Engineering blog highlights student learning experiences

Cornell Engineering values the method and practice of teaching – not just for faculty, but for undergraduate peer educators and graduate teaching assistants too.

In line with Cornell’s increased focus on evidence-based pedagogy, a new blog offers a window into how the College of Engineering is enacting student-centered practices to support hundreds of undergraduates.

The ELI edublog, launched in April by the office of Engineering Learning Initiatives (ELI), chronicles the experiences of undergraduate peer educators, graduate TA development consultants and undergraduate researchers. ELI’s leaders hope the blog can help raise awareness for their programs and serve as a resource for students, faculty and staff.

“We use student feedback to improve our own learning initiatives, and we hope that sharing their perspectives, successes and challenges in the form of a blog will be not only interesting, but instructive for others as well,” said Celia Evans, ELI associate director and author of the blog.

A blog post, “Collaborative Learning: A Social Endeavor,” provides insight into peer facilitator preparation for ELI’s one-credit Academic Excellence Workshops. The workshops can be taken in conjunction with core engineering courses, and can enhance learning through group work facilitated by undergraduate peer educators.

Another post highlights the work of graduate TA development consultants who are collaborating with ELI leaders to prepare for the challenges of online TA training.

ELI is inviting the Cornell community to share thoughts and feedback on the blog, and to participate in the comments section of each blog post.

– Syl Kacapyr

Media Contact

Jeff Tyson