CV

Elizabeth Spingola
Phone: (419) 204-8274 Email:Lizsping@vt.edu
Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (August 2014 – present)
Masters in Data Analytics and Applied Statistics (May 2018)
PhD candidate in Engineering Education, School of Engineering (2019)
Concentration on Human Computer Interaction, Computer Science, and Accessibility
Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio (August 2010 – May 2014)
Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Major in Engineering Education
Minor in Mathematics, Concentration in Computer Science
Certification to teach AYA mathematics
Successful completion PRAXIS I & PRAXIS II, AYA Mathematics
Successful completion of PRAXIS PLT (Practices of Learning and Teaching), Grades 7-12
The first student in the nation to graduate with this undergraduate degree
Engineering Courses
 Programming 1, 2 & 3
 Statics
 Dynamics
 Electric Circuits
 Differential Equations
 Calculus 1, 2, 3 & 4
 Computer Applications
 Robotics
 Engineering Material Science
 Net-Centric Computing
 Modeling Curiosity: The Mars Rover
(EPICS)
 Abstract Algebra
Engineering Education Senior Design
 3-D Modeling and Design
 Engineering Education 1 &2
Education and Theoretical Mathematics Courses
 Culture and Schooling
 Curriculum and Assessment
 Communication in the Classroom
 Foundations of Mathematics
 Foundations of Geometry
 Integrated Mathematics Methods
 Exceptional Learners
 Development Across the Lifespan
 Literacy Across the Content Areas
 Educational Psychology
 International Lesson Planning (EPICS)
 Field Experiences 1,2,3,4,5,6
 Student Teaching
 Statistics for Engineers & Scientists
Graduate Level Courses
 Foundations of Engineering Education
 Assessment
 Statistics in Research Methods
 Theoretical Statistics
 Quantitative Research Methods
 Qualitative Research Methods
 Research Methods in Engineering
Education
 Technology and Disability
 Digital Identity
 Usability Engineering
 Transformation and Application of
Emerging Technology
 STEM Education Pedagogy
 Practicum in Engineering Classrooms
 GTA Training Workshop
 Human Factors System Design
 Design to Change Power and Authority
 Advanced Statistics
 Regression Methods
 Communicating in Statistical
Collaboration
 Experimental D

 

Related Knowledge
 AutoCad
 SolidWorks
 Inventor
 Java
 C++
 Html
 PHP
 Python
 CSS
 MatLab
 Qualitative Analysis
 R for Quantitative Analysis
 Computer interface design
 Curriculum design
 Digital game design
 Digital accessibility
 Accessible and inclusive design
 Assessment mapping
 ABET mapping
 Data mining
 Data cleaning
 Data analytics
 Algorithm building
 Machine learning
 Survey Building
 Research Interview Guides
 Lesson planning
 Curriculum design
 Teaching
 Canvas curriculum development
 Blended classroom lesson design
 Online classroom lesson design
 Physical classroom lesson design
 Project Management
 Gnatt Charts
 Research
 Website Design and Creation
Achievements & Awards

Achievements:
o Invited panelist for Advancing the Human Condition, October 2017
o Invited speaker for Stronger than Stigma, March 2017
o Licensed Educator in Ohio in 7-12 AYA Mathematics
o Passed the Engineering Education Qualifying Exams for the PhD program
o Passed the Engineering Education Preliminary Exams for the PhD program
o Project Manager for Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) which designed and produced a
functional Mars Rover model currently on display at the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
o Undergraduate Research Assistant designed an educational website for secondary teachers emphasizing
knowledge updates for STEM curriculum (lead) and developed a classification scheme for Introduction
to Engineering courses at the university level (team member).
o Classroom field experience teaching at the 7-12 grade levels, in the STEM areas, at five different schools.
o Co-developed and co-presented a series of Engineering Teacher Workshops for K-12 teachers in the
Dominican Republic, to facilitate the introduction of STEM curriculum in the local classrooms, May 2012.
o Third Degree Black Belt, Certified Trainer and Instructor, Taekwondo
o Accomplished musician, playing piano, flute, piccolo and saxophone

