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GENERAL
ByElise Barrella, Cheryl Bodnar, Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Juan Cruz, Heather Dillon, plus 3 more
20152302795
Updated: 11/5/2024 8:49 PM
Although there has been a considerable increase in entrepreneurially-minded learning (EML) within engineering education, assessment of EM may be challenging. Concept maps (cmaps) are a direct assessment method that can provide a snapshot of students’ conceptual understanding of EM. A cmap provides a visual representation of an individual’s understanding of a topic through the use of nodes (concepts) and links (connections between concepts).This research-based toolkit provides an introduction to designing concept map assignments and scoring the cmaps to assess EML in your undergraduate engineering courses. The toolkit includes short videos, instructional guides for instructors and students, case studies, and templates that (1) introduce concept maps as an EML teaching and learning tool, (2) illustrate four types of concept map activities, (3) demonstrate multiple concept map scoring approaches, and (4) share lessons learned from implementing EM concept maps in different types of engineering courses (e.g., statics, first-year design, technical writing elective) across five different institutions. The modules and resources are available on the EM Concept Map Toolkit site.
Tagsconcept maps | assessment | toolkit CategoriesClassroom & Courses | Engineering Unleashed Resources DisciplinesComprehensive InstitutionsOther | Rowan University | Merrimack College | University of Washington Tacoma | The Ohio State University | Bucknell University
GENERAL
ByMaysam Nezafati, Joe Le Doux, Katherine Shook, Kelvin Pierre
6944014066
Updated: 9/8/2021 10:32 AM
How we used Entrepreneurial Mindset to eliminate bias in design? This card describes the framework of a project, designed for an undergraduate engineering course where students' curiosity is challenged to identify cases of non-inclusive engineering designs and work in teams to propose a solution to the flawed designs using the concepts they learned within the class or outside class. In this assignment, students share their personal experiences of exposure to a biased design as a story with their teammates (see this card) where they discuss the importance and impact of each design, both on a personal and societal level. Potentially a connection could be created between the personal experiences and the topics students choose which acts as an intrinsic motivation tool to work as a team to create value for the negatively affected people. Our experience from piloting the project in an engineering course:This project provides a platform for any engineering student to demonstrate their 3Cs. For the first time this assignment was executed in a major-required second-year analytically-focused biomedical engineering course called “Conservation Principles in Biomedical Engineering”; but the scope of resources shared here, can be customized for any engineering course. Also, based on class size, available infrastructures in the institutions, and format of the class (virtual, in-person, or hybrid) the instructors can modify the logistics or pace of the project phases. The quality of the artifacts significantly improved when students worked as groups of four. To evaluate the effectiveness of integrating EM using this project two implementation schedule was used. In the first approach the project was executed in two consecutive weeks at the end of semester. In the second approach, the project was dispersed through the semester. Both students and instructors found the second method more effective. Project's structure:Preparation: Brainstorming: students are asked to work on their own to look for examples of non-inclusive (biased, flawed) designs. Story 1 (motivation): they share a case of a flawed design that personally affected them or a loved one. In this story, they identify whom the existing process or design was intended to create value for, how bias affected the design, and how this impacted the person they are reflecting about. By having students tell a personal story we hope to make the impact of non-inclusive designs seem more real to them and to increase their motivation and sense of connection to the project. Phase 1:Case study: each student on the team shares their ideas for what they can work on together as a team. The team is tasked with identifying a flawed non-inclusive engineering design they’d like to learn more about and then developing a case study designed to inform and motivate members of the lay public about the flawed design and affected people. Story 2: each team member should write a creative story that illustrates, in an emotionally evocative and concrete way, how the flawed design (the one that they studied) has negatively impacted an individual or group of people. Phase 2:Proposal: the team create an engineering proposal for how to rectify the shortcomings of the existing design. To complete the second report, students use the engineering skills learned in the course to analyze the original design and to propose a new solution or a modification to the existing design, that will create value for the individuals who were not well-served by the original design. The objective of this part of the project is to allow students to see how the skills they have learned in the course can help them better understand how the design works, as well as how to improve it. Story 3: each team member should write a hypothetical story about a positive transformation that can happen to the affected user, if the proposal's modifications are executed successfully. This story should have technical details and have a professional audience. Presentation: (TED talk meets elevator pitch) the students present their work in a 2 minutes pitch presentation, addressing what was the value they created? why they think that is important? How they they want to solve the issue?
