| Abstract: | Student interviews provide valuable input into peer evaluation of teaching. Both the University of Georgia and Stanford University have explored ways of using student interviews to tap into student perspectives. The approaches taken by the two schools are compared in this paper. Similarities and differences are identified and discussed. In addition, the aspects of teaching that are best reflected upon by peers versus students are enumerated.Sheri D. Sheppard, an associate professor, has been at Stanford University in the Design Division of Mechanical Engineering since 1986. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate design classes, she does experimental and analytical research on weld fatigue and impact failures, fracture mechanics, and applied finite element analysis. She is also a co-principal investigator with Professor Larry Leifer on a multi-university NSF funded project to critically review undergraduate engineering curricula. Before coming to Stanford, Dr. Sheppard completed her graduate studies at the University of Michigan and held several research and consultancy positions in the automotive industry. Larry Leifer received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, his M.S. in Product Design and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He studied human information processing and biomedical engineering in laboratories in the U.S. and Europe before joining Stanford's mechanical engineering department faculty in 1976. Currently he is a professor in the design division where he teaches courses in engineering design based on industry-funded projects and distributed design teams. He studies and promotes this pedagogy through leadership in an NSF funded coalition of engineering schools which are revising undergraduate engineering curricula. Relatedly, he has developed the Smart Product Design laboratory and taught its curriculum for 10 years. As founding director of the Stanford Center for Design Research, he does design theoretic studies and objective evaluation of structured design methodology. Seeking to disseminate assistive devices for physically limited individuals, he co-founded the Tolfa Corporation (1989) and Independence Works, Inc. (1992), a product development enterprise that uses the Internet World Wide Web to bridge the technology transfer gap between research laboratories and disabled consumer markets. J. Edward Carryer is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Design Division of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in mechatronics, he is active in the organization of workshops on Mechatronics Education and the development of both graduate and undergraduate Mechatronics curricula. Before coming to Stanford in 1992, Dr. Carryer held positions in the automotive industry and as a consultant on mechatronic systems, including Chief Engineer at Creative Applications Engineering Inc. There his work involved projects on medical instruments, electronic engine controls and human environmental control systems. Dr. Carryer's graduate work was done at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Stanford University. |