 

Awards:
o 2014 Catherine Freed Leadership Award at Ohio Northern University, May, 2014. The award named for
former University First Lady Catherine Freed, recognizes the outstanding female leader on campus.
o First person in the nation to graduate with a B.S. in Engineering Education. 2014.
o Admitted into the Graduate Teaching Academy of Excellence. 2016
o Honorable Mention for the National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship Program for the
proposal “Creating, Validating and Accessing Online Educational Environments to Target the Cognitive
and Learning (Dis)abled.”, 2016
o AHEAD in Virginia Disabled Graduate Scholarship, 2018

 

Organizations
 American Society of Engineering Educators, Student Chapter-Officer
 Joint Engineering Council – Officer
 Disability Alliance – President
 Disability Caucus – Co-chair
 Commission for Equal Opportunity and Diversity- Representative
 Special Representative for the Disability Alliance and Caucus Representative for the Graduate Student
Association
 Committee for Equal Opportunity and Diversity – Chair Representative
 Phi Sigma Rho (Women’s Engineering Sorority) – Officer
 Relay for Life/College Against Cancer – Officer
 Northern Engineers Without Borders- Travel to Dominican Republic to implement engineering design
strategy for teachers & on site engineering projects in the local community
 Habitat for Humanity-On site residential builds, impoverished Florida community and locally in Ohio
 Student Senate
 Kappa Phi, Women’s Service Sorority
 Frontiers In Education
 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
 Society of Women Engineers
 Human Computer Interaction International
 Accessing Engineering

 

Research &Publications

Research
 Co-author on the following conference papers:
o The New Engineering Education Degree at Ohio Northern University, poster presented for the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Review Board, at Ohio Northern
University, 2012.
o Bachelor of Science in Engineering Education: Differentiating from Traditional Education and
Engineering Disciplines, presented at American Society for Engineering Education Annual
Conference, Atlanta, June 2013.
o Development of a First-Year Course Classification Scheme, presented at American Society for
Engineering Education Annual Conference, Atlanta, June 2013.
o Introducing Engineering into the Dominican Republic Classroom: Teacher Workshops, presented
at American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Atlanta, June 2013.
o Why Did Students Select a New Engineering Education Degree Program? Presented at American
Society for Engineering Education North Central Conference, Ohio Northern University, March
2012 and American Society for Engineering Education North Central Conference, Ohio State,
Columbus, OH, April 2013.
o Assessing the Introduction to Engineering into the K-12 classroom: The Use of Online Modules in
a Teacher Workshop, presented at American Society for Engineering Education North Central
Conference, Ohio State, Columbus, OH, April 2013.
o Self-Efficacy in First-Year Engineering Design Courses: Satisfaction, Sense of Belonging, Team
Roles and Gender, Olin College, Research Experiences For Undergraduates, REU Summer
Internship 2013, in process of completion.
o The Need for Engineering Education, Ohio Northern University, in process of completion.
o Polar Launch, American Society for Engineering Education North Central Conference, Oakland
University, Rochester, MI, April 2014.
o Self-Efficacy in First-Year Design Courses, American Society for Engineering Education North
Central Conference, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, April 2014.
o Development of a First-Year Course Classification Scheme, poster presentation, American
Society for Engineering Education annual conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 2014.
o Self-Efficacy in First-Year Design Courses, Frontiers in Education, Madrid, Spain, October 2014.
o Does an International Experience Introduce a Global Mindset for Rising So
o Developing a Blended Classroom, The Center for Instructional Development and Educational
Research, Virginia Tech, February 2016
o An Animated Discussion! Elaborating the challenges in instructional development for teaching
animation to students with low digital literacy, EERA , February 2017
o Teaching Computer Programming to Primary School Students with Low Digital Literacy, EERA,
February 2017
o Access Engineering : Capacity Building Institute, Washington University, April 2017
o Learning Management Systems (LMS) in Higher Education: Exploring Web Accessibility for
People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities, VERA, September 2017
o An Evaluation of Accessibility for a Large Foundations of Engineering Course, Accessing Higher
Ground, November 2017
o Development of a First-Year Course Classification Scheme, International Journal of Engineering
Education, January 2018
o Engineering Faulty Perceptions on Software Technologies and the Support of These
Technologies, The Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research, Virginia
Tech, February 2018
o Conversation: Digital Large Classroom Simultaneous Testing, The Center for Instructional
Development and Educational Research, Virginia Tech, February 2018
o Best Practices in Completely Online Graduate Level Engineering Courses, The Center for
Instructional Development and Educational Research, Virginia Tech, February 2018
o Computing Research Association: Graduate Cohort, March, 2018
o Literature Review on Disability Participation in the Engineering Field, ASEE, June, 2018
o Evaluation of Accessibility of Course Web sties for Foundations of Engineering Classes, HCII, July
2018
o Web Browser Extensions for Accessibility in Education, ASSETS, October 2018
o It Can Be More than Just Pulling Straws: A Large Scale Mixed Method Study of Engineering Major
Discernment, JEE, Under review