DisciplinesComprehensive InstitutionsGeorgia Institute of Technology
EXEMPLAR REVIEWED GENERAL
ByCheryl Li, Jean Nocito Gobel, Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Nadiye Erdil, Ronald Harichandran
22574554811
Updated: 1/25/2022 4:27 PM
Reviewed: 10/14/2022 2:57 PM
This CardDeck provides a link to each of the 18 e-learning modules created by the University of New Haven that help develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students. The modules are designed to be integrated into existing engineering and computer science courses. Our efforts, as part of KEEN, are aimed at fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering students. An entrepreneurial mindset applies to all aspects of life, beginning with curiosity about our changing world, integrating information from various resources to gain insight, and identifying unexpected opportunities to create value. We believe that an engineer equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset will be able to create extraordinary value within any type of organization. Development of 18 e-learning modules supporting entrepreneurially minded learning is part of this effort. The University of New Haven, a KEEN partner institution for over 7 years, aims to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in its engineering students by integrating the 18 e-learning modules into existing engineering and computer science courses. The e-learning modules are interactive, structured in a way that will allow integration into regular courses or utilization as supplementary resources, and each are accompanied with a teaching guide. The modules are generic enough to allow their deployment in various courses and majors.The length of each module is 3-9 hours of online student work. Online student work includes the amount of time a student is expected to spend reviewing material in a module as well as the average time needed to complete module assignments, activities or exercises.The development and implementation of the e-Learning Modules has taken placed over the past several years. Several papers and conference presentations document that effort and we invite you to read them - including 2 related papers at the most recent ASEE 2020 conference. Please scroll down to the resources section for direct links to the papers. E-Learning Modules Overview Videos You can see about a two-minute video in the following links to learn more about each module. Adapting a Business to a Changing Climate Applying Systems Thinking to Complex Problems Building Relationships with Corporations and Communities Building, Sustaining and Leading Effective Teams and Establishing Performance Goals Defining and Protecting Intellectual Property Determining Market Risks Developing a Business Plan that Addresses Stakeholder Interests, Market Potential and Economics Developing Customer Awareness and Quickly Testing Concepts Through Customer Engagement Cost of Production and Market Conditions Financing a Business Generating New Ideas Based on Societal Needs and Business Opportunities Innovating to Solve Problems under Organizational Constraints Innovative Client-Centered Solutions Through Design Thinking Learning from Failure Resolving Ethical Issues Role of Product in Value Creation The Elevator Pitch: Advocating for Your Good Ideas Thinking Creatively to Drive Innovation
CategoriesEngineering Unleashed Resources DisciplinesComprehensive InstitutionsUniversity of New Haven | Merrimack College
EXEMPLAR REVIEWED GENERAL
82911516260
Updated: 10/14/2022 3:28 PM
Reviewed: 10/14/2022 3:28 PM
This card (and associated paper) supports the integration of curiosity, creating connections, and creating value (the 3Cs) of the entrepreneurial mindset in an electric circuits course with a lab component. We describe how a few key modifications that are reinforced continuously throughout the course can transform the course to support the 3Cs. Each of the 3Cs is targeted by a specific approach. Look at the Course Structure section for copies of the syllabus and course schedule to see how the entrepreneurially minded learning (EML) activities fit in the scope of the course.Curiosity is targeted through the formulation of exploratory questions and deeper exploration of those questions. For each lecture topic, a question has been generated by the instructor designed to stimulate student thought and to show students examples of good questions designed for deeper exploration of the topics. The first couple of minutes of class is spent discussing how the question is graded across five dimensions: grammar, clarity, relevance, topic orientation and potential for depth of exploration. Students submit their own sets of exploratory questions three times throughout the course. A