Conference Session

Systems Engineering Programs and Curricula

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joanna DeFranco, Pennsylvania State University; Colin Neill, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering Constituent Committee

incorporate team projects as both active learning components ofcourses and for student assessment. Research indicates, however, that actually working within ateam generates a new set of problems, referred to as Problem B: managing the diversity of theproblem solvers in contrast to Problem A: solving the actual problem the team is working on.Given the presence of Problem B, there is a risk that student learning will actually sufferbecause of the team. To mitigate this risk, we propose the use of the Cognitive CollaborativeModel (CCM) in team system design exercises.The CCM is a six-stage cognitive model that takes into consideration the cognitive and socialactivities that occur during collaborative problem solving by facilitating problem formulation

Conference Session

Systems Engineering Programs and Curricula

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Nemes, Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering Constituent Committee

institutions with engineering programs reporting having a fully onlineprogram, compared to 33 percent for business, although penetration rates fordoctoral/research institutions is somewhat higher. Expanding the geographic reach tostudents is the primary reason for institutions to enter online education, although the Sloanstudy reports that 85 percent of students come from within 50 miles of campus, which theyclassify as local or from the state or surrounding states which they classify as regional.Given that backdrop, what makes a master’s program in systems engineering a goodcandidate to be developed as an online program? First, it should be noted that systemsengineering is a relatively young discipline compared to the other engineering disciplines