Grants Helped to Secure
 DOIT Engineering, $3,000

 

Research Summary
 Co-author on 12 published, peer-reviewed conference papers
 Co-author on 3 peer-reviewed journal articles
 Co-facilitator to 3 conference workshops
 Reviewer for 2 K-12 engineering/mathematics textbooks
 Co-author for 1 K-12 engineering teacher edition textbook
 Sole author for K-12 engineering textbook workbook
 Sole author for K-12 mathematics textbook “Using Programming Logic to Solve Math Problems”
 Undergraduate Research Assistant designed an educational website for secondary teachers emphasizing
knowledge updates for STEM curriculum (lead) and developed a classification scheme for Introduction
to Engineering courses at the university level (team member).
 Classroom field experience teaching at the 7-12 grade levels, in the STEM areas, at eight different
 2 posters and 3 papers accepted for conferences and journals in 2017

 

Projects
PhD Dissertation Project, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
 August 2014 – present
 Canvas usability, accessibility, and design for engineering students

US News and World Report: Online Engineering Programs Survey, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
 May 2018- October 2018
 Data collection around Virginia Tech
 Data analysis
 Collaboration with Virginia Tech institutional entities

Master’s Project, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2017 – March 2018
 SASS analysis
 SiteImprove
 Canvas first year engineering course website analysis of accessibility compliance
 Workshops on improving compliance
 Data mining
 Regression
 Training guidelines

Cranwell Data Project, Blacksburg, VA
 February 2018 – April 2018
 R code
 Data analytics
 Tutoring in statistical design
 Presentation
 International student retention with living learning communities
 Logit Regression formula

Faculty Needs in Instructional Technology Project, Blacksburg, VA
 October 2016 – April 2017
 Survey development
 Faculty needs for engineering instructional technology
 Qualtrics
 R analysis

First Year Engineering Course Classification Scheme, Ada, Ohio
 August 2011 – May 2014
 Delfi type study
 Survey design
 Mapping and classifying skills in engineering courses
 National study

K-12 Online Async Modules for Teachers , Ada, Ohio
 January 2012 – May 2013
 Designed an educational website for secondary teachers emphasizing knowledge updates for STEM
curriculum (lead) and developed a classification scheme for Introduction to Engineering courses at the
university level (team member).
 Project Manager

Project Manager NASA Mars Rover Model, Ada, Ohio
 August 2012 – May 2013
 Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum
 Shop and engineering work
 Programming work
 Worked with CAD drawings of the Mars Rover from NASA 

 

Employment Experience
Instructional Technology Team: Information Technology Support, Graduate Assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
 August 2016 – present
 Provides technical support for the engineering software used by faculty and students throughout the
College of Engineering
 DyKnow, OneNote, Microsoft, and Inking
 Support and editing of website content
 Documentation and creation of software tutorials
 Teaching of support classes
 Support for tablet use