single point formative assessment rubric has been created to provide students feedback on their questions. A brief research paper is assigned that requires students to formulate an exploratory question, identify at least one credible and relevant source to use to explore the topic of the question, identify new questions that arise during the research process, and report their findings. It is important for students to demonstrate they are aware of what they do not know by formulating follow-up questions during the research. Doing so demonstrates an ability for students to engage in effective self-study, which supports life-long learning. Students complete the short report with an assessment of their sources found during the research process. Look at the Curiosity-Related Activities section below for copies of the exploratory question rubric and brief research paper assignment. The conference presentation provided in the 2019 ASEE Conference Paper Link and Presentation section provides examples of questions scored on the rubric that are shared with students.Connections is targeted by circuit analogies related to more familiar topics. Connecting new topics to established student knowledge is a well-researched pedagogical approach firmly grounded in the science of learning. A dozen novel circuit analogies are provided in the paper (and even more are in the presentation) that are used in the course. An analogy reflection assignment is given that allows students to select either one of the analogies given throughout the course or to create their own analogy that connects the circuit content to a life experience or other topic. In either case, students are required to describe the underlying deep structure that is shared between the source and target of the analogy. It has been shown that students who partake in the exercise of identifying deep structure between analogs are more capable of transferring knowledge to novel situations. Look at the 2019 ASEE Conference Paper Link and Presentation section below for the presentation that provides the images used with the analogies that are presented to students. Also, look at the Connections-Related Activities sections for a copy of the analogy reflection assignment.Creating value is targeted through a circuit design-build-test project that requires a value proposition. Students are organized into interdisciplinary groups to design and build a temperature sensing circuit that utilizes a thermistor and meets certain design constraints but is open-ended in terms of the application, or need. Students are required to identify an important need or application for their temperature sensing circuit. They must justify the need through relevant market data and submit the idea for the need in a problem framing deliverable. Students also submit an individual design solution along with the problem framing document for formative feedback. The final proposal for the project has a value proposition section in which students summarize the value created by their design. Two suppliers must be identified and a cost comparison must be submitted in the final proposal. For more details on the design-build-test project, look at the Creating Value-Related Activities section for a copy of the project handout and rubric used for grading the final reports.
CategoriesClassroom & Courses DisciplinesElectrical & Computer Engineering | Engineering Science/Physics InstitutionsOhio Northern University
GENERAL
ByElizabeth DeBartolo, Jeanne Christman, Jennifer Bailey, Jennifer O'Neil, Mario Gomes, plus 2 more
25851648
Updated: 1/9/2020 1:07 PM
Climb the walls between departments, find new collaborators and opportunities around your campus.  Are you looking for ways to learn from others and discuss new ideas in an informal, supportive environment? Are you looking for ways to build community and make connections across departments and colleges? Look no further, start a Teaching Circle today!  RIT’s teaching circle was comprised a group of faculty, all interested in learning more about EML. We read The Saber-Tooth Curriculum, which made us think about what we teach, and why we teach it. Teaching Circle members formed the core group of a June 2019 ICE Workshop held on campus, and some continued on to a Fall 2019 Teaching Circle where we are exploring EM201 and continuing to share best practices.      The greatest value from our Teaching Circle so far is that a group of 20 faculty from eight different departments in two different colleges have spent time talking about what we do and connecting around the common theme of mindsets and skillsets for the courses we teach; together, we are building a community of faculty and support system.  How do you support and evaluate quality teaching on your campus?
