The role of materials as technology enablers has become increasingly prominent in recent years. In fact, of the fourteen Grand Challenges for Engineering posed by the National Academy of Engineering, at least half require the design and/or development of new materials. Hence, introductory materials science courses are considered essential components of a typical engineering student’s curriculum, independent of their engineering major.
Many studies have suggested that learning can be enhanced when instructors incorporate student-centered, interactive approaches. Moreover, such pedagogical strategies have the potential to
positively affect the further development of the students well beyond their university years. We have investigated the effectiveness of different engineering pedagogies at both the UG and Graduate level. We focus on a number of specific areas:
- Use of video lectures to enhance learning outside of class.
- Development of psychometric instruments to measure teaching effectiveness.
- New models of UG and Graduate education.
Dr. Shamberger is a proud senior investigator in the NSF-funded Data-Enabled Discovery and Design of Energy Materials (D3EM) graduate program at Texas A&M, as well as the NSF-funded Multifunctional Materials Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).
Select Publications:
- Jung, E.x, Y. Zhou, R. Arroyave, M. Radovic, P.J. Shamberger. Psychometric Evaluation of the Materials Concept Inventory, in review (2017).
- Zhou, Y., E. Jungx, R. Arroyave, M. Radovic, P.J. Shamberger. Incorporating Research Experiences into an Introductory Materials Science Course, Int. J. Eng. Educ., 31(6A), 1491–1503 (2015).