Kirsten Davis

Assistant Professor of Engineering Education
Mailing Addresses
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
ARMSTRONG HALL
701 WEST STADIUM AVENUE
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47907-2045
Office: ARMS ARMS 1327; Research Lab WANG 3569
Email: kad@purdue.edu
Laboratory Page

Biography

Dr. Kirsten Davis is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her research explores the intentional design and assessment of global engineering programs, student development through experiential learning, and approaches for teaching and assessing systems thinking skills. Kirsten holds a B.S. in Engineering & Management from Clarkson University and an M.A.Ed. in Higher Education, M.S. in Systems Engineering, and Ph.D. in Engineering Education, all from Virginia Tech. During her time at Virginia Tech, Kirsten was the graduate assistant for the Rising Sophomore Abroad Program, a global engineering course and study abroad program for first year engineering students. She also served as an in-country evaluator for an NSF International Research Experience for Students (IRES) program at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. For her leadership and research of these programs, Kirsten received the 2020 Graduate Teaching Excellence award from Virginia Tech and the 2019 Harold Josephson award for professional promise in international education from the Association of International Education Administrators.

Hometown

Menomonie, WI

Education

Ph.D., Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
M.S., Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
M.A.Ed., Higher Education, Virginia Tech
B.S., Engineering & Management, Clarkson University

Research Interests

Kirsten's research is inspired by her industry experience and observations of the disconnect between what is taught in the engineering classroom and what happens in the engineering workplace. Engineering programs typically focus on closed-ended math and science problems while real engineering problems are interdisciplinary, open-ended, and involve working with people from different backgrounds. Kirsten's research addresses this disconnect by exploring educational experiences that better align with the realities of engineering work and identifying methods for teaching and assessing professional skills that will prepare engineering students to succeed in the work environment.

A central focus of Kirsten's work is pursuing intentional design and assessment of global engineering programs (e.g., study abroad, research abroad, and global experiences on home campuses). She seeks to understand how aspects of global program design are related to the experiences and learning outcomes of program participants. Kirsten also studies student development through other experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, research experiences, and service learning. In particular, she explores how these experiences can help students learn to solve ill-structured problems and integrate the social and technical aspects of engineering problems. Related to this work, Kirsten's research also investigates approaches for teaching and assessing systems thinking skills. Across all her projects, Kirsten seeks to connect educational research to educational practice and employs a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches.

Visit Davis' research group at: Global Learning Initiatives for the Development of Engineers (GLIDE) Research Group

Selected Publications

Davis, K. A., Deters, J. R., Ozkan, D., Davis, J. C., & Murzi, H. G. (2022). Exploring the process and outcomes of leading a study abroad program using real-time perspectives. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(4), 351–381. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v34i2.654

Davis, K. A., Grote, D. M., Mahmoudi, H., Perry, L., Ghaffarzadegan, N., Grohs, J. R., Hosseinichimeh, N., Knight, D. B., & Triantis, K. (2023). Comparing self-report assessments and scenario-based assessments of systems thinking competence. Journal of Science Education and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-023-10027-2

Davis, K. A., Jesiek, B. K., & Knight, D. B. (2023). Exploring scenario-based assessment of students’ global engineering competency: Building evidence of validity of a China-based situational judgement test. Journal of Engineering Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20552

Davis, K. A., & Knight, D. B. (2021). Comparing students’ study abroad experiences and outcomes across global contexts. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 83, 114–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.05.003

Davis, K. A., & Knight, D. B. (2023). Assessing learning processes rather than outcomes: Using critical incidents to explore student learning abroad. Higher Education, 85, 341–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00836-6

Related Links

Awards & Honors

  • ENE Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Student Teaching, 2024
  • College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, 2023
  • Dr. Bevlee Artis Watford Award for Outstanding Dissertation, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech, 2020
  • Graduate Teaching Excellence Award, Virginia Tech, 2020
  • Harold Josephson Award for Professional Promise in International Education, Association for International Education Administrators, 2019

Experience

  • 2020-present Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Education, Purdue University
  • 2016-2020 Graduate Assistant, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech
  • 2014-2016 Graduate Assistant, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • 2012-2014 Analytics Engineer, GE Transportation
  • 2010-2012 Information Technology Leadership Program, GE Transportation

Fun Facts

I love to travel and learn about other cultures. In my free time, I like to read fiction, bake, and am currently learning how to garden.