Kameron Eves, a recent doctoral graduate from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, received two awards from the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning at Texas A&M (CIRTL@TAMU). CIRTL is a national organization founded by the National Science Foundation dedicated to enhancing excellence in undergraduate education by providing professional development in teaching resources and training for members.
Eves received the Bednarz Award, which recognizes an outstanding doctoral student for the superior quality of their Teaching as Research (TAR) Fellows project and the depth of their involvement in CIRTL@TAMU. He also received the Scholar Certificate, which recognizes students who have advanced and disseminated research about evidence-based teaching practices for diverse learners.
These awards are recognition of his work in the TAR fellowship program, which supports aspiring faculty by giving them the opportunity to conduct an experiment in teaching methods with a faculty mentor in their discipline. In the year-long program, students design, implement, assess and report on innovative teaching methods tested in a Texas A&M classroom.
“I’m honored to have been selected as the 2023 Texas A&M CIRTL Bednarz award recipient, and I’m pleased to have also met the requirements for the CIRTL Scholar award," said Eves. "Participating in CIRTL programs throughout my graduate career significantly altered my perspective on education and the role of teachers. I’m particularly grateful for Dr. (John) Valasek’s role as my advisor and exemplar in this endeavor.”
Eves’ project investigated the effects of question phraseology on student participation. Specifically, he examined if lowering the social cost and providing a clear response method affected the participation and how that participation varied across demographic groups. During his graduate career, Eves participated in several CIRTL@TAMU programs, including TAR and the Massive Open Online Course.
Eves received his doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M in May 2023. As a graduate research assistant in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, he worked on research ranging from nonlinear control theory to intelligent and autonomous systems with Valasek, an aerospace engineering professor. Now, Eves is an electrical & computer engineering assistant professor in the Engineering Department at Utah Tech University.