Our engineering education research focuses on questions relating to the way engineers think and identify (engineering cognition), the culture and identity of engineers (engineering culture), and ways to develop engineer thinking (cognitive education).
Current projects include:
- An NSF-funded award to understand the professional identities of engineering research mentors and how these aspects of identity play roles in approaches to mentoring. This project will focus on BME and Mechanical Engineering faculty and the mentoring of graduate students.
- Exploring aspects of extraneous cognitive load in BME curricula. Sub-projects include:
- understanding the usage of (authorized) ‘cheat sheets’ for examinations and assessments,
- determining what, if any, expected cross-course content exists for BME curricula, and
- how curriculum-wide preparedness interacts with synoptic and vertically-integrated curricula.
- Improving student–instructor relationships and help-seeking through office hours.
Post-Doctoral Opportunities:
We have no current openings at the current time.
Student Opportunities:
We welcome engagement from current Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students. There are a variety of projects that interested students can contribute towards and we are flexible with regards to time commitments.
We also welcome students with original research questions based on, or relating to, our research interests.