his memorable adage from around 450 BC: “Tell me, andI will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.” In more recenttimes, David Kolb defined the concept of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT)2 using twocontinuum axes: active experimentation–reflective observation and abstract conceptualization–concrete experience. The result was a matrix of four learning types: converger (activeexperimentation–abstract conceptualization), accommodator (active experimentation–concreteexperience), assimilator (reflective observation–abstract conceptualization), and diverger(reflective observation–concrete experience). Each of four learning types consists ofexperimentation, experience, or reflection as an active component of the
the process of learning and how learning isexperience based. By adhering to ELT in instructional design for CAD, GIS and other softwareintensive courses, classroom approaches can be crafted to keep the software in its proper place asa tool. ELT provides a unified context for understanding the relationship between the abstract“hypothesis” and the concrete result of the button pushing. Kolb’s conceptualization of these isshown in Figure 1. Zull refers to the components of Kolb’s ELT as the “four fundamental pillarsof education: gathering, reflecting, creating, and testing. [3]” Irrespective of which instructional design model or process one might prefer, at somepoint learning objectives are defined and then a specific activity is
threshold for verifying that an outcome has been achieved (versus in-class discussions which take more time with fewer participants); o discussion boards allow students to “gather their thoughts”, and even facts, before making a comment (versus in-class fumbling and opinionating); o discussion boards allow time for reflection – students reflecting for a few days on what they posted versus what their peers posted (versus what they do and don’t remember from class to class); o instructors have a permanent and easy to review log of the discussion for assessment and their own reflection on (versus an audio or video tape of class).A student’s success in the course meant that the student was successful in
water filters were functioning. Theteam explained the process for using presence/absence water tests and recording test results. It was clearthat water quality testing was an extremely unfamiliar process, and the board members had manyquestions. This training meeting was one of the longest, and even after a full day of construction it lastedwell into the evening. However, it was also one of the most important meetings of the trip. Thediscussions that resulted from board member questions produced a collaborative atmosphere in whichthere was little boundary between the project team and the water board.ReflectionThe following is a reflection from Veronica Chouinard (Mechanical Engineering, Tufts ’03) leader “Establishing a water board is
year of study (juniors). Specifically, 62.5% of the students wereclassified as juniors, while 25% are sophomores and another 25% are seniors. This distributionsuggests a diverse mix of students at different stages of their undergraduate education, which maycontribute to a broad range of academic perspectives within the program. The program had a higherrepresentation of female participants, with 62.5% identifying as female and 37.5% as male. Thisdistribution indicates successful engagement with female students, potentially reflecting broadertrends in STEM fields and targeted recruitment strategies by the mentors addressing theunderrepresentation of women in these disciplines. Such efforts align with broader initiatives topromote gender
Practical Wisdom (phronesis) is the integrated virtue, developed through experience and critical reflection, which enables us to perceive, know, desire and act with good sense. This includes discerning, deliberative action in situations where virtues collide. Flourishing Individuals and Society Figure 1: Adapted from The Jubilee Framework of the Building Blocks of Character [15].In the context of engineering education, a few publications have previously leveraged the JubileeFramework [3], [4], [30] – [31]. These character virtues can be mapped to the seven ABETstudent outcomes further clarifying their applicability in engineering (Table 1). Multiple virtuesmay map to multiple ABET outcomes and there is room
end ofthe course. This work-in-progress study explores the range of ways undergraduate studentsattended to sociotechnical dimensions in a first-year engineering computing course, by analyzingwritten reflection responses to readings focused on the racially biased outcomes of a ubiquitousmedical technology, the pulse oximeter. These initial findings add to a growing body of literatureon including sociotechnical topics within undergraduate courses, and will help informpedagogical approaches to support students in developing sociotechnical ways of thinking withinengineering.Conceptual Framework for Developing Sociotechnical LiteracyThis work-in-progress study is focused on a first-year computing course that has been redesignedto incorporate
foundation.Over the course of this project, we have explored the complexities of teaching and learningsociotechnical thinking in three undergraduate classes located in three departments at twouniversities. Two of the classes are design-focused in the first and second years of engineeringcurricula and the third is an upper-division engineering science core course (see details in“Courses”). Our mixed-methods study attempted to measure sociotechnical thinking via a survey([5], [14], [15]). It also used qualitative data from student focus groups, faculty reflection logsand student work to examine the manner in which sociotechnical thinking influences students’development of their identities as engineers [16], explored the interconnection between
