2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 210: AMPLIFY Institute: A Professional Development Program Designed for and with Engineering Instructional Faculty

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

Engineering Instructional Faculty (EIF) working at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) hold pivotal positions in the development of support programs, targeted initiatives, and inclusive curricula for full-time undergraduate Hispanic/Latinx-identifying students at HSIs. The AMPLIFY Project, funded by NSF’s HSI program, was designed with this in mind, to better understand and amplify the perspectives and experiences of EIF serving at HSIs. The project aims to identify the learning experiences that support EIF educational change leadership development, define a framework for how to support the educational change leadership development of EIF, and design and implement an AMPLIFY Institute. From the initial years of the project, the results from a multiple case study of EIF across six HSIs demonstrated that EIF faculty value work-life balance, view supporting students as central to their role and professional development and use strategies to help students succeed. They have a high sense of enthusiasm for learning, teaching, and the engineering discipline, contributing to why they are motivated to pursue and maintain their instructional faculty positions. The purpose of this paper is to present the project‘s transition from the multiple case study to the implementation of the AMPLIFY Institute and identify the learning experiences that support EIF leadership evolution.

Using a two-cycle action research approach, the AMPLIFY Project seeks to answer the four research questions, two of which were central over the last year of the project. To answer these questions, the AMPLIFY Institute was developed to include immersive in-person two days events, during which EIF participants get to know their peers, complete interactive activities on leadership and educational change, and scope a change effort that they would like to pursue throughout the remainder of the Institute. In addition, these EIF participants are supported by the Institute team during six virtual group coaching sessions for 1.5 hours each. In each collaborative coaching session, EIFs are guided through a series of powerful questions or group exercises to support their agency towards future outcomes.

The AMPLIFY Institute therefore seeks to collaboratively support the development of an engineering educational system at HSIs that is inclusive, culturally enhancing, self-sustaining, and transformative. Consequently, this paper will describe how the results from multiple case study research were used to design a series of personas to inform the AMPLIFY Institute. Six personas were constructed from research data to represent EIF participants, demonstrating backgrounds and personalities, their teaching goals, leadership competencies, change efforts, frustrations, and professional development needs and desires. Assessment of these personas informed the design and implementation of the first AMPLIFY Institute Kickoff with 14 EIF. During the kickoff, the EIF shared contributions their students provide to their teaching objectives, values they promote in their classrooms, communication strengths they bring to classrooms, resources that support their work in classes, and dreams that motivate them, among others. This paper will summarize the design of the AMPLIFY Institute and the project’s progress towards its intended outcomes.

Authors

Julian Rodrigo Sosa Molano Florida International University [biography]

Julian is a graduate research assistant at Florida International University. He holds a BSc in Electronics Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia and a MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Arizona. He is pursuing his PhD degree in Engineering and Computing Education at Florida International University. He has professional experience in Information Technology, Semiconductors, and Telecommunications in international companies such as Ecopetrol, Texas Instruments, and Ericsson. His research interests focus on inclusive STEM learning and teaching methodologies for students with physical disabilities.
Mr. Henry Salgado University of Texas, El Paso [biography]

Henry is a graduate research assistant at The University of Texas at El Paso, pursuing a combined MS/Ph.D. in Computational Science. Previously, he completed an MS in Engineering with a concentration in Computer Science and Engineering Education. Henry's research interests lie at the intersection of computational science, machine learning, and engineering education.
Gemma Henderson http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1782-1273 University of Miami [biography]

Gemma Henderson is a Director of Learning Platforms at the University of Miami, and previously held a position as a Senior Instructional Designer in the Learning Innovation and Faculty Engagement team. Gemma partners and consults with faculty, academic units and other university stakeholders across the University focusing on curriculum development and digital pedagogies. Gemma engages in information technologies and educational initiatives to enrich undergraduate and graduate courses on behalf of Academic Technologies. Gemma currently serves as the Curriculum Development Lead in a collaborative research project, funded by the National Science Foundation, with faculty at the University of Texas El Paso, University of Miami, and Florida International University focused on undergraduate engineering education at Hispanic Serving Institutions.
Dr. Alexandra Coso Strong http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4988-361X Cornell University [biography]

As an assistant professor of engineering education at Florida International University, Dr. Alexandra Coso Strong works and teaches at the intersection of engineering education, faculty development, and complex systems design. Alexandra completed her graduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech (PhD) and Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia (UVa).
Ines Basalo University of Miami [biography]

Dr. Basalo is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Miami.
Mr. Viyon Dansu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8543-9930 Florida International University [biography]

Viyon had his Bachelors and Masters' degrees in Systems Engineering at the University of Lagos Nigeria. He co-founded STEM-Ed Africa, a social enterprise involved in developing student's problem-solving abilities in STEM. He is currently a PhD student of engineering and computing education at Florida International University, Miami.
Dr. Meagan R. Kendall http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9940-4405 University of Texas at El Paso [biography]

An Associate Professor at The University of Texas at El Paso, Dr. Meagan R. Kendall is a founding member of the Department of Engineering Education and Leadership. With a background in both engineering education and design thinking, her research focuses on how Latinx students develop identities as engineers and navigate moments of identity interference, student and faculty engineering leadership development through the Contextual Engineering Leadership Development framework, and promoting student motivation. Dr. Kendall is the Past Chair of the Engineering Leadership Development Division of ASEE.
Dr. Brett Tallman University of Texas, El Paso [biography]

Brett Tallman is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Texas, El Paso. He earned his doctorate in Engineering at Montana State University (MSU), with focus on engineering leadership. His previous degrees include a Masters degree in Education from MSU (active learning in quantum mechanics) and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. He comes to academia with over two decades of industry experience, including quality engineering with Toyota and managing his own consulting practice in biomedical and product design.
Yamile Aidee Urquidi University of Texas at El Paso [biography]

Yamile is a graduate research assistant at The University of Texas at El Paso, pursuing masters degree in Engineering with concentrations in Environmental Engineering and Engineering Education. Yamile research interests center around the intersection of e

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