Teaching and Designing Technology for Diversity

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

A freshman/sophomore service learning class on human-centered design coupled with a senior/graduate level course on engineering education is being developed. The classes incorporate cutting edge research with teaching scholarship as well as highlight the social context of the engineering profession. Students in this service-learning course are given the option to develop pre-college design activities and serve as student role models in support of initiatives of UC Berkeley outreach programs and SF Bay Area Science Museums that strive to increase the diversity of engineering students (e.g., "Communicating Engineering" in collaboration with the Lawrence Hall of Science, the "TechBridge" program at the Chabot Space & Science Museum and the Pre-Engineering program in Berkeley's College of Engineering). A SESAME (Studies in Engineering, Science and Mathematics Education) minor for all STEM disciplines in which the senior/graduate course (above on engineering education) will serve as the core practice course for the SESAME minor in engineering disciplines is being developed. On-line resources in STEM education digital libraries as part of the senior/graduate class in engineering education are being cataloged, evaluated and annotated. Guidelines for tenure and promotion cases that provide mechanisms to recognize and reward those involved with this project and foster the scholarship of teaching are being developed. Dissemination is being achieved through contributions to the NEEDS and SMETE.ORG digital libraries and through the SMETE Open Federation's newsletter and discussion groups. Project outcomes are being assessed through several levels of including pre-/post-questionnaires, formative and summative team and peer assessments, professional judgment of process and process, and student satisfaction surveys.