2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Impact of International Short-Term Faculty-Led Programs on Pedagogical Techniques in Engineering

Presented at International Division (INTL): Measuring and Assessing Outcomes and Impact

STUDENT PAPER

The demand for short-term faculty-led programs and virtual global learning to develop students’ global learning experiences has grown. Since 2020, these programs have gained significant traction, yet few studies report on instructor outcomes from leading these types of programs. Both instructor recruitment and changes in their perspectives from participating in these experiences need to be evaluated. At this university, three approaches are taken to provide students the opportunity to engage in global learning (outside of traditional exchange programs). The first approach is through short-term faculty-led programming (7 – 14-day travel program). The second approach is virtual only learning known as global classrooms (referred to as COIL in this paper) at this university is an expansion of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy that allows for a deepened global engagement for students without the need for international travel. The third approach is COIL+ programs, courses that are full or part of term with a virtual component combined with an optional (or occasionally required) post-course short-term faculty-led program. The objective of this study is to qualitatively analyze and evaluate the impact of recruitment and program experiences on the instructors who run these types of programs. Through the use of a post-travel nineteen-question instructor survey, we gain insight into instructor experiences and how engaging in short-term faculty-led programming (both with and without a global classroom component) has impacted their pedagogical practices. The instructors answered several Likert-Scale and open-ended questions. These include questions about teaching strategies, technology, global classrooms, and student learning perceptions. The survey questions were analyzed using an inductive approach to coding the data to uncover common themes. The results indicate that instructors who participate in these programs gain valuable insight into integrating cultural and technological elements into their teaching practices beyond short-term faculty-led courses as well as their community-based research programs.

Authors

Joshua E. Katz http://orcid.org/0009-0001-3320-2536 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Joshua E. Katz is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, DELTA program, at UIUC, where his research centers on collaborative learning in engineering education and other STEM disciplines. He obtained his B.S. in Technology and Engineering Education in 2019 and his M.S. in STEM Education and Leadership in 2021 from Illinois State University. Additionally, he holds a professional educator license for secondary education in Technology and Engineering Education in Illinois.
Hannah Dougherty University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Hannah Dougherty is an Academic Advisor and Coordinator of International Programs for International Programs in Engineering in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She coordinates programming for virtual global experiences, faculty-led programs, student organizations and other non-traditional study abroad opportunities while also advising students. She also leads faculty-led programs over breaks and oversees the Global Engineering Ambassador (GEA) program. She holds a BS and a MS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2019, Hannah completed a Fulbright U.S. Graduate Award at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
Ernest-John Ignacio http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9916-953X University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Ernest-John Ignacio is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He earned a B.Eng. (2004) and M.Eng. (2005) in Civil Engineering from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, NY; and Ph.D. (2024) in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before pursuing a Ph.D., he worked in the construction industry in New York City for eleven years. He joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois in 2018, and currently serves as the Interim Associate Director for Corporate Relations and Industry Partnerships.
Dr. Molly H Goldstein http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2382-4745 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Dr. Molly H. Goldstein is a Teaching Assistant Professor and Product Design Lab Director in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the Grainger College at the University of Illinois. She is also courtesy faculty in Mechanical Science and Engineering, Curriculum & Instruction (College of Education) and Industrial Design (School of Fine and Applied Arts). Dr. Goldstein’s research focuses on student designers through the study of their design actions and thinking.
Dr. Brian Woodard University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Dr. Woodard received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011. His Aerospace research interests currently focus on the effects of icing on the aerodynamics of swept-wing aircraft. In engineering education, he has an interest in the role of spatial visualization in preparing students to be engineers. Additionally, he has been working to expand faculty-led study abroad opportunities for students by supporting faculty and studying student learning outcomes associated with all types of global classrooms.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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