KEEN'zine3

H igher education should be a transformative experience for students. I expect that you may agree. A few years of study can lead to a lifetime of success. During college, students develop professional skills. But beyond skillset , educational experiences in college potentially transform a student’s mindset . This time of life is critical for reflection. Freshmen frequently reexamine their values and motivations. Thrown into unfamiliar situations with new expectations, undergraduate programs become a crucible in which students have an opportunity to think about the way they think , i.e. metacognition. Professors have the distinct privilege of impacting both skillset and mindset. But how is it possible to positively transform the way students think about the world around them? I have become an advocate for using a variety of teaching methods, including one expressly intended to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. It’s called entrepreneurially minded learning (EML). EML is an emergent pedagogy that emphasizes discovery, opportunity identification, and value creation. It is a teaching method that can be applied to all areas of study and is being developed by hundreds of faculty members at colleges and universities across the country. EML’s development is particularly important to faculty members and students within KEEN. At the time of this writing, KEEN partners include 22 institutions, potentially impacting more than 1,200 faculty members — who are educating 24,000 undergraduate engineering students. Importantly, EML builds upon other widely accepted pedagogical methods. So the approach can be complementarily stacked alongside others. By organizing teaching methods, you form a pedagogy stack — a collection of methods for designing instructional materials and educational interventions. When you select an instructional approach, you are effectively playing a card from your stack. Traditional subject-based learning (SBL) is the first pedagogy found in faculty member’s stacks. From an instructor’s perspective, SBL is an efficient method and lecturing is the classic SBL tactic. In recent decades however, educators have developed student-centered learning tactics including active and collaborative learning (ACL). To develop students’ strategic thinking, stacks include pedagogies that rely on inductive learning. These include case and scenario-based learning (CBL) and problem-based learning (PBL). Finally, additional pedagogies may connect student learning to a mission or profound purpose. With this in mind, entrepreneurially minded learning (EML) is included in this stack when discovery, opportunity, and value creation for others are paramount. Whatever the collection of methods in your stack, examine the view of authors such as Mascolo [1] who I believe gets it right; regardless of pedagogical methods, learning is afforded by guided participation . In that spirit, the following example assignments for a wireless communications course illustrate the approaches and expectations for each method. Stacking Entrepreneurially Minded Learning Alongside Other Pedagogies ACL Active & Collaborative Learning ACL engages students in the learning process through interaction with peers. Compared to a lecture format, evidence indicates that the approach promotes positive student attitudes, increased retention, and interpersonal skills. [3,4] Example Assignment Mechanical waves (sound, water ripples, etc.) are fundamentally different than radio waves. However, many of the wave propagation mechanisms are similar. Work in groups of three to propose two mechanical wave demonstrations related to the study of wireless path-loss. Your group’s first proposed demonstration shall use water waves to illustrate diffraction. The second proposed demonstration shall use sound waves to exhibit the effects of wavelength on diffraction. Each group will quickly present their proposals. All class participants will then discuss their merits. Selected groups will be responsible for executing and explaining the demonstrations in the next class period where we relate the observed behavior to parameters within calculations for electromagnetic propagation. SBL Subject-Based Learning SBL is focused on the mastery of subject matter. Typically, an instructor targets specific domain knowledge and skills through lectures and assignments. Applied to engineering, the approach is frequently reductionist, relying on models and mathematical representations. Learning is focused on individual understanding. This pedagogy is important for developing mental models of complex physical phenomena. Example Assignment Due to diffraction, a transmitter and receiver can communicate over a partial obstruction. While the distance between transmitter and receiver largely accounts for signal path-loss, diffraction leads to additional losses. Using information from the provided diagram, determine the Fresnel parameter and calculate the loss (in dB) due to the “knife-edge” diffraction. The knife-edge is a simplified representation of an obstructing mountain or building. Compare your calculations to simulation results employing accepted empirical path-loss models. See Molisch. [2] CBL Case & Scenario-Based Learning Through case and scenario-based learning, students learn by playing a role in an evolving storyline. The best case studies contain an element of mystery; students look forward to the “rest of the story.” After the reveal, students compare their decision making to experienced professionals. Both case and scenario- based methods promote decision making within a specific context or situation. Instructors may employ the powerful technique of progressive disclosure . This allows an instructor to interact with students and observe how they adapt, gather and connect information, and generate judgments and decisions. These two pedagogies are excellent vehicles for placing engineering decisions in a larger context — they promote the importance of connections. Example Assignment A 2015 news article from Buffalo, N.Y. begins by asking the question, “How high should a cellular tower be?” According to the article, that’s become a question for a judge. The article describes Verizon Wireless’ lawsuit against the Town of Amherst, N.Y. regarding a planned tower construction in a residential neighborhood. As Verizon worked with the local zoning board, the city restricted the height to 75 feet, saying that it should be sufficient for the area. Verizon claims that a 114 foot tower is needed. After hearing arguments, a New York State Supreme Court justice will decide. In this case study, you will be asked to choose a position and support it. First, read the article and watch the local news report which highlights the views of the affected residents. Next, read the opinions contained in the debate on the public amateur radio forum, selecting the three best points. The class will then quantitatively discuss the impact of antenna height on path-loss and consider the impact on the overall cellular system. When deciding upon the location of cellular telephone towers, system planners consider the surrounding terrain and resulting radio-frequency (RF) propagation paths. Through these paths, electromagnetic waves connect tower antennas to mobile phones. A path from a tower antenna to a mobile phone is the complex combination of a direct path, reflected paths, diffraction, and scattering. Each propagation phenomenon can be characterized. The focus of this assignment is diffraction, a familiar phenomenon from acoustic systems. Just as low-frequency sound waves travel around obstructing corners, radio waves may propagate over terrestrial features including man-made structures, hills, or mountains. Learning outcomes for this assignment include: Skill Learning Outcomes Students successfully completing this module should be able to: • Predict diffraction path-loss (in dB) for terrestrial wireless connections Mindset Learning Outcomes Students successfully completing this module will: • Demonstrate curiosity about the future of mobile wireless communications • Express technical, societal, and economic insights regarding mobile communications • Craft a value proposition for mobile wireless communications in a new context Assignment: Designing a cellular telephone system 7 6 Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) The Kern Family Foundation Douglas E. Melton, Ph.D. Program Director