An Innovative Engineering Curriculum at James Madison University: Transcending Disciplinary Boundaries Through Innovative Problem Based Learning Practices

Pierrakos, Olga; Kander, Ronald G.; Pappas, Eric; Prins, R.

doi:10.1115/imece2008-68015

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…The program was developed from the ground up to not be an engineering discipline-specific program, but instead to provide students training with an emphasis on engineering design, systems thinking, and sustainability while also providing a strong foundation in engineering science (O. Pierrakos, Kander, Pappas, & Prins, 2008). The vision of the program is to produce cross-disciplinary engineer "versatilists.…”

Section: Survey Administration and Population Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of Engineering Students’ Values with Respect to Behaviors in Group Work

Nagel

Pappas

Swain

et al. 2015

IJHE

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In order to train young professionals, instructional methodologies in engineering need not only teach students knowledge, but must also instill the values and teach the behaviors-competencies students can demonstrate-required of professional practice. Herein, we focus on understanding the values and behaviors of students with respect to working as a member of an engineering group as a part of a course project. Our hypotheses are (1) that the students' values with respect to the behavior of individuals in a group will remain stable through the academic year and (2) there will be behavioral predictors to group-based values. Our findings agree with the literature on societal groups which indicate that values should remain constant over time; we see here with our cohort of students that values not only remain stable, but also, students maintain high agreement through the academic year. With respect to behavior predictors, the behaviors that repeatedly correlated or predicted positive group values were related to interpersonal skills rather than knowledge or learning. This finding is important as it points to a noted necessity to foster strong interpersonal skills among students. Students need to recognize that how they interact with their group is just as important as the skills being brought to the group. The results presented herein are a first step toward creating a "personalized" instructional approach that focuses on aligning individual values and behaviors when working in an engineering group.

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Section: Survey Administration and Population Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of Engineering Students’ Values with Respect to Behaviors in Group Work

Nagel

Pappas

Swain

et al. 2015

IJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Problem-Based Learning instruction throughout the curriculum: Much of the instruction in the School of Engineering has been based on a Problem-Based Learning or PBL foundation [60]. For many educators, PBL refers mainly to open-ended problems that incorporate team-based, collaborative learning.…”

Section: Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This model is grounded on three dimensions-structuredness, complexity, and group structure. Structuredness pertains to the degree that the learning experience in regards to process (problem statement and problem solving) is defined and structured for the student [60]. Complexity pertains to the degree of challenge posed by the learning activity in regards to the amount and difficulty of domain knowledge students are expected to gain and integrate during the learning experience.…”

Section: Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Complexity pertains to the degree of challenge posed by the learning activity in regards to the amount and difficulty of domain knowledge students are expected to gain and integrate during the learning experience. Group structure pertains to the varying degree to which students work in a team setting or independently to partake in the learning experience [60]. Varying learning experience characteristics impacts students' cognitive development.…”

Section: Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

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On a Vision to Educating Students in Sustainability and Design—The James Madison University School of Engineering Approach

2011

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Abstract:In order for our future engineers to be able to work toward a sustainable future, they must be versed not only in sustainable engineering but also in engineering design. An engineering education must train our future engineers to think flexibly and to be adaptive, as it is unlikely that their future will have them working in one domain. They must, instead, be versatilists. The School of Engineering at James Madison University has been developed from the ground up to provide this engineering training with an emphasis on engineering design, systems thinking, and sustainability. Neither design nor sustainability are mutually exclusive, and consequently, an education focusing on design and sustainability must integrate these topics, teaching students to follow a sustainable design process. This is the goal of the James Madison University School of Engineering. In this paper, we present our approach to curricular integration of design and sustainability as well as the pedagogical approaches used throughout the curriculum. We do not mean to present the School's model as an all or nothing approach consisting of dependent elements, but instead as a collection of independent approaches, of which one or more may be appropriate at another university.

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“…The program was designed to develop engineering graduates aligned with the vision of the Engineer of 2020 by the National Academy of Engineering: one who possesses strong analytical skills, strong communication skills, a strong sense of professionalism, creativity, and versatility 7 . The curriculum combines a liberal arts general education core with courses in math, science, engineering design, engineering science, engineering management, systems analysis, and sustainability to prepare engineering versatilists 8 . The department has experimented with multiple combinations and iterations of a first-year experience since 2008, including one or two required engineering courses along with math, science, and general education courses in the first two semesters.…”

Section: Case Study Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Concept Maps as a Tool for Assessment and Continuous Improvement of a First-Year Course

Barrella

Henriques

Gipson

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This paper demonstrates evidence-based practice for evaluating the effectiveness of and continuing to improve a first year course on engineering fundamentals and decision-making. In Spring 2015, five instructors in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University taught six sections of an introductory engineering course. The course is a curricular element of the department's first-year experience and is intended to introduce new engineering students to engineering fundamentals, analytical and creative problem solving, systems thinking, engineering and society, sustainable development, and professionalism. As part of course assessment, students completed hand-written concept maps of "engineering decision-making" during the first and last weeks of class. A concept map is a graphical method for identifying and organizing relationships between concepts, related to a central topic, by using a node-link diagram. The instructors wanted to discern if students broadened and deepened their understanding of engineering decision-making over the course of the semester and identify gaps or misconceptions that will need to be addressed during students' subsequent courses and by future runs of the first-year course. The pre and post concept maps were completed during class time in the first and last weeks of the semester. Students were given a brief explanation and examples of how to construct a concept map, using a common set of slides in each section, and then had 10 minutes to complete the maps. The pre and post concept maps were evaluated for structure and connectedness of knowledge using the traditional scoring method which counts and then weights the number of concepts, the number of hierarchies (or branches), the depth of hierarchies, and then number of cross-links connecting different hierarchies. The content of student knowledge was evaluated using thematic analysis to identify trends or gaps in student knowledge compared to the course learning objectives. The results, in terms of both structure and content of student knowledge, suggest that students' conceptualizations of engineering decisionmaking evolved over the course of the semester but that gaps (or low prioritization) between course learning objectives and student conceptualizations may exist. Course instructors are using the results of concept map analysis to continuously improve the course during the Spring 2016 and in future semesters. The instructors would like to help the students make stronger connections between course topics and how each can be incorporated into decision-making for both simple and complex problems. Concept maps are a method that can be employed by other institutions that are assessing a first-year course or have multiple instructors or multiple sections of a first-year course in order to help establish a consistent foundation for future classes. Concept maps are valuable as both a learning tool, helping students make connections within or across classes, and as an assessment tool to inform and monitor the effectiveness ...

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An Innovative Engineering Curriculum at James Madison University: Transcending Disciplinary Boundaries Through Innovative Problem Based Learning Practices

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

Exploration of Engineering Students’ Values with Respect to Behaviors in Group Work

Exploration of Engineering Students’ Values with Respect to Behaviors in Group Work

On a Vision to Educating Students in Sustainability and Design—The James Madison University School of Engineering Approach

Using Concept Maps as a Tool for Assessment and Continuous Improvement of a First-Year Course

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