Introduction to Engineering Education Research

During the last 30 years, engineering education research has become a research field which can be witnessed in the very many journals. There is a constant debate if EER is a discipline in itself or it is a cross disciplinary field. This course will give overview of the landscape of the history of engineering education research as a cross disciplinary field of research and intends to give overview of relevant research questions and research methodologies for designing research projects.

Learning outcomes

After this first course participants are expected to be able to:

• achieve overview of the cross disciplinary field as it is represented in the relevant journals: European Journal of Engineering Education, Journal of Engineering Education, and International Journal of Engineering Education
• identify relevant research topics and questions within the field of engineering education
• identify key variables related to these research questions and analyze different operationalizations
• reflect own research design to the landscape of engineering education research

Course leaders

Prof. Erik de Graaff and Prof. Anette Kolmos also this page

Time and location

February 15-18, 9.30 - 16.30
Aalborg University

March 22 - 23, 2010, a virtual seminar. Dates for this are to be confirmed in February.

Programme

Programme day 1

• Introduction (introduction to the course, participants, etc)
• History and profile of EER (lecture and discussion)
• Relevant research topics and questions (lecture and exercise in small groups)

Programme day 2

• Cases on EER issues, research questions and design from EJEE, IJEE and JEE (work in subgroups)
• Cross disciplinary field combining various research traditions (lecture)
• Identifying key variables (exercise in small groups)

Programme day 3 and 4

• Reflection and peer evaluation of own research questions and research design
• Individual presentations and feedback

Reports on own research projects have to be submitted after the course. There will be a follow up presenting your reports and getting feed back. This will be organised as a virtual seminar using Adobe Connect.

Students will be on different levels. A fine outcome of their work after Unit A would be a draft section of a chapter on their thesis - in this case Introduction - if they have worked already for some time on their research, OR a research plan contextualising their research and setting up the research goals and questions, with motivation and background - if they are beginners.