VaNTH Graduate Student Opportunities

The VaNTH education program provides post-doctoral students and graduate students in the learning sciences with opportunities for pursuing cutting-edge research at the interface between education and bioengineering.  It offers students with computer and technical expertise an environment where they can apply these skills in the development of bio-engineering education materials.  It provides an environment with challenging new opportunities for students with expertise in education assessment and evaluation.  The education program also offers instruction in the latest education theories and practical applications to bioengineering faculty, bioengineering teaching assistants, VaNTH research assistants, and future bioengineering educators. 

Graduate student involvement in VaNTH occurs at two levels.  In some instances, the students are trained in effective teaching and this involves exposure to the HPL model and VaNTH's use of the model.  Some of the graduate students are also directly involved in the research of the center.  Since NSF has made it clear that VaNTH research should not include bioengineering research, few of the PhD and Masters students are in bioengineering, though there have been a few whose research has added to the research of the center.

Graduate researchers play a vital role in the research of the center.  For example, Joan Walker works closely with her advisor, David Cordray, on A&E. She has also interacted with domain researchers and participated in Learning Science forums so that her project is tightly blended with the ongoing work of integrating the various thrusts. She has co-authored papers with domain leaders.  While working with the domain expert in Design, she has also spent time in consultation with industrial partners.  Graduate researchers are encouraged to take part in the learning forums at their sites and to take advantage of any seminar speakers recruited by VaNTH.

Graduate teaching assistants are taught during a seminar with Dr. Alene Harris about HPL and good teaching principles  and are exposed to its implementation in the classroom. Dr. Harris also developed the initial version of ED 3500, a seminar course in education principles for bioengineering graduate students.  Some TA’s are also involved in module development with the course instructor.

Graduate students are also encouraged to take part in the SLC.  In this role, students practice leadership skills, gain training in designing and presenting educational materials in different roles and become a vital component of the outreach of VaNTH.