Promoting Equity and Cognitive Growth: The Influence of an Authentic Learning Assignment on Engineering Problem-Solving Skills

Boni Frances Yraguen; Elisa Koolman; Roxanne Moore; Katherine Fu

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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: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 15
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 22
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--47894
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47894
Download Count: 173

Paper Authors

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Boni Frances Yraguen Vanderbilt University orcid.org/0000-0001-9806-0041

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Boni Yraguen is an Instructional Consultant with the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. Boni is passionate about engineering education. She has led and participated in various educational studies on the impact of student reflections, authentic learning assignments, the use of technology in the classroom, and graduate education.

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Elisa Koolman University of Texas at Austin

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Elisa is a Ph. D. student at the University of Texas at Austin. They are currently researching interactions in makerspaces, efficacy of a teaching software in an engineering design course, and disability in STEM. Elisa is passionate about continuing efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.

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Roxanne Moore Georgia Institute of Technology orcid.org/0000-0003-0536-4957

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Roxanne Moore is currently a Research Engineer at Georgia Tech with appointments in the school of Mechanical Engineering and the Center for Education Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Computing (CEISMC). She is involved with engineering education inno

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Katherine Fu University of Wisconsin

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Dr. Kate Fu is the Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 2014 to 2021, she was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to these appointments, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). In May 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon in 2009, and her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University in 2007. Her work has focused on studying the engineering design process through cognitive studies, and extending those findings to the development of methods and tools to facilitate more effective and inspired design and innovation. Dr. Fu is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the ASME Design Theory and Methodology Young Investigator Award, the ASME Atlanta Section 2015 Early Career Engineer of the Year Award, and was an Achievement Rewards For College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation Scholar.

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Abstract

This evidence-based practice paper will assess the impact of an authentic learning assignment on student learning levels as compared to typical assessments of understanding (quizzes) in a fluid mechanics course. Fluid Mechanics and other upper-level engineering courses rely upon a student’s prior knowledge of basic engineering principles and abstract understanding of mathematical concepts to comfortably approach new problems in this field. It is one of the first courses in which more abstract concepts are given physical and applicable meaning. As such, this course is a critical opportunity to teach higher order engineering skills, such as problem definition, problem simplification, modeling, and solution analysis. These skills are required to solve ill-structured or open-ended engineering problems, which are the majority of problems an engineer will face during their career. Yet, the vast majority of problems students are assigned are well-structured or close-ended problems. There is a need to scaffold student learning from simple, well-posed textbook problems to more open-ended problems requiring higher levels of critical thinking. One possible strategy is to use authentic learning assignments in upper-level lecture-based engineering courses.

Employing Bloom's taxonomy as a framework for evaluating the cognitive engagement levels, our analysis of student reflections sheds light on a significant increase in higher-order cognitive skills manifested during the completion of the Design Your Own Problem (DYOP) as opposed to the conventional quiz assignments. This heightened cognitive engagement is marked by an increased emphasis on analysis, evaluation, and creativity, signifying a significant shift towards more sophisticated problem-solving strategies among students. Notably, this trend remains consistent across diverse student cohorts, irrespective of gender, racial or ethnic background, or prior experience in internship or Co-Op programs. These findings underscore the inclusive nature of the DYOP framework, demonstrating its capacity to facilitate equitable learning experiences for all engineering students, regardless of their individual backgrounds or prior academic achievements.

Furthermore, the study elucidates the adaptable nature of the DYOP approach, as it accommodates students with varying levels of proficiency, ranging from those who demonstrate exemplary performance in traditional quizzes to those who require additional revisions and support. Notably, the analysis reveals that students with prior Co-Op experiences, although able to draw from their real-world exposure, did not necessarily exhibit a substantial advantage in terms of the heightened cognitive engagement observed during the DYOP. Similarly, the study highlights the potential of the DYOP to serve as a valuable revisiting tool, enabling students to consolidate their understanding of the course material and bridge any existing gaps in their comprehension, regardless of their initial performance levels. These findings highlight the transformative potential of the DYOP framework in nurturing comprehensive and inclusive learning experiences, all while introducing minimal disruptions to the conventional pace of lecture-style engineering courses.

Citation
Format

Yraguen, B. F., & Koolman, E., & Moore, R., & Fu, K. (2024, June), Promoting Equity and Cognitive Growth: The Influence of an Authentic Learning Assignment on Engineering Problem-Solving Skills Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--47894

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This evidence-based practice paper will assess the impact of an authentic learning assignment on student learning levels as compared to typical assessments of understanding (quizzes) in a fluid mechanics course. 
	
Fluid Mechanics and other upper-level engineering courses rely upon a student’s prior knowledge of basic engineering principles and abstract understanding of mathematical concepts to comfortably approach new problems in this field. It is one of the first courses in which more abstract concepts are given physical and applicable meaning. As such, this course is a critical opportunity to teach higher order engineering skills, such as problem definition, problem simplification, modeling, and solution analysis. These skills are required to solve ill-structured or open-ended engineering problems, which are the majority of problems an engineer will face during their career. Yet, the vast majority of problems students are assigned are well-structured or close-ended problems. There is a need to scaffold student learning from simple, well-posed textbook problems to more open-ended problems requiring higher levels of critical thinking. One possible strategy is to use authentic learning assignments in upper-level lecture-based engineering courses.

Employing Bloom&#39;s taxonomy as a framework for evaluating the cognitive engagement levels, our analysis of student reflections sheds light on a significant increase in higher-order cognitive skills manifested during the completion of the Design Your Own Problem (DYOP) as opposed to the conventional quiz assignments. This heightened cognitive engagement is marked by an increased emphasis on analysis, evaluation, and creativity, signifying a significant shift towards more sophisticated problem-solving strategies among students. Notably, this trend remains consistent across diverse student cohorts, irrespective of gender, racial or ethnic background, or prior experience in internship or Co-Op programs. These findings underscore the inclusive nature of the DYOP framework, demonstrating its capacity to facilitate equitable learning experiences for all engineering students, regardless of their individual backgrounds or prior academic achievements.

Furthermore, the study elucidates the adaptable nature of the DYOP approach, as it accommodates students with varying levels of proficiency, ranging from those who demonstrate exemplary performance in traditional quizzes to those who require additional revisions and support. Notably, the analysis reveals that students with prior Co-Op experiences, although able to draw from their real-world exposure, did not necessarily exhibit a substantial advantage in terms of the heightened cognitive engagement observed during the DYOP. Similarly, the study highlights the potential of the DYOP to serve as a valuable revisiting tool, enabling students to consolidate their understanding of the course material and bridge any existing gaps in their comprehension, regardless of their initial performance levels. These findings highlight the transformative potential of the DYOP framework in nurturing comprehensive and inclusive learning experiences, all while introducing minimal disruptions to the conventional pace of lecture-style engineering courses.

AU  - Boni Frances Yraguen
AU  - Elisa Koolman
AU  - Roxanne Moore
AU  - Katherine Fu
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Promoting Equity and Cognitive Growth: The Influence of an Authentic Learning Assignment on Engineering Problem-Solving Skills
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47894
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--47894
ER  -