Fulton Schools of Engineering Education Seminars (SEEdS) – How Do We Teach Adaptability? Insights from Engineering Practice and Research with Samantha Brunhaver

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Fulton Schools of Engineering Education Seminars (SEEdS) 

How Do We Teach Adaptability? Insights from Engineering Practice and Research

Guest Speaker: Samantha Brunhaver

Date: April 17, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00pm MST

Zoom Link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/83616879155?pwd=ljW0lehGZ0aubusn1cYmkhPIq0GOvi.1
Password: 361877

Seminar Description: Engineering educators widely agree that adaptability is essential for preparing students to thrive in a rapidly changing profession, and yet we still lack clear ways to define, teach, and measure it. This seminar presents findings from the NSF CAREER project, Ready for Change: Fostering Adaptability along the Engineering Pathway, which investigates what adaptability looks like in engineering practice and how it can be more intentionally developed in education. Drawing on interviews with early-career engineers and managers, the project identifies specific adaptive mindsets and behaviors critical to professional success. It also introduces new research-based tools, including a scenario-based classroom intervention and the Engineering Adaptability Survey (E-ADAPTS), to help educators assess and strengthen students’ adaptability. Participants will leave will practical strategies and examples for embedding adaptability into their teaching, curriculum design, and mentoring practices.


Dr. Samantha Brunhaver is an Associate Professor in The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her research examines engineering career pathways, student decision-making and persistence, professional engineering practice, and faculty mentorship, with a focus on understanding and improving engineering education systems. She is a mixed-methods researcher and serves on the editorial boards of Engineering Studies and the Journal of Engineering Education.

Dr. Brunhaver earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on fostering workplace adaptability among engineering students and early-career professionals, as well as multiple ASEE best paper awards. Prior to joining ASU in 2014, she worked as a professional engineer in industry, and she currently teaches in both ASU’s undergraduate engineering program and the Engineering Education Systems and Design Ph.D. program.

 

More about Fulton Schools of Engineering Education Seminars (SEEdS)
The Learning and Teaching Hub hosts monthly guest speaker seminars that bring the community together to learn about and discuss topics related to Engineering Education. The seminars are open to anyone interested in the FSE community.

Third Fridays | 12pm-1pm MST | via Zoom