The projected number of engineering professionals will increase in the next decade. Implementing instructional technology to support engineering students in creating design solutions to authentic problems may lead to a more significant number of engineering graduates. The problem is knowing the extent to which parametric 3-dimensional…

This multiple paper dissertation addressed several issues revolving around the estimation of effect sizes for computer-based scaffolding in problem-centered STEM education. STEM jobs are outpacing all other jobs and STEM workers are expected to solve complex problems. However, students often struggle with complex problem activities. Research on…

The overarching theme of this research was to explore different aspects of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education experience across cultures and contexts in two engineering education communities, higher education and K-12. This dissertation offers new perspectives and resources to the engineering education community and…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an effective instructional methodology used in higher learning. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore what undergraduate engineering students perceive as barriers to the implementation of PBL in engineering courses at higher learning institutions in the Southwest United States. This…

Conceptualizations of "effective communication" vary across contexts and are largely dependent on the needs and social practices of communities. As a global field of study and practice, Engineering is but one community where researchers and practitioners have come together to unpack and conceptualize what it means to communicate…

Increasing pressure to transform teaching and learning of engineering is supported by mounting research evidence for the value of learner-centered pedagogies. Despite this evidence, engineering faculty are often unsuccessful in applying such teaching approaches often because they lack the necessary knowledge to customize these pedagogies for their…

Over the past 20 years there have been many changes to the primary and secondary educational system that have impacted students, teachers, and post-secondary institutions across the United States of America. One of the most important is the large number of standardized tests students are required to take to show adequate performance in school.…