Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 1630

Helen L. Plants and Charles E. Wales, A Retrospective

Wallace S. Venable West Virginia University

Abstract

This paper describes the approach to the design of engineering education used by Helen Plants and Charles Wales at West Virginia University. Techniques used included behavioral objectives, generating correct responses, regular assessment, feedback and positive reinforcement, and programmed instruction, combined with regular class meetings. This method was shown to give measurable improvements in student achievement.

Introduction

The summer of 1999 brought the deaths of two pioneers in engineering education, Charles Wales and Helen Plants. Both served as ERM Chair, were in the first class of ASEE Fellows, and together they served West Virginia University for a total of about seventy years. As stars in the ERM firmament, both reached their zenith during the early 1970’s. Their work stands out from most of the other leaders of that period for two reasons: they presented statistical evidence that their methods actually worked, 1, 2, 3, 4 and each of their innovative courses served students for over a decade in a stabile environment.

Both were strongly committed to the concepts that education is something which can be designed using engineering methods, that educational design itself is a discipline which can be taught, and that there are concepts in educational psychology which actually work. Both believed in the importance of underclass instruction, and in the serious commitment of resources to teaching of freshman and sophomores as preparation for professional course work. Both lead teams of instructors in their respective service courses.

West Virginia University (WVU) was a fertile place for their efforts. WVU has a traditional commitment to teaching, rather than selecting, for excellence. (WVU has achieved a good record in producing Rhodes Scholars and university administrators by helping students and faculty understand the qualifications, and the current institutional slogan is “Success - Expect It.”) It was within this context that Helen established the doctoral program in engineering education,5 to which Charlie made a major contribution.

Education By Design

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Venable, W. S. (2000, June), Helen L. Plants And Charles E. Wales, A Retrospective Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8423