
Jenni Case, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
More information here
Event Notes
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Reneé Smit is Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and current Director of the Centre for Research in Engineering Education (CREE) at the University of Cape Town. Her research interest lies at the intersection of professional education in engineering, including the formation of an engineering identity, and the applied philosophy of engineering. The research has implications for educating engineers, but also for collaborative work between practitioners in science and engineering.
Margaret Blackie is an associate professor in the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning at Rhodes University in South Africa. Her main research interest is in tertiary STEM education.
Ashish Agrawal is an Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA. His primary research interests include studying the influence of curricular features and pedagogical approaches on student learning.
Nicole Pitterson is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include fostering conceptual understanding of foundational engineering concepts and the role of language in connecting technical content with students’ backgrounds and prior experiences as well as how engagement with disciplinary knowledge transforms students’ identity. Nicole holds background degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Education.
Alaa Abdalla is a postdoctoral researcher at the Philosophy and Ethics group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her primary research focus is understanding epistemological perspectives in engineering education systems. She is also interested in intercultural competence, systemic epistemology, and designing effective formal and informal learning environments. She completed her PhD in engineering education at Virginia Tech.
Jan McArthur is Head of Department and Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice in the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. Her research focuses on how the purposes of higher education relate to teaching, learning and assessment. Her most recent article, “Rethinking Authentic Assessment”, applies critical theory to our understanding of assessment. She has previously published two monographs, Rethinking Knowledge in Higher Education (Bloomsbury) exploring how Adorno’s critical theory can inform our understanding of, and engagement with, knowledge in higher education; and Assessment for Social Justice (Bloomsbury), using Honneth’s conceptualisation of mutual recognition to rethink the nature of assessment.
Paul Ashwin is Professor of Higher Education, Lancaster University. He is Deputy Director of the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) and leads the Centre’s Graduate Experiences of Employability and Knowledge project.
Jennifer Case is Professor and Head of the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech in the USA. Prior to her appointment in this post she was a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town, where she retains an honorary appointment.
