Exploring Pedagogical Risk-Taking of Engineering Faculty

Abstract

This Research Work in Progress Paper presents a pilot study focused on understanding how faculty take pedagogical risks in 2nd and 3rd year (mezzanine level) engineering courses. Broadly, we are interested in understanding ways of making widespread changes in the mezzanine level of the curriculum. The purpose of this exploratory research is to develop an understanding of faculty pedagogical risk-taking through observations, interviews, and artifact analysis. The primary data for this project are observations of four mezzanine level engineering courses. During the observation we took detailed field notes and collected course handouts, lesson plans, or other course materials. After the lesson was completed, we conducted a post-observation teacher interview to learn about the broader context of that lesson within the class, how the lesson has evolved over time, and plans for that lesson in future courses. This work in progress serves as a pilot study to better understand how to capture pedagogical risk-taking in the classroom. Analysis of observations, field notes, and course material is being utilized to develop data collection techniques and investigation protocols for the future exploration of pedagogical risk-taking.