DisciplinesComprehensive InstitutionsRochester Institute of Technology
EXEMPLAR REVIEWED GENERAL
31481961884
Updated: 7/16/2024 5:55 PM
Reviewed: 10/14/2022 1:41 PM
Context This card describes course modules that were developed to introduce the global challenges facing society in the 21st century. These modules are linked below in the first folder and they are stored on a Canvas site that anyone can access. The modules are currently used in a 3-credit 7.5-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered through Arizona State University's (ASU) Earned Admissions (EA) program (now part of ASU Universal Learner Courses (ULC)), a program that offers both college credits at scale and a pathway for students to earn admissions into ASU. The on-ground version of this course is currently offered over a 15 week semester to students in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) at ASU, , recognized by the National Academy of Engineering, and most of these scholars take this course during their first year and it counts toward the multidisciplinary competency of the program. While these modules are interrelated, they have been packaged to also stand alone to allow for easy adoption, adaptation, and implementation by faculty members in their own courses and/or programs, in both face-to-face settings and in an online environment. Each module as well as the specific material within it can be used independently from the others. Course Modules Introduction These modules are centered on the NAE's Grand Challenges for Engineering and they help students develop an interdisciplinary systems perspective on global challenges related to the Grand Challenges themes of sustainability, health, security, and joy of living. One of the modules provides an overview of the global challenges and four subsequent modules each focuses on one of these four theme areas. To show variations of the challenges and solutions, within each theme area, different scales are discussed, including developing communities, developed communities, and global scale; or personal level, national level, and global scale. These modules aim to increase students' awareness of the social complexities involved in meeting the needs of local and global challenges through engineering and technology. Many different types of activities were designed based on best practices to engage students and incorporated in these modules to provide students with opportunities to actively consider and evaluate the reciprocal relationship between engineering solutions or technologies and aspects of society including economics, politics, ethics, environment, culture, and human behavior. Examples of these activities include mind mapping activities, simulation-based role play, design activity, pros and cons lists, game, case studies, etc. Besides activities and discussions, different types of video material are also included in these modules. These video material consists of instructor-led video lectures, application videos with voiceover animations, video clips and/or static images, expert talks that feature research faculty members and industry professionals from across the nation discussing challenges related to their fields and their current research and industry-related work to address these challenges, and video montages of interviews conducted with various experts and NAE GCSP alumni on various topics. Besides modules that allow students to broadly explore the global challenges in different theme areas, one of the remaining modules focuses on a research assignment that provides students with the opportunity to learn about examples of current research efforts related to one of the theme areas that they are most passionate about. Students are also introduced to a few frameworks which they can apply to analyze the potential societal impact of these research efforts from multiple perspectives. In addition to developing an interdisciplinary systems perspective about the challenges and their solutions from these aforementioned modules, students also start to develop an entrepreneurial mindset needed to tackle these challenges. One of the modules describes an open ended Entrepreneurially-Minded Learning (EML) based project that invites students to find their passion, exercise their entrepreneurial mindset, and develop a future solution to fulfill a need or opportunity related to the NAE’s vision for Engineering in the 21st century: Continuation of life on the planet, making our world more sustainable, secure, healthy, and joyful. In this project, students identify an opportunity to create added value for society, develop a futuristic solution, and research current technologies and trends to show that their solution will be technically feasible in the future. Students also consider various nontechnical aspects such as social, cultural, global, legal, economic, and political factors when developing their solution. When considering these societal factors, they identify the challenges they may face in developing and implementing a solution that will be technically feasible and economically viable while also creating value for society. They are also asked to imagine the impact their solutions would have on society if they were to be developed. This project can be implemented in both an online environment and a face-to-face setting. It can be done by students individually or as a group (suggested group size: 3-4 students). Various assignments are included to help students work through the design and development process and their work is showcased in a project poster. To help students make sense of their learning using the dynamic, active learning, discussion-based, guided self-exploratory material, digital portfolios are introduced in one of the modules, and they provide students with opportunities to reflect on their learning, connect their knowledge and experiences, infuse that knowledge and experience with meaning, and intertwine it with their own personal identities, interests, and values. Last but not least, there is one module that focuses on the competencies, skills, and/or mindset that is needed to tackle the challenges. It introduces the NAE GCSP competencies and shows examples of ways to achieve each of them. There are also discussions and assignments that ask students to reflect on their interests and goals, and determine the next steps they will take toward achieving them. In video montages, experts and GCSP alumni also share their perspectives about competencies, skills, and/or mindset that they feel are important and offer suggestions for students that are working to achieve these competencies to realize the goals for engineering in the 21st century. List of Course Modules The complete list of modules and sub-modules can be found below. 