Research

Pathways

The Learning & Engagement Project includes 6 tasks, each supported by linked efforts by research students and faculty in all three of the other projects.

Tasks:

  1. Pre-College Curricula, Engagement & PD
    • Pre-college Curriculum Development aims to create free, high-quality, standards-aligned, K-12 engineering curricula with potential for scalable, cumulative impact.
    • Pre-College Engagement aims to implement ASPIRE-themed collaborative K-12 engineering education programming with partnering after-school programs, summer camps, STEM organizations/museums, and K-12 engagement opportunities.
    • Pre-College PD aims to conduct quality ASPIRE-themed K-12 educator professional development in pre-college engineering education.
  2. REU, Higher Education Curricula & Engagement
    • Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program.
    • Higher Ed Curriculum Development & Engagement to grow ASPIRE competencies. There is a need for ASPIRE-themed content to be developed for and evaluated in current higher ed courses; also, a need for new courses to be developed and evaluated that address the interdisciplinary and convergent research needs of ASPIRE projects.
  3. Center Development
    • Mentorship: K-22 near-peer mentor pathway ear-peer mentoring program; mentoring best practices infographic.
    • ASPIRE student development: cohort program, internship programs, student organizations (SLC/ASA), badging/certification program, ASPIRE student career fair.
    • Faculty Recruitment: Develop list of people to recruit, demographics of ASPIRE faculty, staff, and students.
    • Other Center Development Goals: Committee of campus and SLC representatives; plan, identify potential candidate recruitment locations, attend events, create and maintain candidate list; identify professional development opportunities; find and share job announcements; onboarding/offboarding projects; DCI Orientation “program”; development of DEI certificate; participation in quarterly workshops; DEI class; equity-enthused research; participation in professional organizations/groups that promote DCI.
  4. Community College & Trades
    • Community Colleges (CC):
      • “Hire” Community College (CC) liasion with expertise in CC pathways.(CC):
      • Build CC partnerships.
      • Develop strategic plan for pathway to EV technician and BS engineering degrees.
      • Leverage CC relationships to scale.
      • Develop needs assessment survey on skills needed for internships and skilled work.
      • Conduct need assessment survey.
      • Develop plan to bring EV curriculum into CC programs (auto mechanics, computer science, others).
    • Trades:
      • Develop strategic plan for Trades pathways.
      • Investigate automotive programs on EVs and similarly aligned programs.
      • Research community college’s role in Trades (if any).
      • Research trades organization for viable partnerships.
      • Develop needs assessment survey on skills needed for internships and skilled work.
      • Conduct needs assessment survey.
  5. Community Engagement & Governance
    • Community engagement aims to implement ASPIRE-themed collaborative public informal engineering education programming with partnering neighborhood organizations, STEM organizations/museums, and community engagement opportunities.
    • Community governance aims to understand communities’ perceptions of technologies and systems associated with EV; the outcomes and benefits they hope to see from EV (their metrics for success); the processes they would like to see enacted in the ways that EV is realized; and the partnerships they want to establish. This will be conducted through surveys, listening sessions, and focus groups.
  6. DCI-EWD & Equity Research
    • Environmental Justice K-12 curriculum research.
    • Mentorship research.
    • DCI Scorecard.

Learn more about our K-12 curriculum here!