Diane T. Rover, Professor; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University

2010-2011

Office: 333 Durham; 294-TBD; drover@iastate.edu
Office Hours: by appointment

An Overview of Dr. Rover's Semester Schedule

Dr. Rover will not be teaching during fall semester.  Dr. Rover actively conducts research in the areas of system-level design of embedded computer systems and engineering education. She currently supervises two Ph.D. students. She spends time on professional and institutional service, including serving as an ABET EAC commissioner for the IEEE and an officer of the ECE Division of ASEE. Dr. Rover is principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants, one funded by the STEM Talent Expansion Program (www.engineering.iastate.edu/seec/) and the other by the Scholarships in STEM program (www.engineering.iastate.edu/e2020/). In addition, she is co-PI on grants supporting software engineering education and technological literacy.

An Overview of Dr. Rover's Teaching Philosophy and Style: Every Semester

Dr. Rover's approach to teaching is based upon active learning, in which instructor and student join together in the process of learning with a goal of having students "connect" with the subject matter. The classroom is one place for active learning; to that end, class attendance and participation are essential. The classroom goes beyond lecturing, including experiential exercises and small-group work. Students learn by doing, and in the process, learn how to learn. The grading is set up so that students earn a grade and one student's success does not come at the expense of another's. Dr. Rover encourages questions and facilitates communication. She emphasizes clarity of presentation, availability to students, comprehension of subject matter at a hierarchy of levels, and critical thinking. She believes that what you get out of a class depends on what you put in, and she applies that to herself as well.

One of her favorite one-liners on active learning:
You are here to learn, not to be taught.

or, in the words of others:

What we want is to see the student in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the student. George Bernard Shaw

Teach the young people how to think, not what to think. Sidney Sugarman

The student who is never required to do what he cannot do never does what he can do. John Stuart Mill

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats

My goal ... is to build a working relationship based on trust. I enter into a partnership with each student, with clearly defined, realistic goals. We define my job as their teacher and their job as my student. The process of learning, and the pride that comes with each success, can then begin for both of us. Judith Nichtern

Much I have learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most from my students. Talmud

Dr. Rover's Inspirational Thought of the Semester: Every Semester

Become what you are capable of becoming.

Excerpted from a Robert Louis Stevenson quote, this statement is a reminder to strive for individual excellence by taking advantage of one's strengths, skills,and qualities. We each bring our own perspectives and abilities to activities we engage in, but simply by setting excellence as a goal and dedicating yourself to it, you will make a difference through the process.