I have professional development funds…what should I do with them?

Professional development (PD) is a great way to gain new skills. While many forms of PD are available (workshops, conferences, assessments, etc.), I have found that the most impactful PD experiences allow me to explore who I am as a person and then relate that to my work. For me, meaningful PD is not always focused on gaining new technical knowledge or research skills; it is focused on gaining a deeper understanding of who I am. This understanding allows me to work more efficiently, effectively, and most importantly, with more passion and purpose.

One option for this type of PD is career coaching. Working with a career coach allows you to reflect deeply on your work now and into the future. It helps you make decisions and solve problems. While coaches do not really give direct advice, they help you develop the tools you need to guide your own path. The career coach I have worked with help me during a really hard time in my professional career. She helped me regain my passion and feel more fulfilled in my work. She also helped me understand how organizational change impacts an individual even if is it not always obvious because despite change the work continues. If you do not know where to find a coach, ask your colleagues! Many people work with a coach but do not share it broadly. Also check with your university. Sometimes they have curated lists of coaches who can support you a variety of ways based on your career stage and personal needs. Coaches can be costly, but they are worth it!

Another form of PD is more workshop/training based but allows for individual exploration. Most recently, I have engaged in work to uncover my unique strengths and apply those to my job. For me, these types of sessions are best done with a colleague or two (meaning you both experience the same thing but that does not have to mean you do it at the same time together – you can each explore individually and come together after). This type of PD and approach gives common language to the group and allows you to better understand yourself and others. I think these types of PD have truly helped me build deeper connections with my colleagues which ultimately leads to a better work environment. It also allows you to understand yourself in relation to others. This team knowledge has helped me avoid arguments and misunderstandings because I have deeper understanding and appreciation for my colleagues and their approaches to our work. The cost for these types of training varies greatly, but often you can get a discount if you get more people involved.

While there are many forms of PD, I encourage you to invest in PD that focuses on you as a person. What you learn in those sessions is transferrable to many contexts, professional and personal. Knowing who you are is an investment we should all make. It leads to happier and more fulfilling experiences.

New Job Means New Things to Learn

In July, I started a new role at OSU as the Assistant Vice President for Talent and Team Development within the Office of Knowledge Enterprise (OKE) while continuing my engineering education work. OKE is part of ERIK which is essentially the research and innovation arm of the institution. In this role, I am charged with helping researchers and teams of researcher prepare for large-scale interdisciplinary research that could lead to federal funding. It has been an exciting new adventure that has allowed me to connect with amazing folks across the entire university. That said, balancing a faculty appointment and an administrative appointment can be challenging. Below are 3 tips if you are interested in starting to pursue something similar.

  • Have a typical schedule but be ready for changes. I spend 2 days a week in my OKE office and 2 days a week in my engineering education office. I use Fridays as a split day to catch up on whatever is needed (ideally working from home that day but that has happened less than I would like). While this balanced schedule would be ideal, there are times when adjustments need to be made. With that, when planning things like meetings in advance, I keep everything to their assigned days. This allows unforeseen issues or tasks to be tackled as needed. There are times when I make exceptions, but these are far and few between or else I would be doing both jobs all the time.

  • Communicate, communicate, and communicate again. When you have two major roles, you know you do, but others will forget because they are not balancing both day to day. There is no harm in reminding them about your schedule, availability, capacity, and expectations. This is about setting boundaries but also communicating them. I have found that people are typically extremely understanding when I remind them of my dual role and the restrictions it causes.

  • Ask all the questions. I have been at OSU as a faculty member for 10 years now. I know how a lot of things work. I have seen the old ways of doing things and the new ones. One major thing I have learned in this new role is that every unit has their own way of doing things even if we are following the same university policies. This means you have to ask questions to learn how things are done across the system. There are certain things people will assume you know, but trust me, ask questions just to be sure you are aligned.

As I continue in this role, I know I will have more to share, but I wanted to post my initial insights having been in this role for about 6 months. Each and every day, I learn something new about the role, the unit, the university, and myself. It has been a great experience in doing something fresh and continuing to learn.

It’s Time for the KNC!

Tomorrow I will be traveling to the KEEN National Conference (KNC)! The KNC is a gathering of individuals interested in developing the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) in engineering students. During my time at OSU, I have been involved with KEEN (the network around EM) in a variety of capacities. I’ve been involved with grants, classroom implementation/curriculum development, and coaching after a summer workshop. While KEEN is very focused on undergraduate education, I have been able to apply what I’ve learned about EM to many aspects of my work including my research and work with graduate students.

My favorite part about working with this group is the people. I’ve met so many amazing faculty at institutions across the United States through KEEN. It has been extremely rewarding to get to know them and learn more about their programs, many of which are very different than our programs at OSU in terms of focus and size. It’s been wonderful to learn so much from them and develop collaborations and connections around and beyond EM. I’m looking forward to seeing so many familiar faces at the KNC and getting to meet new people as well.