1. Module - Goals for engineering in the 21st century in an interdisciplinary, global context o Vision for engineering and specific goals o Developing solutions to interdisciplinary societal challenges o Customer discovery, needs analysis, and opportunity identification · 2. Module - Developing solutions to make our lives more sustainable o Introduction to sustainability o Sustainability challenges and solutions in developing communities o Sustainability challenges and solutions in developed communities o Global sustainability challenges · 3. Module - Developing solutions to make our lives healthier o Introduction to health o Global differences in health o Health challenges and solutions in developed communities o Health challenges and solutions in developing communities · 4. Module - Developing solutions to make our lives more secure o Introduction to security o Personal security challenges and solutions o National security challenges and solutions o Global security challenges and solutions · 5. Module - Developing solutions to make our lives more joyful o Introduction to joy of living o Education-related challenges and solutions o Challenges and solutions in joy of living o Challenges and solutions related to engineering the tools of scientific discovery and exploration 6. Module - Impact of engineering solutions o Societal impact of technology frameworks · 7. Module - How can you make an impact? o Realizing the goals for engineering in the 21st century: competencies o Taking action · 8. Module - Future solutions project o Future solutions project overview o Assignment: needs analysis part 1 o Assignment: needs analysis part 2 o Assignment: developing a solution o Assignment: identifying technology development milestones o Assignment: project poster · 9. Module - Research assignment · 10. Module - Professional portfolio o Professional portfolio o Digital portfolio reflections · 11. Module - Additional resources o Gathering information How the Course Modules are Used in the 7.5-week MOOC The first 7 modules listed above are each covered in a week when they are used in the MOOC that was previously mentioned. Within the MOOC, the Future Solutions project is conducted over the entire duration of the 7.5 week course. It is introduced at the end of week 1 and students work on one project assignment during each of the subsequent weeks. The project poster is submitted at the end of the course. The research assignment listed in the 9th module is introduced at the beginning of week 6 (Module - Impact of engineering solutions) and is submitted at the end of the same week. The digital portfolio mentioned in the Module - Professional portfolio is introduced and set up by students before the start of week 1. They then complete a reflection at the end of each of the theme modules (Modules 2-5) and complete a final reflection and showcase their accomplishments at the end of the course. Link to EM EM is introduced and its importance in tackling the challenges presented is addressed in one of the modules and it is also instilled throughout all other modules. More specifically, these course modules cover the three C's in the following ways. Curiosity Students are encouraged to view the challenges presented as opportunities. There are discussions about stakeholders and target customers, the importance of customer discovery, how to solicit voice of the customers in order to identify specific customer needs, how to organize customer needs and extrapolate customer needs in larger contexts for opportunity identification. These concepts and techniques are practiced in the Future Solutions project. Besides the project, many of the activities and discussions also provide students with opportunities to explore the role the customers play in the development of technologies to address the challenges. One such example is the case study about PlayPumps, which are merry-go-round type devices that pump water as children play on them. The solution was implemented in South African countries without proper sociocultural considerations of the communities and this has led to the failure of the solution. Another example is the You Decide! activity where students are asked to rank nanotechnologies based the importance and usefulness to them and again to their assigned characters. This activity helps students better understand how people's value shapes the development and implementation of technologies. Some of these activities also help students explore a contrarian view of accepted solutions, by critically considering the many non-technical challenges that these solutions might face during their development and implementation and possible negative impact they could have on society from multiple perspectives. Examples of these challenges include economic barriers, public opinion, ethical concerns, to name a few. And social relationships, economics, politics, environment, are among some of the examples of ways these technologies might impact society negativelyConnections Throughout the modules, an interdisciplinary systems approach is emphasized as students explore the challenges and consider potential technological solutions that address them. Students are encouraged to view technologies as part of larger systems, and consider both technical elements and