Interim Assistant Director of Online Learning and CGEP Administrator, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
 May 2018 – present
 College of Engineering, Dean’s office
 Supports online engineering students at Virginia Tech
 Data collection and analysis
 Coordination of online engineering courses
 Support to the state chair
 Development online degree programs
 Market data research
 Timeline and building processes to ensure program growth and development

Freelance Information Technology Computer Support, Ada, OH, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2010 – present
 Trouble-shooting using problem-solving skills to fix personal computers
 Mac
 PC
 Creating website
 Creating mobile applications
 Trouble-shooting using problem-solving skills to fix cellular phones
 iPhone

Freelance Statistical Support and Analysis, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2016 – present
 R code
 Data analytics
 Tutoring in statistical design
 Support in survey design

Emergent Learning Contract Work, Remote
 August 2010 – present
 Write textbooks, workbooks, answer keys for engineering and mathematical concepts
 Map ABET and state standards to textbook information and learning objectives
 Create alternative text for images to support blind students

Instructor for Homeschool Co-op, Christiansburg, VA
 August 2016-2017
 Computer programming
 Web design
 Stop motion animation
 Robotics

Instructor for Robotics, John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Loyola Merimont University, Las Angeles, CA
 June 2017-August 2017
 Lead instructor of talented 10-12 year olds teaching them for 8 hours a day for 3 weeks physics,
engineering, robotics, programming, and design
 Designed the curriculum and lesson plans

Instructor for Physics of Engineering, John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
 July 2016-August 2016
 Lead instructor of talented 10-12 year olds teaching them for 8 hours a day for 3 weeks physics,
engineering, mathematics, and design
 Designed the curriculum and lesson plans

Instructor of Record, Graduate teaching assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2015 – May 2016
 Lead instructor of a section of Foundations in Engineering, the first year engineering course at Virginia
Tech

Mentor and Supervisor to Undergraduate Graders, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2015 – May 2016
 Manage and mentor all of the undergraduate graders for all 60 sections of Foundations of Engineering
 Document and track all supporting employment information for all 18 undergraduate employees

Summer Research, Graduate research assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
 May 2015 – August 2015
 Literature Review on K-12 Engineering standards
 Analysis of collegiate funding opportunities
 Work towards Journal of Engineering Education research article
 Produced an interview guide for the instructors of the course regarding the effectiveness of the
curriculum

Summer Research, Graduate research assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
 June 2014 – August 2014
 Led a project that redesigned the curriculum of a junior level Civil Engineering classroom. This redesign
led to a blended classroom where there a blending of lecture and engaging activities that were related
to the students.
 Helped in the development of a survey to gauge the effectiveness of this new pedagogy and its
fulfillment of ABET criteria
 Produced an interview guide for the instructors of the class regarding the effectiveness of the course
layout.

CAREER Work, Graduate teaching assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
 August 2014 – May 2015
 Participating in the inductive qualitative analysis of focus groups data
 Participated in running a think aloud protocol to help inform survey development.
 Developed an interview guide and IRB proposal to expand upon the data found in the focus groups
o Examined further the reasons in participating and not participating in co-curricular actives
o Examined the perception of engineering and engineers from a student perspective

Machine Shop Mentor (Volunteer), Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH
 August 2013 – December, 2013
 Helped students in the machine shop understand the machines and answered questions

Research Internship, Olin College of Engineering, Needham (Boston), Massachusetts
 June 2013 – August 2013
 Research Topic: Self-Efficacy in First-Year Engineering Design Courses: Satisfaction, Sense of Belonging
Team Roles and Gender
 Qualitative and quantitative data collection
 MIT course on qualitative analysis
 Introduction to R for qualitative analysis

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio
 January 2012 – May 2013
 Designed an educational website for secondary teachers emphasizing knowledge updates for STEM
curriculum (lead) and developed a classification scheme for Introduction to Engineering courses at the
university level (team member).