Cassandra McCall
Engineering Education
Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Office Location: ENGR 225Phone: 435-797-0944
Email: cassandra.mccall@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Educational Background
Licensures & Certifications
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
- 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
Publications | Book Chapters
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- McCall, C., Oertle, K.M, (2023). The Transition Engineered Collaborative (TEC): Promoting people with disabilities in STEM through interdisciplinary transition education [Special Issue]. Journal of Rehabilitation , 89:3, 30-41.
- Secules, S., McCall, C., What research can DO: Rethinking qualitative research designs to promote equity and inclusion. Studies in Engineering Education, 4:1, 26-45. doi: https://doi.org/ 10.21061/see.96
- Simmons, D.R, Polmear, M., Bae, H., McCall, C., (2022). Applying a new lens: Using photo elicitation in construction engineering management research. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
- Bae, H., Simmons, D.R, McCall, C., (2022). Building people as they build work: Promoting the recruitment and retention of construction professionals by facilitating agency. Engineering Project Organization Journal
- McCall, C., McNair, L.D, Simmons, D.R, (2021). Advancing from Outsider to Insider: A Grounded Theory of Professional Identity Negotiation in Undergraduate Engineering. Journal of Engineering Education, 110:2, 393-413. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20383
- McCall, C., Edwards, C., (2021). New Perspectives for Implementing Grounded Theory. Studies in Engineering Education, 1:2, 93-107. doi: http://doi.org/10.21061/see.49
- McCall, C., Secules, S., Mejia, J.A, Beebe, C., Masters, A.S, Sanchez-Pena, M.L, Svyantek, M., (2021). Positionality Practices and Dimensions of Impact on Equity Research: A Collaborative Inquiry and Call to the Community. Journal of Engineering Education, 1:110, 19-43. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20377
- Clegorne, N.A, Simmons, D.R, McCall, C., (2021). Leadership Competencies for Post-Secondary Engineering Experiences: A Delphi Study of Industry Perspectives. Journal of Leadership Education, 20:1, 46-58. doi: https://doi.org/10.12806/V20/I1/R4
- Simmons, D.R, McCall, C., Clegorne, N.A, (2020). Leadership Competencies for Construction Professionals as Identified by Construction Industry Executives. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 146:9, doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001903
- McCall, C., Shew, A., Simmons, D.R, Paretti, M.C, McNair, L.D, (2020). Exploring student disability and professional identity: Navigating sociocultural expectations in U.D. undergraduate civil engineering programs. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 25:1, 79-89. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/22054952.2020.1720434
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.