University of Washington's Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching

University of Washington's Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching
Name	Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching
Formation	2002
Headquarters	University of Washington
Location	Seattle, Washington

University of Washington's Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching The Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching is an academic unit at the University of Washington focused on improving undergraduate and graduate instruction in engineering education through research, curriculum design, and faculty development. The Center collaborates with departments across the College of Engineering and with external partners to translate evidence from learning sciences into instructional practice. Its activities intersect with professional societies, funding agencies, and accreditation bodies to influence pedagogical norms.

History and Mission

The Center traces its origins to initiatives at the University of Washington in the early 2000s to strengthen pedagogical research linked to engineering practice, influenced by national priorities from the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering, and reports such as the Engineer of 2020 and the New Engineer. Its mission emphasizes improving student learning outcomes, promoting inclusive pedagogy aligned with directives from the American Society for Engineering Education, and supporting faculty scholarship consistent with expectations from the Association of American Universities and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Leadership has engaged with programs sponsored by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and initiatives paralleling work at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Research and Scholarship

The Center conducts empirical studies on curriculum transformation, assessment methods, and instructional interventions that build on frameworks from the Learning Sciences Research Institute and methodologies used by researchers at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Institute of Education Sciences. Projects often receive funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education (United States), and private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Research outputs appear alongside scholarship from faculty at Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and Purdue University in venues sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Education and journals associated with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Center integrates approaches from evaluation specialists connected to the Urban Institute and the RAND Corporation to validate learning gains and measure impacts on retention.

Educational Programs and Initiatives

The Center designs programs for course redesign, active learning, and inclusive teaching aligned with national reform efforts like Project Kaleidoscope and the Science Gateways Community Institute. It offers workshops modeled after practices at the Carnegie Mellon University and materials informed by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), with modules for topics from design thinking used at IDEO to team-based learning popularized at University of Minnesota. Initiatives include faculty learning communities similar to those promoted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and summer institutes comparable to programs at the Kellogg School of Management and the National Academies. These programs aim to improve outcomes observed in comparisons with cohorts at Ohio State University and University of Michigan.

Faculty, Staff, and Partnerships

Staff and affiliated faculty include engineering educators, learning scientists, assessment specialists, and instructional designers who collaborate with departments such as Electrical Engineering (University of Washington), Mechanical Engineering (University of Washington), and Computer Science & Engineering units. The Center partners with professional organizations including the American Society for Engineering Education, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers, and engages with regional consortia like the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and corporate partners such as Microsoft and Boeing. Collaborations extend to policy and practice networks including the National Academy of Engineering and the Higher Learning Commission.

Impact and Assessment

Assessment practices draw on standards from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and metrics advocated by the National Research Council, measuring outcomes like persistence in STEM fields and performance on concept inventories developed in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University and University of California, San Diego. Evaluations compare retention and graduation metrics with peer cohorts at Cornell University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign while tracking diversity indicators in partnership with organizations such as the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and the National Society of Black Engineers. The Center’s assessments inform curricular accreditation dossiers submitted to regional bodies like the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and influence institutional strategies alongside the Provost (University of Washington).

Facilities and Resources

The Center maintains spaces for instructional design, technology-enhanced classrooms, and research on learning environments situated within the University of Washington campus, leveraging labs and makerspaces similar to those at the Fab Lab network and equipment used in partnerships with the Allen Institute for AI and the Clean Energy Institute (University of Washington). Resources include assessment toolkits, data repositories compatible with practices at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, and professional development materials used in conjunction with units like the Information School (University of Washington) and the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance.

Category:University of Washington