Expanding the sophomore design curriculum for aerospace engineering students and maximizing the co-op experience are a couple of topics faculty will be researching with the help of mini-grant funding. The Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) recently provided nearly $25,000 in mini-grant funding for the following projects:

• “Impact of Exposure to Broad Engineering on Student Persistence,” by Kellie Grasman, lecturer in engineering management and systems engineering, $4,962.03.
• “The Impact of Classroom Design on Active Learning,” by Dr. Michelle Schwartze, assistant teaching professor of teacher education and certification, $5,000.
• “Evaluating the Impact of an Expanded Sophomore Design Curriculum for Aerospace Engineering Students,” by mechanical and aerospace engineering faculty Dr. Jill Schmidt, assistant teaching professor; Dr. Warner Meeks, assistant teaching professor; and Dr. Hank Pernicka, professor, $4,500.
• “Maximizing the Co-op Experience, Step 1,” by Dr. Bob Schwartz, professor of materials science and engineering; Dr. Bill Gillis, assistant teaching professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering; Dr. K.M. Isaac, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Dr. Doug Ludlow, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering; Dr. Ed Malone, professor of English and technical communication; Dr. Keith Nisbett, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Dr. Joe Stanley, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Dr. Nathan Weidner, assistant professor of psychological science; and Dr. Phil Whitefield, professor and chair of chemistry, $8,000.
• “Comparison of Learning Outcomes and Student Demographics Between Classroom-Based and Asynchronous Online Lectures in Large Enrollment Engineering Physics Courses,” by Dr. Jim Musser, assistant teaching professor of physics; and Dr. Agnes Vojta, associate teaching professor of physics, $2,500.

The educational research mini-grant committee reviewed the proposals. Dr. Larry Gragg, chair of CAFE, and Dr. Wayne Huebner, co-chair of CAFÉ, provided final approval.

The educational research mini-grant program provides funding to help instructors research a teaching and learning question that affects student, course or campus outcomes. Results of these projects will be shared with the campus at S&T’s Teaching and Learning Technology Conference in March 2019. Visit CAFÉ’s website for more information about the educational research mini-grant program, or to read previous mini-grant reports.