non-technical elements that interact with these technologies. Students are encouraged to consider and make connections between technologies and aspects of society including people and different organizations, economics, politics, ethics, environment, culture, and human behavior, and integrate information from these multiple perspectives as they develop technologies. Students practice this in their Future Solutions projects as well as many activities and discussions. Some example activities that help students make connections include the Climate Policy activity, the Energy Economics activity, the National Security Role Play activity, and the Advanced Technology Mind Map activity, etc.. For example, in the Climate Policy activity, students make connections between technologies and public policy to help them understand the role public policy plays in the diffusion of innovations. The Energy Economics game provides students with an opportunity to make connections between various factors including tariffs, tax credit, political conflicts, weather events, infrastructure degradation, technology advancements, and the success of various technologies in the energy market. In the National Security Role Play activity, students play the role of a governor who makes a series of decisions about the actions they would take in response to a security threat affecting multiple states. As students make decisions, they factor in interactions and connections between engineers, businesses, local, state, and national government, humanitarian aid organizations, media, citizens, and others that are necessary not only to detect and mitigate the current threat situation but also to prevent possible future threats. The Advanced Technology Mind Map activity asks students to critically consider the implication of the development and implementation of an advanced technology and use a mind map to show its connection and interaction with various aspects of society. Besides making connections between technology and various aspects of society, students also make connections between the themes introduced in the modules, including sustainability, health, security, and joy of living, recognizing that many of the challenges are related to more than one theme area and thus efforts from multiple disciplines must be integrated in addressing them. Creating Value These course modules emphasize the importance of considering the impact of technologies on society from multiple perspectives, including sociocultural, economic, environmental, global, political, etc., and introduces multiple frameworks that help students analyze/predict the societal impact of technologies. Students consider and articulate the value proposition of their Future Solutions project and identify multiple ways their future technology would create value for their stakeholders, target customers, and society. In the Research Assignment, students also analyze the potential societal impact of examples of current research efforts that address challenges within a theme area they are most passionate about from multiple perspectives.ASEE Papers about this workThe paper that discusses the design and development of the course modules and insights gained from the initial offering of the MOOC was presented in the F341A Multidisciplinary Learning Experiences Session at the 2020 ASEE Annual Conference. An additional paper assessing the use and effectiveness of these open access course modules shared with faculty via an online platform was presented at the 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference. These papers can be found in the folders section of this card. What is Included in this Card Included in the folders below is the link to the Course Modules description page (enrollment instructions are found on this page) and two ASEE papers that describe the design, development, and initial offering of the MOOC in which these course modules are currently used at ASU, and the use and effectiveness of the open access course modules available on the online platform. Connection to other work These course modules were developed by faculty and staff at ASU as part of a GCSP "Toolkit" to benefit students at other institutions as well as ASU. Other opportunities and resources developed as a part of this toolkit include a Grand Challenges focused Speaker Series, a three week project-based Entrepreneurial Experience for undergraduate students in GCSP, and Industry workshop(s) focused on understanding and communicating the value of entrepreneurially minded GCSP students in addressing challenges faced by Industry. See Related Cards sections for links to cards about the toolkit and its components.
CategoriesClassroom & Courses DisciplinesAll Engineering Disciplines InstitutionsArizona State University
REVIEWED GENERAL
BySarah Brownell, Matthew Marshall
203102892
Updated: 6/14/2023 11:47 AM
Reviewed: 12/21/2022 8:44 AM
This card details my efforts at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to bring together faculty from various disciplines to create EML course activities centered on the NAE Grand Challenges or UN Sustainable Development Goals. The process to bring faculty toward collaboration detailed in this card may be useful to faculty or administrators trying to build cross-college transdisciplinary collaborations. This project extends what I learned from the 2020 Leadership Unleashed and 2021 Unleashing Academic Change Faculty Workshops. Funds for this project were provided by a 2021 KEEN Engineering Unleashed Fellowship. Establishing Transdisciplinary Grand Challenges Collaborations on Campus Background: In 2008 the National Academy of Engineering published a report detailing 14 Grand Challenges (GCs) for Engineering in the 21st Century. Duke, Olin, and the University of Southern California stepped up to create the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) designed to prepare students to address these GCs. They invited other Universities to join and more than a hundred have since established GCSPs. Thanks to