Changing the Paradigm of Instruction and Outreach Jim Clarke Engineering Librarian Miami University Oxford, Ohio

Agenda Undergraduate Engineering Education Academic Engineering Librarianship Literature Research Guidance Process (LRGP) Review Process Examples Future Deployment & Research Plans

The state of U.S. engineering education is weak. – U.S. universities cannot recruit enough students. – Only 60% of the recruited students become engineers. – Approximately 110,000 U.S. engineering graduates per year. – About 400,000 domestic engineering jobs are available. – Strong growth in engineering jobs until at least – Concerns exist regarding U.S engineer quality. Undergraduate Engineering Education

Government & Private Sector investing in STEM. – According to a report by the National Science and Technology Council, the feds spent 3.4 billion just in 2011 through 252 distinct investments. – States including Washington, Oregon, Texas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Arizona, California, and Idaho have developed STEM alliances that rely on both public and private funding. – The Business and Industry Stem Education Coalition (BISEC) & TechNet are examples of corporate partners supporting STEM. Undergraduate Engineering Education

Lack of emphasis on literature research – Pressure to teach hard skills – Slow-paced Incremental learning – Credit-rich curricula – Limited research paper assignments Undergraduate Engineering Education

Engineering Librarians/Jedi Knights

Potential to increase student retention & quality of young American engineers. – Committed to STEM education. – Train students to access & analyze technical literature. – Foster critical thinking & informed decisions for design projects. – Support the development of high caliber engineers. Value of Engineering Librarians

The few serve the many – in North America – 1 librarian/1700 students* Declining desk demand External role – Semi-Faculty/Outside Curriculum Limited instruction time – 200 minutes/128 weeks Outreach = New frontier Obsolete Engagement Model

Literature Research Guidance Process (LRGP) 1.Research kickoff meetings (capstone case study) 2.Team reference meetings & instruction 3.Initial literature searches 4.Follow up weekly meetings

LRGP Weekly Team Meetings 5.Meet teams with or without faculty advisors. 6.Require agendas, Gantt charts, minutes, wikis. 7.Facilitate literature analysis discussions: – What did you read? – Why is it valuable for the project? – How can you use the information in the design process? – Should your fellow team members read it? – Does it raise important questions to ask your advisor? – Does it identify a need for more reading materials?

As the semester progresses 8.Meet with teams weekly until the midterm 9.Co-advise for presentations, posters, papers. 10. Attend student events to provide support – Develops strong professor & student relationships

Initial Observarions LRGP is not threatening to professors. - Supports accreditation (ABET) learning outcomes. LRGP is practical for engineering students. LRGP is practical for many engineering disciplines. LRGP is not scalable for a small staff. – Small scale LRGP projects should attempted. – Added value needs to be proven. – STEM investments need to be harnessed. – 21 st Century engagement model needs to end.

Outreach-focused librarians – Incremental growth First-Year Research Programs Independent Research Student Chapter Projects Senior Design Projects Design Project Librarians

Next Steps Prove LRGP increases learning outcomes. Pilot project for the 2012 fall semester Pursue an NSF TUES grant in 2013: – Hire temporary design project librarians to maximize LRGP deployment. – Facilitate LRGP deployment at other universities. Consider support from other STEM organizations.