Engineering Education Research to Practice (E2R2P)

Steven W. Villachica; Donald Plumlee; Linda Huglin; Drew Borresen

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Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 22.582.1 - 22.582.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--17863
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/17863
Download Count: 455

Paper Authors

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Steven W. Villachica Boise State University

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Steven W. Villachica, Ph.D., CPT, is an Associate Professor of Instructional and Performance Technology (IPT) at Boise State. His research interests focus on leveraging expertise in the workplace. A frequent conference presenter and author, Steve co-authored a chapters on cognitive task analysis and performance support systems that appears in the Handbook of Human Performance Technology and the Handbook of Training and Improving Workplace Performance: Volume 1. Instructional Design and Training Delivery. A certified performance technologist, he completed his doctorate in educational technology at the University of Northern Colorado.

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Donald Plumlee Boise State University

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Dr. Plumlee is certified as a Professional Engineer in the state of Idaho. He has spent the last ten years establishing the Ceramic MEMS laboratory at Boise State University. Dr. Plumlee is involved in numerous projects developing micro-electro-mechanical devices in LTCC including an Ion Mobility Spectrometer and microfluidic/chemical micro-propulsion devices funded by NASA.
Prior to arriving at Boise State University, Dr. Plumlee worked for Lockheed Martin Astronautics as a Mechanical Designer on structural airframe components for several aerospace vehicles. He developed and improved manufacturing processes for the Atlas/Centaur rocket program, managed the production implementation of the J-2 rocket program, and created the designs for structural/propulsion/electrical systems in both the Atlas/Centaur and J-2 programs. Dr. Plumlee also worked at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as an engineer in the Propulsion Laboratory.
In practicing the engineering profession as a conduit for preparing future generations of engineers, he wants to provide students with both a technical competency and the ability to understand and respect the trust that is invested in us by society. As an educator, he guides future engineers through a learning process that develops a strong technical foundation and the ability to independently cultivate further technical competencies. He is particularly interested in advocating for project-oriented engineering education. He and a research team at Boise State University is currently participating in a project focused on encouraging the adoption of project-based techniques.

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Linda Huglin Boise State University

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Linda Huglin is an assistant professor for the Instructional and Performance Technology Department at Boise State University and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Idaho. Her research interests include the universal design of instruction and adult cognitive development.

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Drew Borresen Boise State University

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Drew Borresen is a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Instructional and Performance Technology at Boise State University. He is currently pursuing a M.S. in Instructional and Performance Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Workplace Instructional Design. His research interests include capturing expertise in the workplace and transferring the expertise to novices and newcomers through training and other performance-based interventions.

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Abstract

Engineering Education Research to Practice (E2R2P): NSF Grant 1037808The E2R2P effort addresses the question: How can successes in engineering education researchbe effectively translated into widespread practice with consideration of curriculum, studentlearning, innovation models, and cyber-learning technology? To answer this question, the E2R2Pteam employs a unique interdisciplinary approach to redesign engineering courses across thecurriculum. The project approach will incorporate research-based educational strategies whilepromoting their widespread faculty adoption by creating a “Test Bed” for course redesign and a“Sounding Board” promoting their adoption (see Figure 1). The primary expected outcome ofthe E2R2P effort is an increase in: redesigned engineering courses employing problem- and project-based learning. research-based educational strategies that faculty employ in their own courses.Course redesign in the Test Bed will enable the team to include aspects of project-and problem-based learning [1, 2] in educational experiences. The redesigned courses will employ authenticlearning and assessment activities where students do real-world engineering in the classroom. Aspart of the overall instructional approach, the redesigned courses will also help students inboundinto their community of professional practice [3, 4]. To accomplish this goal, the redesignedcourses will use project mentors drawn from a local professional engineering organization andonline webinars/live lectures to bring other recognized engineering experts into the classroom.Expected outcomes of these approaches include an increase in the number of inbounding-relatedactivities and beliefs that students report between the time they start a course and complete it. Tomeasure inbounding, the team will create a Community of Practice Survey. This poster sessionprovides in-progress results of an ongoing literature review identifying factors and potentialmeasures associated with inbounding and provides a draft version of the survey.The effort will also employ a multidisciplinary Sounding Board to provide feedback on thedeliverables arising from the course redesigns, such as job-focused objectives, instructionalstrategies, authentic assessments, rubrics, and prototypes illustrating key instructionalcomponents. Sounding Board members include faculty from materials science engineering,mechanical and biomechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and civilengineering. Other members include liaisons to the Engineering College’s administration as wellas other parties from the Colleges of Business and Economics and Arts and Science. To promotefaculty adoption of research-based educational practices, the team will employ approaches fromchange management [5, 6] that decrease resistance to change by facilitating the adoption processand building characteristics into educational strategies that will encourage their faculty use. Tocreate a demand (“pull”) for these strategies and redesigned courses while mitigating project risk,the team will use a software engineering approach called Rapid Application Development [7, 8].To measure rates of faculty adoption, the team will create a Sounding Board Survey. The surveywill employ both quantitative and qualitative data. This poster session provides an in-progressversion of this survey and an analysis of collected data.Figure 1 illustrates the relationship of the Test Bed and Sounding Board.Figure 1: E2R2P Test Bed and Sounding Board References1. Butun, E., H.C. Erkin, and L. Altintas, A new teamwork-based PBL problem design for electrical and electronic engineering education: A systems approach. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 2008. 45(2): p. 110-120.2. Jonassen, D., J. Strobel, and Chwee Beng Lee, Everyday problem solving in engineering: Lessons for engineering educators . Journal of Engineering Education, 2006. 95(2): p. 139-151.3. Wenger, E., Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. 1998, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.4. Wenger, E., R. McDermott, and W.M. Snyder, Communities of practice and their value to organizations, in Cultivating communities of practice. 2002, Harvard Business School Press: Boston.5. Rogers, E.M., Diffusion of innovations. 5th ed. 2003, New York, NY: Free Press.6. Dormant, D., Implementing human performance technology in organizations, in Handbook of human performance technology: Improving individual and organizational performance worldwide, H.D. Stolovich and E.J. Keeps, Editors. 1999, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA. p. 237-259.7. Martin, J., Rapid application development. 1991, New York: Macmillan.8. Villachica, S.W. and D.L. Stone, Rapid application development for performance technology: Five strategies to deliver better interventions in less time, in Performance improvement interventions: Performance technologies in the workplace, P.J. Dean and D.E. Ripley, Editors. 1998, International Society for Performance Improvement: Washington, DC. p. 343-399.