funding from the Teagle Foundation and collaboration with four other universities, RIT’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) started in 2017 and is unique from many GCSPs in that it explicitly stresses integrating Liberal Arts (LA) and Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). Project Motivation: After two years of disruption due to COVID19, our GCSP needed an infusion of energy. I found that many faculty, especially outside of the College of Engineering (and even inside) did not know what the GCSP was or if we had one at RIT. My project goal was to develop a faculty learning community that would then help inform faculty and students about global Grand Challenges, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and help them integrate LA and STEM concepts. I established the following goals for my fellowship: Encourage faculty at RIT to connect concepts from Liberal Arts (LA) with the application of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts and the goals of addressing Grand Challenges in their courses.Broaden exposure to the RIT Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) for both STEM and LA students by promoting curiosity about the interplay of technology, environment, individual people, and society.Broaden the discussion in both STEM and LA courses around:The value and risks of technology and technological thinkingThe underlying human values that objects, processes, systems, and decisions promote.How incorporating different perspectives in efforts to address Grand Challenges or Sustainable Development Goals will enhance the value of our students’ current and future solutions. Planned Implementation: My plan was to hold a half-day faculty workshop around the GCs during Winter break followed by a Spring semester faculty learning circle meeting monthly. By Summer I had hoped to have identified four pairs of faculty from LA and STEM disciplines committed to developing transdisciplinary modules for a future Grand Challenges Seminar. Pivots: My project only went loosely as planned… Schedule Pivot: By Winter Break, we were in a full-blown Omicron surge in Western NY. The university discouraged gathering prior to the start of the semester and serving food was forbidden. Instead of a half-day workshop, I joined with the larger RIT KEEN initiative of EML Active Learning Seminars, offering a one-hour Zoom seminar called “Integrating Transdisciplinary Perspectives on the Grand Challenges” in early February. I also participated on a panel organized by the colleges of Liberal Arts and Engineering to share faculty experiences working across disciplines, which generated interest from colleagues in Liberal Arts. Because the 1-hour seminar and 7 minute panel brief were not sufficient to recruit interested faculty and identify pairs, I held a longer “Transdisciplinary Grand Challenges Faculty Brainstorming Workshop” (with lunch this time) in May. Consequently, my timeline was delayed by four months. The workshop was well attended by faculty across colleges known to be active in transdisciplinary spaces. It included experienced faculty who helped shape my future ideas for the project. Implementation Pivot: The faculty in the workshop discouraged me from planning a 1-credit Grand Challenges seminar unless I was planning to require it for all GC scholars, citing their own experiences with low student enrollment and attendance for 1 credit courses that didn’t fit in a specific program. While I may later create a required Grand Challenges Seminar, we decided to create modules that could be included in existing General Education and STEM courses. I very much appreciate the advice of these mentors who saved me from doing a lot of work with little chance of success. After a few more summer Zoom meetings, we ended up with faculty teamed up for three projects and the planning of a symposium in December. Final Outputs Pivot: As of September 2022 we are still in the process of developing the modules with a plan to create EU cards for each. We may not have a need to create videos for these modules because they are not intended for a “flipped classroom” Grand Challenges Seminar and will instead be integrated in multiple classes in slightly different ways. We will provide EU Cards for the modules and a final video detailing the work done by faculty and students with footage of the symposium. The learning circle is continuing in Fall 2022 and, now that we have a motivated faculty team, we hope to recruit additional faculty pairs and utilize internal university grants to incentivize them to create Grand Challenges modules beyond December. Implementation Details and Resources KEEN Integrating Transdisciplinary Perspectives on the Grand Challenges Seminar, 1 hour Zoom seminar with example activity held in February 2022, 7 attendees. Meeting Agenda: Intro to KEEN and EML (this was provided by campus KEEN Leadership)Participant introductionsThe Grand Challenges Scholars ProgramCourse Example: “Grand Challenges: Clean Water” (This course is a General Education 3 credit Ethics Perspective, co-taught by an engineer and an ethicist. The class was inspired by the “Great Problems” courses at Worchester Polytechnic Institute).Active Learning Class Module Example: “The Play Pump Transdisciplinary EML Module” Card coming soon!Debrief on The Play Pump ActivityCall to Create more Transdisciplinary Grand Challenges Modules Resources: The ad and seminar slides are included below. The Play Pump Active Learning Module example is included as a separate card (link coming soon). The Playpump module is currently used in the Grand Challenges: Clean Water course, which is co-taught with an ethicist and is described in EU Card https://engineeringunleashed.com/card/2897. Advice: If you are planning a similar short seminar, 1 hour was tight for this full agenda. People joined late and had to leave early for class, the normal Zoom issues with sound, sharing, and rooms caused delays, and introductions took longer than expected. Schedule for 90 minutes or