Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning

Milo Koretsky; Michelle Kay Bothwell; Susan Bobbitt Nolen; Devlin Montfort; James D. Sweeney

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Conference: 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Publication Date: June 26, 2016
Start Date: June 26, 2016
End Date: June 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-68565-5
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session II
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/p.26183
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/26183
Download Count: 430

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Paper Authors

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Milo Koretsky Oregon State University

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Milo Koretsky is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Oregon State University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, all in Chemical Engineering. He currently has research activity in areas related engineering education and is interested in integrating technology into effective educational practices and in promoting the use of higher-level cognitive skills in engineering problem solving. His research interests particularly focus on what prevents students from being able to integrate and extend the knowledge developed in specific courses in the core curriculum to the more complex, authentic problems and projects they face as professionals. Dr. Koretsky is one of the founding members of the Center for Lifelong STEM Education Research at OSU.

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Michelle Kay Bothwell Oregon State University orcid.org/0000-0002-4501-8533

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Susan Bobbitt Nolen University of Washington orcid.org/0000-0003-2240-4447

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Professor of Learning Sciences & Human Development

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Devlin Montfort Oregon State University

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Dr. Montfort is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University

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James D. Sweeney Oregon State University

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James D. Sweeney is Professor and Head of the School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1988 and 1983, respectively, and his Sc.B. Engineering degree (Biomedical Engineering) from Brown University in 1979. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

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Abstract

Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning

This paper presents our initial efforts in revolutionizing the undergraduate learning environment in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University (CBEE), with particular emphasis directed toward the use of base-line, qualitative data to inform future project activities. While we currently provide students many innovative learning opportunities, we are concerned that the extent to which these efforts are marginalized and isolated may deter from their influence. To address this issue, we plan to create a holistic, inclusive, professionally-based learning environment woven through both curricular requirements and co-curricular opportunities for students. We specifically target social inequality by seeking to create engineering educational systems and interpersonal interactions that are professionally and personally life-affirming for all people across their differences. We seek to catalyze change through construction of a culture of inclusion and a shift in our learning environments from sequestered activities to realistic, consequential work. This requires a fundamental change in the nature of department culture (values, norms and structure).

Project activities include: (1) curricular redesign of 9 core sophomore- and junior-level studio classes to include more realistic, consequential work leveraging research-based pedagogies like problem-based learning and model-eliciting activities; (2) growing faculty and students’ capacity to engage issues of inclusivity by shifting their cognitive and affective knowledge of power and privilege; (3) planning and implementing student professional development pods, longitudinally mixed student teams where students help one another understand the university experience and how it relates to professional practice; and (4) implementing formal changes in governing policies and procedures within CBEE.

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation pilot program Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) that is aligned with the NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate’s multi-year initiative, the Professional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st Century.

Citation
Format

Koretsky, M., & Bothwell, M. K., & Nolen, S. B., & Montfort, D., & Sweeney, J. D. (2016, June), Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26183

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning

This paper presents our initial efforts in revolutionizing the undergraduate learning environment in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University (CBEE), with particular emphasis directed toward the use of base-line, qualitative data to inform future project activities. While we currently provide students many innovative learning opportunities, we are concerned that the extent to which these efforts are marginalized and isolated may deter from their influence. To address this issue, we plan to create a holistic, inclusive, professionally-based learning environment woven through both curricular requirements and co-curricular opportunities for students. We specifically target social inequality by seeking to create engineering educational systems and interpersonal interactions that are professionally and personally life-affirming for all people across their differences. We seek to catalyze change through construction of a culture of inclusion and a shift in our learning environments from sequestered activities to realistic, consequential work. This requires a fundamental change in the nature of department culture (values, norms and structure).  

Project activities include: (1) curricular redesign of 9 core sophomore- and junior-level studio classes to include more realistic, consequential work leveraging research-based pedagogies like problem-based learning and model-eliciting activities; (2) growing faculty and students’ capacity to engage issues of inclusivity by shifting their cognitive and affective knowledge of power and privilege; (3) planning and implementing student professional development pods, longitudinally mixed student teams where students help one another understand the university experience and how it relates to professional practice; and (4) implementing formal changes in governing policies and procedures within CBEE.

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation pilot program Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) that is aligned with the NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate’s multi-year initiative, the Professional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st Century. 

AU  - Milo Koretsky
AU  - Michelle Kay Bothwell
AU  - Susan Bobbitt Nolen
AU  - Devlin Montfort
AU  - James D. Sweeney
CY  - New Orleans, Louisiana
DA  - 2016/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/26183
DO  - 10.18260/p.26183
ER  -