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Marie Paretti

Professor
  • Department of Engineering Education
  • College of Engineering

Synopsis:

Dr. Paretti focuses on engineering identity, diversity and inclusion in engineering, communication and teamwork in engineering, and design education and project-based learning.

Description:

Dr. Paretti's research grows from her passion for empowering students to develop as professionals. Her work focuses on engineering identity understood broadly, including research on professional engineering practice, communication and teamwork, design education, and diversity and inclusion. Across these domains, her research and the research of her graduate students helps current and future faculty create inclusive learning environments that prepare students to succeed in their professional lives.

In exploring engineering identity, her and her graduate students consider what it means to be an engineer at school and at work, and the ways in which individuals from underrepresented groups experience engineering. Within engineering curricula, she is particularly interested in design-based and project-based learning environments in which students develop professional skills, build adaptive expertise, and develop the capacity for self-directed learning. To that end, she has studied effective practices in project-based courses, transitions from school to work, and studies of communication and collaboration practices at school and at work. Across all of these domains, her work consistently considers the experiences of underrepresented students (including factors such as gender, race, and class) to help both engineering programs and engineering workplaces better serve all individuals.