engage with students preparing to transfer.In addition, in year 4 program leadership transitioned due to a new role at new university and morestudents support requests of leadership at both the two-year college and the four-year transferuniversity than originally anticipated. This has resulted in reflection on the program administrationand the people and structures that sustain it. This poster will include summaries of scholaractivities, transition in and impact on program leadership, program evaluation results, and researchfindings from the first cohort of students that have transferred and completed a full year at theirnew institution.IntroductionThe Engineering Scholar Program (ESP) project aims to increase the graduation and persistenceof
, many institutions increasedofferings of diversity trainings for faculty and staff. But whether those diversity trainings wereeffective is up for debate, with evidence pointing to some promising initiatives but fewinstitutional changes that disrupt racism [13]–[15] and some well-intentioned trainingsexacerbating the problem of bias [16]. In turn, many campuses moved to embracing student-centered pedagogies. Tools and resources, such as the “Advancing Inclusion and Anti-Racism inthe College Classroom: A rubric and resource guide for instructors” [17] and “Toward anantiracist engineering classroom for 2020 and beyond: A starter kit,” [18] were developed to helpfaculty reflect on their identity and positionality, consider their students’ lived
. Thisdata suggests that topics students spent more hands-on time with resulted in better performance.IntroductionAccording to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average person has 10 jobs by the age of 40[1]. This can be seen in Engineering and also reflected in what Engineering graduates are doingfive and ten years post degree[2], [3] . Further, nearly 25% of the Best Performing CEOs startedwith a B.S. in Engineering [4]. Industry continues to ask for more well-rounded competencies ofnew Engineers. The T-shaped engineer combines a depth of engineering technical knowledgewith broad knowledge across domains such as business, communications, entrepreneurship, andethics [2], [5]. Fostering 21st century skills ensures Engineers are equipped to
andreflection of the authors as well as over ten other graduate students. The students and us share thesame nationality, religion, and language. We are at different levels of our doctoral program indifferent engineering majors. The findings we share in this paper are the accumulation of all storieswe heard, reflections on the stories, and our own experiences. This cooperative inquiry processcan serve as a guide for other graduate students in discovering their personal journey during theirgraduate years. In addition, the findings can provide insights for university administrations andpolicymakers to ease this transformation process, especially for immigrant students.Keywords: Graduate school, cooperative inquiry, immigration, policy, administration
educationresearch [13]. Figure 1 leverages this model to show how the engineering and labor theory ofchange fits into this study of engineering graduate students engaging in a strike. The modelconnects Mejia et al.’s critical consciousness model [17], which engages Freire’s principles ofcritical pedagogy [18], with Hassan’s model of learning-assessment interactions [19]. “Mejia etal.’s model is represented in the center of this model, showing relationships between theory,action, reflection, and concepts of scholarship, praxis, concientização, and liberation that resultfrom their overlap. Hassan’s model of learning-assessment interactions is overlaid, with theoverlap taking the form of reflection as an assessment method and action as a learning method”[13
in order to gain insight into the largerand multi-faceted culture in which these experiences take place5. This approach places value onthe subjectivity of the researcher, acknowledging the inherent bi-directional influences betweenthis individual and the culture they are studying. The autoethnography herein focuses on onestudent’s experiences of identity formation and reflection spurred by his involvement in aresearch project about engineers’ imaginaries of “the public.” These experiences are discussedin three journal entries and analyzed with the lens of identity formation described below.Through this research, the student was able to gain a deeper understanding of experiencesfoundational to his personal and professional identities as well
, and then appliedthese during the Friday class. These adjustments were based on instructor reflections, peersuggestions, and students’ feedback. The workshops are the active learning sessions for the“Engineering Exploration” class, which is a core introductory engineering course for all first-year engineering students at Virginia Tech. The study was performed over the fall semester of2007. Statistical tests and measures show that while the two similar workshops belonged to thesame population, with respect to means and standard deviations of the learning outcomemeasures, they significantly differed with respect to students’ satisfaction. Statistical methods forappropriate analysis of data are also reported.BackgroundThe Engineering Exploration
