A National Framework for Recognition of Engineering and Engineering Technology Faculty Instructional Excellence: Piloting a Registered Engineering Educator Designation

This project aims to serve the national interest by implementing a framework for continuing professional development of engineering and engineering technology faculty that builds and maintains their effectiveness as college and university teachers. The Nation’s future economic development is driven by innovations created by well-trained engineers.

The training that aspiring engineers receive is dependent upon the skills and knowledge of engineering and engineering technology faculty at colleges and universities across America. A significant body of research shows that high quality teaching does matter and is particularly important for groups that have historically had less access to higher education.

This IUSE Institutional and Community Transformation project initiates a national certification program to recognize engineering and engineering technology faculty training and teaching excellence that supports and stimulates their ongoing professional development. Managed through the American Society for Engineering Education, this program will create training resources to serve faculty at over 30 institutions across the USA.

Four research questions guide the effort to understand the impact of the interventional framework on institutional cultures of teaching. The research will capture the impact on three key stakeholder groups—program administrators, faculty, and faculty professional developers—who together determine the value institutions place on effective teaching.

The goal of this project is to develop a sustainable framework to provide recognition for ongoing professional development of engineering faculty, which will create outstanding teachers of engineering and engineering technology. To research the elements of a framework that is scalable, effective, and sustainable, the project implements foundational training resources at approximately 30 engineering schools.

Four research questions focus on administrators, faculty, and faculty developers, which will allow understanding of: 1) how to effectively recruit faculty, 2) the value, access, and barriers to professional development, 3) how faculty identify and select professional development opportunities, and 4) how teaching changes after professional development. The research results will provide important information about the challenges and affordances of professional development in teaching and about how participants’ perceptions and experiences differ across institutional contexts.

The research aims to inform future development of a sustainable, national-scale program that can be implemented at a wide range of engineering universities and colleges in the US. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.