Cassandra McCall

Engineering Education

Assistant Professor


Cassandra  McCall

Contact Information

Office Location: ENGR 225
Phone: 435-797-0944
Email: cassandra.mccall@usu.edu
Additional Information:

Educational Background

PhD, Engineering Education, Virginia Tech, 2017
Advancing from Outsider to Insider: A Grounded Theory of Professional Identity Negotiation
MS, Civil Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, 2011
Meta-Analysis and Characterization of Faculty Mentoring Programs
BS, Civil Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, 2009

Licensures & Certifications

Certificate in Effective College Instruction, Association of College and University Educators, 2021

Biography

I’m from a small ranching and railroading town in southwest South Dakota and joined USU in August 2020. In my leisure time, I enjoy hiking in Logan Canyon and baking.

Teaching Interests

I teach foundational undergraduate engineering science courses and graduate courses in engineering education. I use a combination of active learning techniques informed by empirical research on identity, motivation, project and problem-based learning, and conceptual and procedural understanding. My role is in the classroom is not to simply deliver content, but to facilitate learning through engagement and promote students’ professional formation as future engineers and engineering educators.

Research Interests

The overarching goal of my research is to enhance engineering diversity and inclusion by challenging traditional and normative conceptions of who engineers are and what engineers do. To meet this goal, I combine qualitative research approaches with identity, culture, and critical frameworks to the diverse backgrounds and pathways by which individuals come to know, identify with, and become engineers. Core topics of my research include: identity formation of engineers; disability identity in engineering; hidden or non-apparent identities in engineering; the de-stigmatization of disability in engineering industry and engineering education; and the development of inclusive and accessible teaching practices using Universal Design for Learning principles; and researcher identity and positionality.

Awards

Teacher of the Year Award, 2024

College of Engineering, Utah State University

Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award, 2024

Engineering Education Department, Utah State University

Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award, 2023

Engineering Education Department, Utah State University

Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor Award, 2022

Engineering Education Department, Utah State University

Star Reviewer Award, 2021

Journal of Engineering Education

Wickenden Award for Best Manuscript, 2021

Journal of Engineering Education

Journal Manuscript of the Year Award, 2020

Australasian Journal of Engineering Education


    Publications | Book Chapters

  • Creamer, E., McCall, C., Edwards, C., (2023). Achieving Methodological Integration: Mixed Method Grounded Theory as an Example of Constructing a Methodology to Guide Design and Integration: Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods Research Design. Sage

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Journal Articles

Academic Journal

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Other

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Teaching

ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Fall 2023
EED 6090 - Developing an Engineering Education Curriculum, Spring 2023
ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Spring 2023
ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Fall 2022
ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Spring 2022
EED 7810 - Research Seminar, Spring 2022
ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Fall 2021
EED 6090 - Developing an Engineering Education Curriculum, Spring 2021
ENGR 2140 - Mechanics of Materials, Spring 2021

Graduate Students Mentored

Vanessa Tran, Engineering Education
Michaela Harper, Engineering Education, January 2023
Gabriel Van Dyke, Engineering Education, August 2022
Thomas Heaps, Engineering Education, August 2022