AC 2007-2269: ASSESSING IMPACT OF OUTREACH ACTIVITY ON MOTIVATION OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Deborah Switzer, Clemson UniversityDr. Debi Switzer is a Professor of Teacher Education at Clemson University. She teacheseducational psychology courses, including learning and motivation theory, measurement, andresearch methods. She spent the first nine years of her career as a secondary mathematics andcomputer science teacher. She has been at Clemson University since 1989. In 2000 Dr. Switzerwas named a Governer's Distinguished Professor by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education,and she received the Award for Faculty Excellence from the Clemson Board of Trustees in 2001.In 2003 she received both the Outstanding Faculty Member in Teaching Award from the EugeneT. Moore School of Education, and the Prince Award for Innovation in Teaching presented by theClemson University Student Government. In 2005 she was named the Eugene T. Moore Schoolof Education Outstanding Faculty Member in Service. She has given teaching effectivenessworkshops at new faculty orientation for over a decade. Dr. Switzer is serving in her third term asa consulting editor for the Journal of Educational Research. In research projects she hascollaborated with faculty in engineering, psychology, education, recreation, counseling, publichealth, and business, supplying expertise in assessment and experimental design. In 2000, shereceived the Harold E. Mitzel Award for Meritorious Contribution to Educational PracticeThrough Research. With Chemical Engineering faculty she was funded through NSF to developassessment instruments and experimental design for research into a new model for educatingengineering students. Her interests in assessment and research design have broadened to includeelectronic portfolios used in student assessment and program evaluation. Lisa Benson, Clemson UniversityDr. Lisa Benson is the Education Director at the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers andFilms and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at ClemsonUniversity. Her research interests are orthopaedic biomechanics and biomaterials, inertial sensorsfor motion analysis, and physiological loading of implants and prosthetics. She has also beenactively involved in undergraduate and graduate engineering education, and outreach projectswith pre-college students and science teachers. She is a member of the American Society ofMechanical Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, Sigma Xi, OrthopaedicResearch Society, Society for Biomaterials, and Tau Beta Pi. Her education includes a B.S. inBioengineering from the University of Vermont, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Bioengineeringfrom Clemson University.