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2023 Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) - Exploring and Operationalizing Inclusive Teaching in Engineering Education
The College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) is a unique opportunity for college of engineering undergraduate students to engage in hands-on research with a faculty mentor while using critical thinking, collaborative, and entrepreneurial skills. SURP is an 8-week long program (can be non-contiguous), and students are expected to spend at least 20 hours/week working on their research projects and additional time preparing and presenting their poster for the annual SURP symposium; SURP students and their faculty mentor will agree upon a start date and timeline for their research project (with a suggested start date of June 26th, 2023). The goals of SURP are to:
- Help Cal Poly Engineering students develop professionally and enhance their portfolios for future employment.
- Give opportunities for CENG faculty (including lecturers) to advance their research/project agendas over the summer quarter.
- Build lasting student-faculty mentoring relationships
- Provide opportunities for industrial and other external sponsors to work with Cal Poly faculty and students to advance connections, gain access to Cal Poly talent and capabilities, and engage in valuable collaborative activities.
Our Summer 2023 SURP will support over 30 projects (with some projects taking 2 students) for 39 students. You can apply to up to 3 projects on MustangJobs (each project has its own job posting). You need not be in the same department as the faculty advisor to apply to a given project.
Each SURP student participant will receive a CENG Summer Research Grant of $3,500.
Please note that the grant amount is fixed, and additional funding is not available. This grant will be disbursed through the Financial Aid Office toward the end of the summer. Preference will be given to students who have not yet participated in SURP.
This Project
Project Title: Exploring and Operationalizing Inclusive Teaching in Engineering Education
Faculty Advisor: Benjamin Lutz
Faculty Email: blutz@calpoly.edu
Faculty Department: ME
Number of Students for this project: 2
This work will use qualitative methods to explore and better define inclusive teaching in engineering, with a long-term goal of enhancing student evaluation of teaching regarding inclusivity. Calls for inclusive teaching are growing in engineering education, but research remains limited regarding how engineering faculty enact inclusive practices and how students experience them. We will accomplish the beginning of this work during the summer of 2023 which will occur in three overarching phases, each lasting between 2-3 weeks. First, we will learn about human subjects research design and obtaining IRB approval for data collection. This will include developing semi-structured interview protocols for students and faculty that explore beliefs, experiences, and practices related to inclusive teaching. Second, we will pilot these methods with faculty and students. We will recruit students in Dr. Lutz’s research group as well as colleagues in different JEDI committees. Finally, we will conduct preliminary qualitative analysis and revise our interview protocols for subsequent data collection. This project is firmly situated within the scholarship of teaching and learning and is designed to enhance teaching in ways that benefit both engineering students and faculty. By focusing on aspects of inclusivity in engineering, this research has the potential to improve teaching and learning in Engineering at Cal Poly and can also influence the way educators think about what it means to be an effective engineering educator more broadly.
HOW TO APPLY:
PLEASE SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING TWO DOCUMENTS VIA HANDSHAKE AND SEE RUBRIC BELOW FOR EVALUATION CRITERIA. YOU CAN APPLY TO UP TO THREE SURP PROJECTS, BUT CAN ONLY BE AWARDED ONE.
- Submit your resume
- Submit a cover letter that answers the following three questions:
- Describe why you are interested in this research project.
- Describe how participating in SURP and working on this research project, will help you advance your academic and professional development goals
- Describe how your past experiences have helped prepare you for your participation in SURP. This includes relevant academic, other formal, and informal preparation.
INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS COULD DISQUALIFY YOU FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION.
Note that applications are due April 30; selected students will be notified by no later than May 12.