Department of Technology Leadership & Communication

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Negotiating Organizational Constraints: Tactics for Technical Communicators
(Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing, 2002) Hovde, Marjorie Rush
Central Indiana STEM Talent Expansion Program: Student and Faculty Interventions
(IEEE, 2015-08) Hundley, Stephen P.; Feldhaus, Charles R.; Watt, Jeffrey X.; Marrs, Kathleen A.; Gavrin, Andy; Mzumara, Howard; Department of Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
Funded by 5-year, $2M grant from the National Science Foundation, the Central Indiana STEM Talent Expansion Program (CI-STEP) at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is creating a pipeline of students and a campus culture change to increase the number of undergraduates obtaining Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. CI-STEP addresses initiatives needed for transforming the undergraduate STEM experience by propagating, expanding, and creating new evidence-based educational innovations in undergraduate STEM education at IUPUI.
Connecting in Online Technical Communication Courses: Addressing Usability Challenge for Students and Faculty Members
(IEEE, 2016-07) Hovde, Marjorie Rush; Department of Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
In designing and offering online technical communication courses, faculty members face many challenges, including attempting to assure the usability of the interface for students. This article addresses five of these challenges and provides options for faculty members to begin to address these challenges.
The Efficacy of Project Lead the Way: A Systematic Literature Review
(American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Hess, Justin L.; Sorge, Brandon; Feldhaus, Charles; Department of Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a non-profit organization offering project-based STEM education curricula for K-12 students. As of 2015, PLTW was by far the largest pre-engineering program implemented throughout the United States with a presence in over 6500 schools. Since its conception in 1997, PLTW rapidly expanded and today covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The PLTW Engineering curriculum offers a sequence of courses that students may take over the course of high school, and many university programs allow students who complete this sequence the opportunity to earn college credit. The PLTW Gateway curriculum targets students in Grades 6-8 and the PLTW Launch curriculum targets K-5 students. See the PLTW website for current program titles. They now simply use PLTW Engineering, PLTW Gateway and PLTW Launch. This study investigates the efficacy of PLTW efforts through a systematic literature review process. Specifically, we explored the following research questions: • To what extent has PLTW been an area of scholarly investigation and what has been the nature of these investigations? • What primary strengths and weaknesses of PLTW have these investigations identified? • What gaps in PLTW literature exist and what future research is needed? After an initial data collection and literature reduction processes, we synthesized 31 articles that collected and analyzed empirical data related to PLTW. Our gathered literature included 16 journal articles, 11 dissertations, and 4 theses. Using an emergent coding process, we found that primary strengths of PLTW curricula include motivating students to pursue STEM degrees, providing teachers with professional development opportunities and support, and facilitating student interest in STEM subjects. However, weaknesses of PLTW include minimal evidence supporting PLTW in improving students’ mathematics and science abilities, scheduling and space issues, and moderate financial costs for schools to participate in PLTW. Altogether, the literature collected varied widely and, as a result, each of these strengths and weaknesses requires further investigation. This study concludes with an identification of gaps in PLTW literature that can focus future PLTW-related investigations and, if investigated, help improve future PLTW-related interventions.
Who Will Lead Next: Where are the New Volunteers?
(American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Fox, Patricia; McIntyre, Charles; Whinery, Tiffany Erin; Department of Technology and Leadership Communication, Engineering and Technology
The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) has more than 12,000 members. The majority of ASEE members are faculty, staff and students from engineering and technology colleges and universities; librarians; STEM and K-12 educators; and corporate members, government agencies and professional societies. ASEE consists of over 50 divisions, twelve sections, four zones, and six councils. Each of these has an officer or set of officers, which lead the divisions, sections, zones or councils. This paper documents a pilot study that examines the past, present and future leaders of the Engineering Technology Division (ETD) and Engineering Technology Council (ETC). The primary goal of this research effort is to explore the various avenues and opportunities for future leadership of EDT and ETC. Past and current leaders of ETD and ETC will be surveyed to determine the factors that drive the motivation and dedication for service leadership within ASEE. The membership of ETD and ETC will be surveyed to find out what the barriers are to becoming leaders specifically in ETD and ETC. Depending on the findings of this pilot study, the authors will expand this research in a larger scope within ASEE and into other societies. Some of the questions that this research will attempt to answer are: 1.) “Do other ASEE divisions and councils encounter problems in recruiting and retaining new leaders?” and 2.) “Do other professional societies have difficulties finding volunteer leaders from academia?”
