Investigating the Benefits of Group Model Building Using System Dynamics for Engineers Without Borders Students

Jeffrey Paul Walters; Kaitlin Litchfield

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Conference: 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Seattle, Washington
Publication Date: June 14, 2015
Start Date: June 14, 2015
End Date: June 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-50180-1
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Models and Practices of Community Engagement for Engineering Faculty
Tagged Division: Community Engagement Division
Page Count: 17
Page Numbers: 26.1039.1 - 26.1039.17
DOI: 10.18260/p.24376
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/24376
Download Count: 602

Paper Authors

biography

Jeffrey Paul Walters University of Colorado, Boulder

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Ph.D. Candidate in Civil Systems Engineering
Mortenson Fellow in Engineering for Developing Communities
University of Colorado Boulder

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biography

Kaitlin Litchfield University of Colorado, Boulder

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Kaitlin Litchfield received her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at the University of New Hampshire and recently completed her PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department within the Mortenson Center for Engineering in Developing Communities. Her research interest is in recruiting, educating, and retaining engineers capable of meeting global development challenges, and her current work is focused on understanding engineers involved specifically with Engineers Without Borders-USA.

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Abstract

Investigating the Benefits of Group Model Building Using System Dynamics for EngineersWithout Borders StudentsMore than ever, future engineering students will need improved tools to more holistically understandthe complexities inherent in planning, implementing, and managing, healthy and sustainabledevelopment projects. Programs such as Engineers without Borders (EWB) have always had theobjective of teaching systems thinking skills to address the complex systemic community issues inherentin international infrastructure development; however, methodologies used to foster systems thinkinghave historically remained implicit, and have primarily focused on reductionist approaches to projectassessment, design, and evaluation. Group Model Building using System Dynamics (GMB-SD) has beensuccessfully used for years in multiple fields to foster and grow understanding on a complex topic usingthe combined insight from multiple stakeholders to build informative qualitative diagrams andquantitative simulations. However, this tool has not been used in the context of engineering education,specifically focused on sustainable community development. This study proposes GMB-SD as a tool forEWB students interested in development engineering to more aptly grapple with the complex issuesthey will invariably face in their projects abroad and in their careers. The aims of this study were tointroduce GMB-SD to two groups of EWB students and assess the degree to which the exerciseimproved their understanding of systemic interaction of factors that influence the sustainability of theirprojects. This paper will discuss the process used to introduce GMB-SD to the students and theirreactions throughout and after the process. In addition, it will illustrate differences between individual’scausal loop diagrams prior to using GMB-SD and the groups’ diagrams after using GMB-SD to assessgroups’ collective growth in understanding. Based on previous literature, we expect that this tool canelicit drastic improvement in understanding the complexity of EWB projects, which would provideevidence for the future use of GMB-SD as a tool for applying systems thinking in internationalinfrastructure development projects.

Citation
Format

Walters, J. P., & Litchfield, K. (2015, June), Investigating the Benefits of Group Model Building Using System Dynamics for Engineers Without Borders Students Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.24376

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Investigating the Benefits of Group Model Building Using System Dynamics for EngineersWithout Borders StudentsMore than ever, future engineering students will need improved tools to more holistically understandthe complexities inherent in planning, implementing, and managing, healthy and sustainabledevelopment projects. Programs such as Engineers without Borders (EWB) have always had theobjective of teaching systems thinking skills to address the complex systemic community issues inherentin international infrastructure development; however, methodologies used to foster systems thinkinghave historically remained implicit, and have primarily focused on reductionist approaches to projectassessment, design, and evaluation. Group Model Building using System Dynamics (GMB-SD) has beensuccessfully used for years in multiple fields to foster and grow understanding on a complex topic usingthe combined insight from multiple stakeholders to build informative qualitative diagrams andquantitative simulations. However, this tool has not been used in the context of engineering education,specifically focused on sustainable community development. This study proposes GMB-SD as a tool forEWB students interested in development engineering to more aptly grapple with the complex issuesthey will invariably face in their projects abroad and in their careers. The aims of this study were tointroduce GMB-SD to two groups of EWB students and assess the degree to which the exerciseimproved their understanding of systemic interaction of factors that influence the sustainability of theirprojects. This paper will discuss the process used to introduce GMB-SD to the students and theirreactions throughout and after the process. In addition, it will illustrate differences between individual’scausal loop diagrams prior to using GMB-SD and the groups’ diagrams after using GMB-SD to assessgroups’ collective growth in understanding. Based on previous literature, we expect that this tool canelicit drastic improvement in understanding the complexity of EWB projects, which would provideevidence for the future use of GMB-SD as a tool for applying systems thinking in internationalinfrastructure development projects.
AU  - Jeffrey Paul Walters
AU  - Kaitlin Litchfield
CY  - Seattle, Washington
DA  - 2015/06/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Investigating the Benefits of Group Model Building Using System Dynamics for Engineers Without Borders Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/24376
DO  - 10.18260/p.24376
ER  -