rather than on how closely they metthe learning objectives of the activity or assessment.In a “specifications grading” system [2], students earn credit for completing activities (or bundlesof activities) by meeting clearly defined specifications shared at the time of assigning theactivities. If the work does not meet the specifications, then credit is not earned. This system hasseveral advantages. Specifications are closely mapped to the learning objectives for the activitiesand the course, making it easier to document and to reflect on learning. Students focus theireffort on meeting specifications much as they would in the professional field when addressingclient needs or competing for a project bid. Specifications can include aspects of the
differences in the interests and/or training indifferent majors. The very short responses from many students are somewhat troubling, giventhat all students should be able to readily answer these questions with more complex and detailedresponses after having taken a course that included ethics content. This raises interesting issuesaround students’ feelings about the importance of these topics, and indicates that these questionsmay reflect on the affective domain (e.g. value) to an equal or greater extent than the cognitivedomain (e.g. knowledge, reflected in the response to Q2).IntroductionEngineering has significant and important impacts on society, being critical to providing basicnecessities (e.g. access to clean water) as well as contemporary
he’s such a lovely polite person, he’s not going to argue with me, and he hasn’t tested it yet, so he doesn’t have the evidence to counterclaim or whatever. So I would have really stolen from him the opportunity to think that through. (Interview 5)In her reflection, Margaret recalls specific details of Charlie’s latest rocket design. She notes thathe had been attending to a particular problem—how to keep the rocket from leaking out air. Shealso acknowledges her own understanding of the mechanics underlying his design—the weightof the rocket needed to be considered alongside how well it traps air. While she was aware thatCharlie’s design was too heavy to be launched, she let him try out his ideas on his own. Shereasons that if she were to
questions with more complex and detailedresponses after having taken a course that included ethics content. This raises interesting issuesaround students’ feelings about the importance of these topics, and indicates that these questionsmay reflect on the affective domain (e.g. value) to an equal or greater extent than the cognitivedomain (e.g. knowledge, reflected in the response to Q2).IntroductionEngineering has significant and important impacts on society, being critical to providing basicnecessities (e.g. access to clean water) as well as contemporary conveniences and entertainment.While largely positive changes have resulted from the use of technology, engineers should alsocarefully weigh the potential for negative outcomes. The process of
, the inclusionof Objective 5: Design and Objective 7: Creativity reflect the inductive and generative thinkingthat is an integral part of engineering investigations and “real-world” problem solving. Viewedanother way, the inclusion of these two objectives reminds us that design and creativity bothinvolve investigatory elements, exploration, data and information gathering, analysis andinterpretation, often through the design and conduct of experiments. The power of designthinking by Brown [19] with its emphasis on early and frequent prototyping to test ideas,physically or virtually, is a manifestation of the interdependence between engineering design andengineering investigation. The contemporary mantra associated with design thinking
leadership that have typically been a part of industry frameworks and arewell described within the organizational psychology literature [8]. We go on to further considerleadership in an engineering context, and how ideas of engineering leadership may, or indeedshould, be reflected in learning experiences for undergraduate students.Leadership in engineering practiceProfessional leaders and individuals leading engineering teams often resist conventionaldefinitions of leadership [10], [1], such as the definition in Northouse's well-known text:“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of people to achieve acommon goal” [7]. The emphasis on interpersonal influence runs counter to certain engineeringnorms that see decision-making
included in the communitypartnerships with two main foci: middle school robotics leagues and a community makerspace.Two surveys (Pre and Post course) helped to identify initial impressions and changes in students’(1) understanding of community partner’s geographic location, (2) impressions of location, (3)propensity to frequent a business in that location, and (4) knowledge of actual persons residing inthe community. Students were asked to write reflections after S-L site visits which acted asassessments of their growth in understanding of course concepts. The reflections were also usefulto see the students’ perception of professional growth and their perception of the community andtheir impact on it.Initial surveys indicated that news and word of
;7, 10 provides exposure to different views, ideas,and perspectives;10 leads to opportunities for negotiation;11 and supports questioning among teammembers;7, 12 among other benefits. Through social interactions with other learners, studentshave an opportunity to learn through reflection on their own experience and benefit from hearingthe experiences of others.13 Learner-learner interactions present an opportunity to learn bothcontent and these “group behavior or group leadership skills” (p. 462)14. According to Verzat,Byrne, and Fayolle15 “in the case of teamwork, doing it rather than listening about how importantit is, is likely to have a more direct impact on student understanding” ( p. 359). Burdett9 surveyed344 senior business students