Citation
Format

Villachica, S. W., & Plumlee, D., & Huglin, L., & Borresen, D. (2011, June), Engineering Education Research to Practice (E2R2P) Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17863

TY - CPAPER
AB - Engineering Education Research to Practice (E2R2P): NSF Grant 1037808The E2R2P effort addresses the question: How can successes in engineering education researchbe effectively translated into widespread practice with consideration of curriculum, studentlearning, innovation models, and cyber-learning technology? To answer this question, the E2R2Pteam employs a unique interdisciplinary approach to redesign engineering courses across thecurriculum. The project approach will incorporate research-based educational strategies whilepromoting their widespread faculty adoption by creating a “Test Bed” for course redesign and a“Sounding Board” promoting their adoption (see Figure 1). The primary expected outcome ofthe E2R2P effort is an increase in: redesigned engineering courses employing problem- and project-based learning. research-based educational strategies that faculty employ in their own courses.Course redesign in the Test Bed will enable the team to include aspects of project-and problem-based learning [1, 2] in educational experiences. The redesigned courses will employ authenticlearning and assessment activities where students do real-world engineering in the classroom. Aspart of the overall instructional approach, the redesigned courses will also help students inboundinto their community of professional practice [3, 4]. To accomplish this goal, the redesignedcourses will use project mentors drawn from a local professional engineering organization andonline webinars/live lectures to bring other recognized engineering experts into the classroom.Expected outcomes of these approaches include an increase in the number of inbounding-relatedactivities and beliefs that students report between the time they start a course and complete it. Tomeasure inbounding, the team will create a Community of Practice Survey. This poster sessionprovides in-progress results of an ongoing literature review identifying factors and potentialmeasures associated with inbounding and provides a draft version of the survey.The effort will also employ a multidisciplinary Sounding Board to provide feedback on thedeliverables arising from the course redesigns, such as job-focused objectives, instructionalstrategies, authentic assessments, rubrics, and prototypes illustrating key instructionalcomponents. Sounding Board members include faculty from materials science engineering,mechanical and biomechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and civilengineering. Other members include liaisons to the Engineering College’s administration as wellas other parties from the Colleges of Business and Economics and Arts and Science. To promotefaculty adoption of research-based educational practices, the team will employ approaches fromchange management [5, 6] that decrease resistance to change by facilitating the adoption processand building characteristics into educational strategies that will encourage their faculty use. Tocreate a demand (“pull”) for these strategies and redesigned courses while mitigating project risk,the team will use a software engineering approach called Rapid Application Development [7, 8].To measure rates of faculty adoption, the team will create a Sounding Board Survey. The surveywill employ both quantitative and qualitative data. This poster session provides an in-progressversion of this survey and an analysis of collected data.Figure 1 illustrates the relationship of the Test Bed and Sounding Board.Figure 1: E2R2P Test Bed and Sounding Board References1. Butun, E., H.C. Erkin, and L. Altintas, A new teamwork-based PBL problem design for electrical and electronic engineering education: A systems approach. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 2008. 45(2): p. 110-120.2. Jonassen, D., J. Strobel, and Chwee Beng Lee, Everyday problem solving in engineering: Lessons for engineering educators . Journal of Engineering Education, 2006. 95(2): p. 139-151.3. Wenger, E., Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. 1998, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.4. Wenger, E., R. McDermott, and W.M. Snyder, Communities of practice and their value to organizations, in Cultivating communities of practice. 2002, Harvard Business School Press: Boston.5. Rogers, E.M., Diffusion of innovations. 5th ed. 2003, New York, NY: Free Press.6. Dormant, D., Implementing human performance technology in organizations, in Handbook of human performance technology: Improving individual and organizational performance worldwide, H.D. Stolovich and E.J. Keeps, Editors. 1999, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA. p. 237-259.7. Martin, J., Rapid application development. 1991, New York: Macmillan.8. Villachica, S.W. and D.L. Stone, Rapid application development for performance technology: Five strategies to deliver better interventions in less time, in Performance improvement interventions: Performance technologies in the workplace, P.J. Dean and D.E. Ripley, Editors. 1998, International Society for Performance Improvement: Washington, DC. p. 343-399.
AU - Steven W. Villachica
AU - Donald Plumlee
AU - Linda Huglin
AU - Drew Borresen
CY - Vancouver, BC
DA - 2011/06/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Engineering Education Research to Practice (E2R2P)
UR - https://peer.asee.org/17863
DO - 10.18260/1-2--17863
ER -