One of the things I’m most looking forward to at the KNC is just being in person! I love the energy around an in-person conference and really missed that over the last few years. Hallway conversations can be some of the most important at conferences and those are very difficult to recreate in a virtual world. While being in-person for conferences is really exhausting in the moment, it is also really energizing as you come back to campus and think about all the new things you can try based on what you’ve learned. I’m looking forward to being tired after this event!

Toy Adaptation with Hilliard Schools

Dr. Kajfez recently met with a group of 4th graders at a local elementary school. Check out the story here: https://www.hilliardschools.org/4th-graders-create-toy-to-make-a-difference/

First-year engineering, I’m back!

When I started teaching, it was in a first-year engineering context, and I simply feel in love with teaching that level. There is an unmeasurable excitement in the class related to the newness of everything and the start of college careers. I forgot how powerful that feeling is, and it’s been giving me energy since my first class this semester. Each day I come home with a smile and know that teaching first-years is a huge part of that.

The start of this year has also been tricky since this is the first time I’m back in the classroom, in person, since March 2020. Like many of the colleagues, this is challenging, and I felt very rusty. However, it’s also rejuvenating! After a year and a half of only seeing students on my computer, I see them in real life! It’s amazing and surreal to be in a room and relive all those things I didn’t realize I was missing related to student-instructor interaction. Online, we did the best we could, but there are some things that could never be recreated.

Even with all the excitement and energy, there is still uncertainty. I’m hopeful I don’t get sick, my son doesn’t get sick, my students don’t get sick, we continue with in-person instruction, I get to travel for a conference, etc. That said, I’m also realistic and know that my hopes might be dashed. That’s ok though because I feel more resilient than ever to deal with adversity and the unknow. At the start of the pandemic, the unknown was really too much for me, but now, I have the tools to adjust and move forward.

As you move forward this semester, remember that you too have the tools to be successful. We have all learned something about ourselves during this time, and we now need to use what we’ve gained to move forward and do great things. You are not alone in this journey, but remember to also reach within as you reach out and reconnect. Like my first-year students, I’m excited for this academic year and am ready to start a new chapter in my college career.

“Time and change will surely show. How firm thy friendship…OHIO!” – Carmen Ohio

These days I feel like all I think about is time and change. What will be different tomorrow? How long with this last? Clearly, the last year has been a tough one for many reasons. Personally, I’ve had professional and personal issues all hit and complicate an already complicated year. My moto throughout all of this for RIME has been to give each other and ourselves a little bit of grace.

If the pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that we all have “stuff.” We all have something going on in our lives at various points in time that impact what we do in the classroom or with our research. The “stuff” includes all those unexpected and often unpleasant things we deal with in our lives (e.g., illness within a family, struggling financially, addiction, etc.). Often, we cannot leave our “stuff” at the door. We come to each experience as whole people, and whether or not we realize it, our “stuff” impacts all aspects of our lives.

As an educator, I think it’s important to recognize that every person brings “stuff” to an experience, class, meeting, etc. While we may not know the details of each person’s “stuff,” I hope we can all acknowledge that it exists and work to find acceptance and understanding for one another as we navigate difficult times. If we build a foundation around understanding and respect, I believe we will be successful and get through the most difficult times.

2020 has not be kind, but through it all, I have found support, understanding, forgiveness, and compassion all around. I try to seek out the good in all situations, knowing it will brighten the bad. “Time and change will surely show.” Here’s to 2021 and the hope of a slightly less complicated world!

RIME Over the Years: A Quick Look Back

In this post, I want to reflect on the evolution of RIME over the years and the students who have been instrumental in our success. When I first began the group very informally, it was me and one undergraduate student. We worked together on a variety of seemingly random projects while I tried to find a direction for my research at OSU. At that time, OSU didn’t have an engineering education department so I looked for collaborations with other universities and departments across campus. That work lead me to my first NSF project, SPRITE.

When SPRITE was funded, I was ecstatic. It was my first big win as a faculty member, and I knew it was the start I needed to build RIME officially. Through SPRITE, I was able to hire additional undergraduate researchers to help me complete the OSU side of the project. These undergraduates were the backbone of the grant. They worked side by side with the graduate students on the project from the other university and contributed to the grant in ways I never expected.

Once SPRITE was up and running, I started to submit additional proposals and a department of engineering education at OSU was created. With that change, I applied for and was selected as a tenure-track faculty member in the department. This meant that I could officially start working with graduate students. Those first students who joined me at OSU really took a leap of faith. While I had a vision for where we were going, I had no idea how we would get there.

Now RIME includes 7 full time engineering education PhD students, 2 STEM education PhD students, and 3 undergraduate researchers. Leading the RIME Collaborative and working with these amazing individuals has been a constant joy in my faculty life. The members of this group constantly amaze me with their dedication to engineering education and their ability to achieve greatness. They always ask hard questions and support each other throughout all milestones. I am lucky to work with such remarkable students on engaging projects! Thank you for being part of RIME!