skip introductions. If hosting on Zoom use two presenters, one to present the content and the other to manage Zoom sharing and break out rooms. Transdisciplinary Perspectives on the Grand Challenges Faculty Brainstorm, 3-hour workshop with lunch held in May 2022, 12 participants. Two less formal Zoom meetings followed this workshop in June and July and served to develop ideas and form faculty pairs. Agenda: IntroductionsGrand Challenges Scholars ProgramKEEN Entrepreneurial Minded LearningTransdisciplinary GC SeminarGallery Walk: GC TopicsLunchBrainstorming Session Resources: Slides are included below. Ah-ha moments and Outcomes: I had expected it to be easy to form pairs from STEM and LA faculty with common interests around Grand Challenges. However, it quickly became clear that while STEM faculty interests tended to align with challenges (water, energy, security, etc), LA faculty focused on theories, processes, methods, etc that can easily lay over many/all challenges, like weaving a plaid pattern. Also, the idea of a Grand Challenges Seminar was scrapped in favor of integrating modules in existing courses such as Critical Thinking and Science Technology and Values. Ongoing Collaborations: We formed four sub-teams to work on modules and events. We will continue to meet and recruit other faculty in Fall 2022 and hope to establish additional incentive programs to encourage faculty to participate. Cards will be developed as the modules are completed. Integrating Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Grand Challenges Learning Circle: We will meet monthly in Fall 2022. Resources: The text of the call to join the learning circle is included below. Modules and Activities (under development):Horseshoe Solar Case Study: Three faculty will work to develop this case study module which will look at NY State renewable energy policy, technological viability of siting solar projects, Corporate Social Responsibility, economics of energy projects and relation to the tax base, community resistance, development on burial sites and viable farmland, and more! They plan to have the students interact across courses. Dr. Lisa Greenwood, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety Management in the College of Engineering Technology proposed the case and is using it in her Corporate Social Responsibility course focusing on the development firms perspective. Dr. Rob Stevens, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering will explore adding the case in his Renewable Energy course. Dr. M. Ann Howard, Professor in the Department of Science, Technology and Society in the College of Liberal arts will integrate this case in her Environmental Studies course. True Campus Accessibility vs ADA: This module will explore how policy and infrastructure design address or fail to address true accessibility needs on campus, using RIT as the subject of the exploration. Dr. Jessica Hardin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts has been exploring this subject with her graduate students. The students will participate in developing the module. Dr. Dan Phillips, Associate Professor of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering is the Director of Access Technologies on campus and runs the Liveability Lab, research and development facility. Dr. Matt Marshall, Associate Dean and Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering plans to integrate this module in courses that he leads for the Honors Program at RIT. Museum Studies Grand Challenges Round Up: This module will explore how museums portray the Grand Challenges and education the public about them. Dr. Juilee Decker, Associate Professor of Museum Studies in the College of Liberal Arts is including research on the module – how museums present Grand Challenges – in the Intro to Museum Studies course this fall. Sarah Brownell (bio above) will utilize the module with students in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program and in the Foundations of Community Engagement and Transformation course she teaches with Dr. Howard (bio above). Concept Maps around the Grand Challenges: Students in the Engineering Exploration course (more than 140 students per year) will select one of the GCs or SDGs. Over the course of the semester, they will construct a concept map that shows their understanding of not just the challenge itself, but the role that different engineering disciplines have in the particular problem. Dr. Matt Marshall (bio above) is developing this EM activity based on his participation in the ICE 1.0 workshop. Grand Thinking X Disciplines Symposium: The Grand Challenges Scholars Program plans to co-host an end of the semester symposium with the RIT FRAM Applied Critical Thinking Initiative that will include a student poster sessions on Grand Challenges projects and sharing of faculty work on the modules. We will create a 3-5 minute video surrounding this event and the experiences of the presenters. Dr. Jennifer Schneider is the Eugene H. Fram Chair of Applied Critical Thinking and a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management & Safety in the College of Engineering Technology. Sarah Brownell, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering will recruit and prepare students from the GCSP and the Grand Challenges: Clean Water course to participate in the student session and faculty to share their work developing the modules in the faculty session. Future Collaborations: Other collaborations are being considered for modules on Resilient Cities and Augmented Humans, and we plan to create Grand Challenges flavored sections of the general education courses “Science Technology and Values” in the Science Technology and Society Department and “Critical Thinking” in Philosophy. This work is on hold due to sabbaticals, active research projects, and Doctoral work.
CategoriesClassroom & Courses | Professional Learning DisciplinesComprehensive InstitutionsRochester Institute of Technology
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