qualitative in nature, and our chosen research methods reflectthat. Rather than conduct a quasi-experimental design with a selection of GTAs participating incase analysis and others not, we instead used mixed qualitative and quantitative methods tocollect and analyze data solely from participants who experienced the use of case analysis in theirfirst semester of graduate school. This paper focuses in particular on two quantitative measures(survey data and student performance) and on two qualitative measures (case discussion recordsand reflective writings). We give a summary of the data within each of those four categoriesseparately. However, the nature of the research questions is such that a more significant analysisinvolves integration of those
-telling, andpeer mentoring; and (4) Physiological states through reflections, I-CAN statements, power poses,and fine and performing art.Data analysis of pre and post-tests, pre and post self-reporting 5-point Likert scale surveys, focusgroup sessions, and reflection sheets showed that this program had been effective. The 91%increase in Sustainable Construction Engineering knowledge, 7.41% increase in self-efficacy,and 7.35% increase in STEM attitudes were all statistically significant (p<0.01). The girls’strongest sources of self-efficacy were from observing peers (vicarious experiences),encouragement from parents (verbal persuasion), positive attitudes from fine and performing arts(physiological states), and continuous improvement and
discussed whether or not he considered himself a facilitator of studentdevelopment. First he said, “My role is a facilitator” but then said, “Facilitator feels wrong”.Upon reflection, the advisor decides that with some competencies such as oral and writtencommunication his role was to provide feedback saying, “My goal is to give them feedbackwhenever I can” and provided examples of student presentation and writing feedback. But thenwhen it came to the competency of leadership he said, “That’s where I feel I am a facilitator tosort of remind them about opportunities.” The distinction between facilitator and feedbackprovider was made by the advisor not the interviewer.Throughout the interview, the advisor spoke about different ways in which he tried
Page 11.1446.10sections do not explicitly take into account the characteristics of the participants in the ETPPprogram, specifically characteristics that are relevant to their role as learners. In particular, ourdata reflects the activities of adult learners (graduate students and post-docs) who had a range ofprior teaching experiences. Transformative learning theory is a theory with potential to take thisfeature of our situation into account.Transformative learning theory is a theory of learning that stems from adult education and seeksto explain instances where learner has more experience and significant commitment to priorbeliefs and where the learning is a process of reflecting on experience outside of formal learningenvironments (i.e., at
solutions.Teachers need to move away from guiding students to a correct answer and move towardemphasizing student engagement 24. The teacher’s focus should target encouragement of theirstudents’ own reflection on their reasoning as well as interpretation of problem situations 25.Contrary to current practices of warning students when they take a wrong step in their solutionefforts, teachers need to encourage students to focus on interpreting specific ideas and theirconnections to the problem at hand 26. This type of facilitation requires significant scaffoldingmechanisms for effective learning to take place 27. The new role of the teachers includescarefully selection, preparation, and implementation of those scaffolds 16, 28. Lack of sufficientguidance will
idea of possible selvesand identity play to examine this process.Interactive Response and InteractionsFrom our early observations of the students’ use of the portfolios, we could see that identitywork and play occur in a variety of contexts, mediated by individual reflections as well as theresponses and interactions of other individuals. These observations informed our categorizationof “Interactive Response” (IR) as a site of learning mediated by diverse interactions with bothpeople (instructors, peers, friends/family, clients) and symbolic artifacts (e.g., professional codesof ethics). In this conception of IR, we pick up on Hattie and Timperley’s broader notion offeedback as provided by multiple “agent[s]”[8] in response to a particular
could potentially accelerate the student’s learning of selected systems engineeringcompetencies.1.0 IntroductionSystems engineering educators are struggling to address workforce development needs requiredto meet the emerging challenges posed by increasing systems complexity1 and the widening gapin systems engineering expertise in the workforce.2 The systems engineering ExperienceAccelerator (ExpAcc) research project was conceived as a critical response to these needs andchallenges. The project was initiated to validate the use of technology to potentially create anexperiential, emotional state in the learner coupled with reflective learning so that time iseffectively compressed and the learning process of a systems engineer (SE) is