This engineering education research project seeks to develop supplementary content for an electronic book (e-book) supplement that complements traditional textbooks in thermodynamics. The e-book will be used to better understand barriers to adoption of effective pedagogies that have been shown to increase the life-long learning skills of engineering students. To investigate adoption or non-adoption of the e-book the PI plans to qualitatively investigate factors based on faculty roles and reward structures, status hierarchies and professional norms, and structure and behavior of institutions and professional organizations.
The broader significance and importance of this project are two-fold: the dissemination of innovative pedagogy via the e-book and the dissemination of factors leading to adoption or non-adoption. By incorporating socially relevant contexts for thermodynamics, the project may increase retention of under-represented students. By providing a deeper understanding of the factors that stop broad adoption of effective teaching techniques, the PI hopes to address systemic problems in higher education.