An Evaluation of a Research Experience Traineeship (RET) Program for Integrating Nanotechnology into Pre-College Curriculum
(2017-06-24) Hess, Justin L.; Feldhaus, Charles; P.e, Maher E. Rizkalla; Agarwal, Mangilal; Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
Nanotechnology has become a national focus throughout the United States with more than 24 billion USD of cumulative federal support towards nanotechnology research and development since 2001. In the last 20 years, R&D in this space has led to a number of revolutions in electronics, photovoltaics, manufacturing, medicine and much more. One of the primary goals of this federal funding, as described by the inter-governmental body, the Committee on Technology Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET), has been to develop educational resources that will ultimately lead to a skilled workforce who will continually advance the state of the art of nanotechnology. This study explores the impact of one summer’s implementation of an NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers professional development K-12 program designed towards this end. Specifically, the Research Experiences for Teacher Advancement in Nanotechnology (RETAIN) program at a large public Midwestern University was designed to provide 30 K-12 teachers (10 per year, primarily high school level) from high-needs, urban school districts with research experiences and shared activities designed to increase their understanding of the challenges and demands of nanotechnology, as well as college and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In addition to these research experiences, our multi-disciplinary team sought to lead participants in the creation of 15 hands-on inquiry-based teaching modules (5 per year) that integrate multiple STEM disciplines, convey scientific-process skills, and align with Indiana Academic Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. We frame this study as research evaluation, as our initial focus was on evaluating programmatic outcomes with the intention of improving the program itself through a cyclical process of research to practice. In this paper, our scope extends to the broader scholarly community: here we build on our evaluation results, with the aim of extending the body of knowledge pertaining to STEM professional development opportunities similar to this one
Nanotechnology experiences for students and teachers (NEST): Enhancing teachers' self-efficacy and their understanding of STEM career opportunities
(IEEE, 2017-10) Sorge, Brandon; Fore, Grant; Nunnally, Eric; Gibau, Gina Sanchez; Agarwal, Mangilal; Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
The Nanotechnology Experiences for Student and Teachers (NEST) summer learning opportunity at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) connects faculty, staff, and students from the Schools of Engineering and Technology, Science, and Education with high school teachers of STEM subjects in a two week teacher professional development experience. In the summer of 2016, eleven teachers participated in a series of NEST program activities that were designed to model instructional strategies while engaging the teachers in hands-on nanotechnology research experiences. Teachers were also provided tours and exposed to research being conducted and equipment being used in labs incorporating nanotechnology across campus. Additionally, the participants worked with other teachers involved in a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) project, to develop nanotechnology lessons to incorporate in their classroom during the following school year. Primary outcomes from this professional development were not limited to the developed lessons. Data collected through pre- and post-content knowledge assessments and pre- and post-self-efficacy surveys (T-STEM), show statistically significant increases in teacher nanotechnology content knowledge, nanotechnology self-efficacy, science efficacy and beliefs, and understanding of STEM careers. Observations and focus groups also provided data on potential program enhancements to facilitate greater support and experiences for the participating teachers.
Developing an understanding of the implementation and impacts of high school pre-engineering programs: Making the case for a benefit-cost analysis
(IEEE, 2017-10) Sorge, Brandon; Hess, Justin L.; Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
With the ongoing demand for improved K-12 STEM education, a push for dual-credit courses, and the goal of college and career-ready high school graduates, schools have implemented numerous STEM programs including those focused on engineering. Curricular programs, such Engineering by Design, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and EPICS High are being executed by schools across the country with varied amounts of success as measured by student-level outcomes. Exploring costs of these program implementations and their associated outcomes is vital in deciding the best means for preparing our future engineering workforce. This paper utilizes cost analysis to provide initial insights into the relative impact of one of the most common high school engineering program, PLTW. Specifically, by relying on data reported in select literature, we investigate the impacts versus the costs of implementing PLTW in high schools. Cost data includes select variables such as student section size, school size, and school type. These findings will provide a baseline for understanding cost variations of the PLTW curriculum across contexts, as well as what impact cost variations may have on student outcomes.
Preparing Technical Communication Students for Workplace Practitioner Research
(IEEE, 2017-07) Hovde, Marjorie Rush; Technology and Leadership Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
Practitioner research in technical communication differs from general or academic research. Technical communication students need to develop abilities to conduct research into subject matter, audience, and communication approaches within workplace contexts to meet situated needs. This article explores differences between the two realms of research and discusses implications for teaching practitioner research abilities. It closes with examples of and ideas for teaching practitioner research abilities to technical communication students. Such courses can provide students with crucial abilities and knowledge to guide decisions during the creation of technical communication products.
Developing an understanding of the implementation and impacts of high school pre-engineering programs: Making the case for a benefit-cost analysis
(IEEE, 2017-10) Sorge, Brandon; Hess, Justin L.
With the ongoing demand for improved K-12 STEM education, a push for dual-credit courses, and the goal of college and career-ready high school graduates, schools have implemented numerous STEM programs including those focused on engineering. Curricular programs, such Engineering by Design, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and EPICS High are being executed by schools across the country with varied amounts of success as measured by student-level outcomes. Exploring costs of these program implementations and their associated outcomes is vital in deciding the best means for preparing our future engineering workforce. This paper utilizes cost analysis to provide initial insights into the relative impact of one of the most common high school engineering program, PLTW. Specifically, by relying on data reported in select literature, we investigate the impacts versus the costs of implementing PLTW in high schools. Cost data includes select variables such as student section size, school size, and school type. These findings will provide a baseline for understanding cost variations of the PLTW curriculum across contexts, as well as what impact cost variations may have on student outcomes.

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