From Research to Impact in Engineering Education: Insights from a Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Study

Co-sponsored by: Martin Reisslein

In an environment of increased scrutiny and
accountability, engineering education researchers are
being called upon to describe and defend the tangible
impacts of their work on a regular basis. Having a
shared language around the impact of engineering
research will enable members of this community to
effectively communicate it to diverse audiences and
advocate for its support using consistent messages.
Furthermore, a shared understanding among
engineering education researchers and practitioners of
what impact looks like lends itself to more productive
conversations on how research can influence practice.
Unfortunately, there is very little scholarship within and
beyond the engineering education community on how to
characterize the impact of research. Over the last
decade, researchers in other fields have begun to take
a scholarly approach to distill what impact looks like for
them. A comparable exercise has started in the field of
engineering education.
Using a convergent parallel mixed methods research
design, the goal of this study is to develop a valid
framework that characterizes the impact of engineering
education research; and describe engineering
education researchers’ and practitioners’ perspectives
on how research does and should influence practice in
our context. This talk will present highlights from the
research findings associated with the quantitative and
qualitative strands of this mixed methods study; and will
provide attendees with an opportunity to contribute to
this ongoing work.

Speaker(s): Dr. Jeremi London,

Location:
Room: 220
Bldg: Santan
ASU Polytechnic Campus
7001 E Williams Field Rd.
Mesa, Arizona
85212