Addressing Future Engineering Educators Through Asee

Abstract

ASEE promotes excellence in engineering teaching by targeting established professors for participation in teaching workshops, and by creating a forum for the exchange of ideas and successful classroom strategies. ASEE is widely recognized for its contributions in this area, and is a valuable resource. However, ASEE has largely overlooked a second population, which has great impact on the quality of engineering teaching: the future professors. To address this issue, several academic institutions have founded ASEE student chapters (1) with the goal of creating a forum for education issues among graduate students. Here we will highlight the activities of the University of Texas at Austin ASEE Student Chapter (2) which build upon the national ASEE Mission (3, 4)to develop the nation's future engineering professors: (1) to inform undergraduate students about the options and potential benefits of attending graduate school; (2) to raise the quality of graduate student teaching; (3) to enhance the teaching and presentation skills of prospective educators; (4) to encourage graduate student communication between different engineering departments; (5) to assist graduate students with the academic hiring process; and (6) to develop the skills needed to establish and lead a research program.