Enhancing Learning and Teaching in Engineering (ELATE) is an initiative that aims to foster learning communities comprising of undergraduate and graduate students, teaching assistants, and academic and non-academic staff with the objective of enhancing and promoting excellence in the learning and teaching experience in the Faculty of Engineering.
Over the years, ELATE has established a faculty learning community where instructors get together and share their experiences with different teaching and assessing strategies, hosted annual conferences on teaching and learning practices, provided support for professors and instructors on developing their teaching strategies and pedagogies, and established several initiatives on student learning and involvement in course design.
Strategic Objectives
- Support a culture of critical thinking about teaching and learning
- Promote and support the use of evidence-based pedagogical strategies and innovative educational tools
- Equip current and future engineering educators with pedagogical knowledge and skills
- Support and promote engagement in engineering education research
- Foster connection and collaboration among the McGill engineering education community
Publications
ELATE is proud to contribute to the advancement of the field of engineering education through participation in conferences and academic publications. Below is a selection of publications authored by past and present ELATE team members (identified by an asterix*) as well those authored by faculty members leading ELATE-supported projects.
If you are interested in working with ELATE on a research project, please contact elate.engineering [at] mcgill.ca (our team) or see our funding opportunities and awards.
2024
- Preliminary employment trajectory findings from a pan-Canadian survey on career motivations and aspirations of undergraduate engineering students by Sean Maw, Paul Neufeld, Lawrence Chen*, Carol Jaeger, Kimia Moozeh, Peter Ostafichuk, Brian Frank, Carolyn MacGregor, Grant McSorley, & Jason Grove
- Scaffolding Lifelong Learning in First-Year Engineering Courses by Katrina Poulin, Amanda Saxe*, Roni Khazaka*, & Marwan Kanaan
- Student-generated infographics and videos for learning about professional obligations and the impact of engineering on society by Lawrence R. Chen*
- L. R. Chen*, M. Amin, C. Belleville, M. Bruno, M. Gostraya, T. Jrab, M. P. Lemina, D. Rekkas, and A. Yaffe, "Students as partners to enhance an introductory course on the engineering profession: a case study," International Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 1024-1035, 2024.
2023
- A Multi-Institutional Alternative Assessment Faculty Learning Community: Supporting Teaching in Higher Education by Lawrence R. Chen*, K. Breana Downey, and Erin L. Whitteck
- Enhancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Engineering Education by Amanda Saxe*, Ayca Koseoglu*, and Nasim Razavinia*
- Innovative Assessment Strategies for Measuring Graduate Attribute Competencies by Sabrina Turrin, Katrina Poulin, Amanda Saxe*, Roni Khazaka*, and Marwan Kanaan
- Simple And Effective Teaching Strategies for Increasing Graduate Attributes Competency Levels by Sabrina Turrin, Katrina Poulin, Amanda Saxe*, Roni Khazaka*, and Marwan Kanaan
- Students’ Reflections on the Impact of Paid Summer Photonics Research Internships by Rhys Adams and Lawrence R. Chen*
2022
- Group Work on Midterm and Final Exams in Remote Teaching and Learning Context and Beyond by Lawrence R. Chen*
- A Systems Theory Framework for Embedding Lifelong Learning Holistically in Undergraduate Engineering Education by Amanda Saxe*, Rehab Mahmoud*, and Nasim Razavinia*
2020
- Supporting Engineering Students on Academic Probation by Improving Their Learning Skills by Valerie Bourassa* and Maria Orjuela-Laverde*
2019
- On the Use of Reflective Writing in an Introductory Photonics Course by Lawrence R. Chen* and Maxime Jacques
- On the Use of Reflective Writing Exercises for Improving Student Learning of Conceptual and Technical Problems in Engineering by Lawrence R. Chen*, Maxime Jacques, and Zeinab Sobhanigavgani
- Interrupted Case Studies in Materials Engineering by Marta Cerruti
- Exam-Wrappers as a Tool to Enhance Students’ Metacognitive Skills in Machine Element Design Class by Ibrahim El Bojairami and Mark Driscoll
- Utility and Implementation of Reflection in Distinct Types of Engineering Courses by Ibrahim El Bojairami, Sonya Kouthouridis, Zeinab Sobhanigavgani, Maxime Jacques, Christopher Moraes, Sidney Omelon, Mark Driscoll, and Lawrence R. Chen*
- Preparing Tomorrow’s Engineer-Communicators: A Review of Models for Effective Communication Instruction by Meghan Marshall, Lydia Wilkinson, Viviane Yargeau, Maria Orjuela-Laverde*, Myra Bloom, Brandiff Caron, Louise Meunier, Greg Zilberbrant, Paul Okrutny, Jonathan Verrett, Michael Schoen, Estella Qi, Tatiana Teslenko, Kelly Miller, and Hassan Golpour
- Building Effective Case Studies for Materials by Vivienne Tam and Marta Cerruti
- The Effect of Student Reflection Quality on a Technical Writing Assignment Resubmission by Rana Yekani, Sarah Bluteau, and Sidney Omelon
2018
- Implementing Reflective Writing in Large Non-Technical Engineering Courses by Lawrence R. Chen* and Maria Orjuela-Laverde*
2017
- Engaging College Physics Students with Photonics Research by Rhys Adams and R. Lawrence Chen*