Developing a Learning Innovation for an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Course through Faculty, Engineer, and Student Collaboration

Sean Lyle Gestson; Matthew Stephen Barner; Rhianna Fitzgerald; Jordan Farina

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: MECH - Technical Session 10: Special Topics and Innovative Methods in Mechanical Engineering
Tagged Division: Mechanical Engineering Division (MECH)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47150

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Paper Authors

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Sean Lyle Gestson University of Portland

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Sean Gestson graduated from the University of Portland (UP) in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and received his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering with a research emphasis in engineering education from Oregon State University (OSU). During his time at OSU, Sean taught multiple undergraduate engineering courses including, geotechnical engineering, highway design, surveying, and senior capstone design. His engineering education research aims to understand more about the gap in student preparedness for the engineering workplace. He has worked closely with engineering practitioners, faculty, and students to understand more about their problem-solving behavior, beliefs around engineering knowledge, and learning more about what it means to be an engineer. Sean enjoys being active outdoors with his family and friends while climbing, mountain biking, and camping.

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Matthew Stephen Barner University of Portland orcid.org/0000-0002-8581-6708

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Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at University of Portland

Research interests include: curriculum and faculty development

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Rhianna Fitzgerald

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Jordan Farina University of Portland

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Abstract

Engineering education research is often motivated by closing the gap in students’ preparedness for the engineering industry. One way to achieve this is by developing authentic learning contexts, activities, and problems that are representative of the engineering workplace. This approach is not novel in engineering education research or the engineering curriculum; however, only a limited number of studies have closely and collaboratively worked with students, faculty, and engineers to develop learning innovations (LI). This study aims to further address the gap in preparedness by developing innovations that are representative of the engineering workplace, aligned with course learning outcomes, and informed by the experiences of students. Additionally, this study also aims to research participant beliefs related to the development of these innovations to help understand more about what it means to be an engineer and potential barriers to adoption. This publication is a work in progress as only partial results of one developed innovation draft will be shared. Future results will include additional innovations and analysis of the collaboration between students, engineers, and faculty members. At the beginning of the fall semester of 2023, participants engaged in a collaborative workshop to develop a LI for an undergraduate Mass and Heat Transfer course. The innovation was developed with a faculty member teaching the course, a student participating in the course, and an engineer who works closely with the concepts taught in the course. Including these three participants represents the involvement of the three major stakeholders related to the use of this LI. The results from the workshop informed the development of the LI and aligned the innovation with what is feasible for the course. It also ensured the innovation was representative of practical engineering problems and maintained a complexity consistent with the students' understanding when entering the course. The innovation is currently in the process of development and will require students to work on solving a complex open-ended problem over a period of 3-5 weeks. The innovation was nearly adopted in the fall semester following the workshop, but course logistics and other constraints prevented adoption. The practicing engineer will continue to collaboratively develop the innovation with the faculty member and student. Each research participant was interviewed following the initial development of the LI with the goal of learning more about their opinions and beliefs related to the collaborative development of the LI and its eventual use in the classroom. The results of this publication include a draft of the LI and a discussion of the findings related to the collaborative development of the activity, as well as perceived barriers to adoption.

Citation
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Gestson, S. L., & Barner, M. S., & Fitzgerald, R., & Farina, J. (2024, June), Developing a Learning Innovation for an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Course through Faculty, Engineer, and Student Collaboration Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47150

TY - CPAPER
AB - Engineering education research is often motivated by closing the gap in students’ preparedness for the engineering industry. One way to achieve this is by developing authentic learning contexts, activities, and problems that are representative of the engineering workplace. This approach is not novel in engineering education research or the engineering curriculum; however, only a limited number of studies have closely and collaboratively worked with students, faculty, and engineers to develop learning innovations (LI). This study aims to further address the gap in preparedness by developing innovations that are representative of the engineering workplace, aligned with course learning outcomes, and informed by the experiences of students. Additionally, this study also aims to research participant beliefs related to the development of these innovations to help understand more about what it means to be an engineer and potential barriers to adoption. This publication is a work in progress as only partial results of one developed innovation draft will be shared. Future results will include additional innovations and analysis of the collaboration between students, engineers, and faculty members.
At the beginning of the fall semester of 2023, participants engaged in a collaborative workshop to develop a LI for an undergraduate Mass and Heat Transfer course. The innovation was developed with a faculty member teaching the course, a student participating in the course, and an engineer who works closely with the concepts taught in the course. Including these three participants represents the involvement of the three major stakeholders related to the use of this LI. The results from the workshop informed the development of the LI and aligned the innovation with what is feasible for the course. It also ensured the innovation was representative of practical engineering problems and maintained a complexity consistent with the students&#39; understanding when entering the course. The innovation is currently in the process of development and will require students to work on solving a complex open-ended problem over a period of 3-5 weeks. The innovation was nearly adopted in the fall semester following the workshop, but course logistics and other constraints prevented adoption. The practicing engineer will continue to collaboratively develop the innovation with the faculty member and student. Each research participant was interviewed following the initial development of the LI with the goal of learning more about their opinions and beliefs related to the collaborative development of the LI and its eventual use in the classroom.
The results of this publication include a draft of the LI and a discussion of the findings related to the collaborative development of the activity, as well as perceived barriers to adoption.
AU - Sean Lyle Gestson
AU - Matthew Stephen Barner
AU - Rhianna Fitzgerald
AU - Jordan Farina
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Developing a Learning Innovation for an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Course through Faculty, Engineer, and Student Collaboration
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47150
ER -