Project Info

*Educational research on global sociotechnical competency (to complement PIRE Responsible Mining, Resilient Communities grant)

Juan Lucena
jlucena@mines.edu
Mines received a $4-million grant to research and educate engineers working with artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) communities. Students in this grant interact with multiple ASGM stakeholders (miners, local officials, foreign students, peer students from different disciplines, etc.) and are supposed to develop “global sociotechnical competency” (GSC) along the way. Students have interacted with ASGM stakeholders in person and virtually, and will continue to do so, in the development of GSC as we have to adjust our practices to the realities of the pandemic. Mines has a unique opportunity to become an exemplar in teaching GSC in person and virtually but, before this happens, we need to know what teaching methods, formats, and content are effective in the development of GSC. MURF students will contribute significantly to this goal by researching, gathering and analyzing data, and disseminating results related to the teaching and learning of GSC.

More Information:

Grand Challenge: Advance personalized learning
B. Jesiek, Q. Zhu, S. Woo, J. Thompson, and A. Mazzurco, “Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors,” Online J. Glob. Eng. Educ., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 1–14, 2014. G. L. Downey et al., “The Globally Competent Engineer: Working Effectively with People Who Define Problems Differently,” J. Eng. Educ., vol. 95, no. 2, pp. 107–122, 2006, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00883.x A. Rivera, J. M. Smith, J. C. Lucena, T. Phelan, R. Bullock, and K. M. Smits. 2021. “Making the most of virtual community engagement for international projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Proceedings of the 2021 American Society for Engineering Education conference. https://rmrc.mines.edu

Primary Contacts:

Juan Lucena, Director of Humanitarian Engineering Undergraduate Programs. jlucena@mines.edu Jessica Smith, Director of Humanitarian Engineering Graduate Programs. jmsmith@mines.edu

Student Preparation

Qualifications

• Interest in STEM education research, including data gathering and analysis • Desire to write for peer reviewed publication outlets • Ability to work with interdisciplinary faculty and willingness to learn methods and writing style from social sciences • Proficiency in Excel, Word, and Google Drive file management

TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)

4-5 hours per week

SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED

• Advanced skills in data cleaning, analysis and presentation using Excel, PowerPoint and other software to visually display stakeholder and conceptual mapping • Ability to conduct literature reviews • Ability to write and present research findings to interdisciplinary audiences in conference settings and peer-reviewed publication outlets. • Ability to work with interdisciplinary faculty and learn research methods from social sciences and educational research. • Ability to position this research experience in their career development, including job searches, graduate school applications, etc.

MENTORING PLAN

Professors Juan Lucena and Jessica Smith will mentor the student through weekly meetings. Student will have the opportunity to reach out to a larger PIRE faculty group for advice and feedback. We have a successful proven record in mentoring undergraduate students in multiple research projects.

PREFERRED STUDENT STATUS

Junior
Senior
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