Louisville, Kentucky
June 20, 2010
June 20, 2010
June 23, 2010
2153-5965
Educational Research and Methods
22
15.1086.1 - 15.1086.22
10.18260/1-2--16705
https://peer.asee.org/16705
489
Larry J. Shuman is Senior Associate Dean for Academics and Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on improving the engineering educational experience with an emphasis on assessment of design and problem solving, and the study of the ethical behavior of engineers and engineering managers. A former senior editor of the Journal of Engineering Education, Dr. Shuman is the founding editor of Advances in Engineering Education. He has published widely in the engineering education literature, and is co-author of Engineering Ethics: Balancing Cost, Schedule and Risk - Lessons Learned from the Space Shuttle (Cambridge University Press). He received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in Operations Research and the BSEE from the University of Cincinnati. He is an ASEE Fellow.
Mary Besterfield-Sacre, Associate Professor and Fulton C. Noss Faculty Fellow in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Center Associate for the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Sacre’s principal research interests are in engineering education assessment and evaluation methods. She has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Engineering Education and is currently associate editor for the Applications in Engineering Education Journal. She received her B.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri - Rolla, her M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Brian Self is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Prior to joining the faculty at Cal Poly in 2006, he taught for seven years at the United States Air Force Academy and worked for four years in the Air Force Research Laboratories. Research interests include active learning and engineering education, spatial disorientation, rehabilitation engineering, sports biomechanics, and aerospace physiology. He worked on a team that developed the Dynamics Concept Inventory and is currently collaborating on a grant to develop and assess Model Eliciting Activities in engineering. Brian is the 2008-2010 ASEE Zone IV Chair and serves as Cal Poly’s ASEE Campus Representative.
Dr. Ronald L. Miller is professor of chemical engineering and Director of the Center for Engineering Education at the Colorado School of Mines where he has taught chemical engineering and interdisciplinary courses and conducted engineering education research for the past 24 years. Dr. Miller has received three university-wide teaching awards and has held a Jenni teaching fellowship at CSM. He has received grant awards for education research from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education FIPSE program, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and has published widely in the engineering education literature.
Tamara J. Moore is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics/Engineering Education and co-director of the STEM Education Center at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Moore is a former high school mathematics teacher and her research interests are centered on the integration of STEM concepts through contextual problem solving in the mathematics and engineering classroom. She has been developing curricular tools and researching professional development and student learning in this area. Before coming to the University of Minnesota, Dr. Moore received her Ph.D. from the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University.
Maj. John A. Christ, PhD, PE is the Deputy Department Head for Curriculum and Faculty Development, Environmental Engineering division Chief, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the US Air Force Academy. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor in 2005 and has research interests in mathematical modeling of multiphase flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media, the influence of bioactivity on NAPL dissolution, upscaled modeling of DNAPL source zones, vapor intrusion, engineering education and socially responsible engineering.
Eric Hamilton, Ph.D., is Professor and Associate Dean for Education in Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology, with joint appointment in the Department of Mathematics. Formerly Director of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the US Air Force and a Division and Program Director at the National Science Foundation. Prior to coming to NSF, he directed an NSF-funded center in Chicago to promote the participation on underrepresented minorities in science, engineering and mathematical professions. His current work is supported by the Institute for Education’s Educational Technology program and NSF’s Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program; it focuses on collaborative learning technologies and interfaces, immersive learning environments, and complex reasoning.
Next Generation Problem-Solving: Results to Date: Models and Modeling using MEAs Abstract
This paper presents results from a series of learning experiments conducted across a seven university (California Poly San Luis Obispo, Colorado School of Mines, Minnesota, Pepperdine, Pittsburgh, Purdue and the US Air Force Academy) colloborative research effort focused on models and modeling. In particular, the collaborative effort has developed, implemented, and rigorously tested the model eliciting activity (MEA) construct as an innovative tool to improve student learning in undergraduate engineering education. This work has extended the MEA con- struct originally developed by mathematics education researchers to various areas of engineering including bioengineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineer- ing, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. In doing this we have specifically de- signed three MEA extensions to:
≠ Identify and repair misconceptions; ≠ Introduce ethical dilemmas of the workplace; and ≠ Require laboratory experimentation in order to develop more robust models.
Examples of each category will be presented.
When applied at the upper undergraduate level, MEAs require students to integrate previously learned concepts into their new understanding. We have been testing MEA effectiveness through a series of experiments that attempt to measure improved conceptual learning. Results to date suggest that MEAs do, in fact, provide engineering educators with at least two benefits: (i) improved conceptual understanding by the students and (ii) a mechanism for assessing student problem solving and modeling processes. A well constructed MEA, properly implemented, can inform educators concerning students’ achievements of the large majority of ABET 3a-k out- comes, including professional skills. This is the fourth paper in a special models and modeling session. The paper summarizes the various MEAs that we have developed, the experiments that we have conducted, the assessment instruments that we have used, and results to date. In doing this, we provide engineering educators with a series of both proven MEAs and assessment tools that can be implemented in the classroom.
Introduction
“Collaborative Research: Improving Engineering Students' Learning Strategies Through Models and Modeling” is a Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Type 3 (CCLI) project in- volving seven university partners: California Polytechnic State University, Colorado School of Mines, Purdue University, United States Air Force Academy, University of Pittsburgh, Univer- sity of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Pepperdine University. It builds upon and extends the model- eliciting activities (MEA) construct, a proven methodology originally developed by mathematics education researchers and more recently introduced into engineering education.
Shuman, L., & Besterfield-Sacre, M., & Self, B., & Miller, R., & Moore, T., & Christ, J., & Hamilton, E., & Olds, B., & Diefes-Dux, H. (2010, June), Special Session: Next Generation Problem Solving: Results To Date Models And Modeling Using Meas Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16705
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