Work in progress: Theoretical approach to characterizing changes in students' and engineers' conceptual understanding and personal epistemologies

Montfort, Devlin; Brown, Shane; Frye, Nadia

doi:10.1109/fie.2012.6462342

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Its central position and relation to so many important aspects of engineering education make characterizing an epistemology of engineering education an important goal for the field. Very little research has been done in this area, however, with the vast majority focused on students rather than faculty (Carberry, Ohland, & Swan, 2010; Felder, ; Frye, Montfort, Brown, & Adesope, ; Montfort, Brown, & Frye, ; Yu & Strobel, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Personal Epistemologies of Civil Engineering Faculty

Montfort

Brown

Shinew

2014

J of Engineering Edu

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The personal epistemologies of engineering faculty are an important and as yet underinvestigated aspect of engineering education. In this study, personal epistemology is defined as the stances an individual takes on issues related to knowledge and knowing, such as what it means to know, what counts as knowledge, and what makes some knowledge true. Purpose (Hypothesis) This research characterizes the personal epistemologies of engineering faculty members with particular emphasis on contributing to the development of a theoretical framework to support and guide future research. Design/Method Semistructured interviews explored broad epistemological issues but were individually tailored to ensure open discourse. The interviews were situated in the domain of the participants' own research in civil engineering; this domain provided a familiar and rich research site in which to explore their epistemologies and allowed for richer interpretations through reference to other research linking research practice with epistemology. Results The participants expressed a stance that assumed an objective reality and verified the truth of their knowledge through observation, which assumes access to that objective reality. Participants simultaneously evaluated their knowledge based on its truth and usefulness. The participants' discussions reflected their perceptions of the complexity and wide scope of the “real” world – thereby moving beyond simplified categorizations such as positivist, into new and unexplored epistemologies. Conclusions The participants' epistemologies are discussed in terms of their implications for engineering education practice and research, as well as personal epistemology research.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Personal Epistemologies of Civil Engineering Faculty

Montfort

Brown

Shinew

2014

J of Engineering Edu

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…• Narratives of ongoing student conceptual and epistemological development have been produced; • Engineering students and beginning engineers' personal epistemologies have been characterized at two stages in time; • Engineering students and beginning engineers' conceptual understandings of fluid mechanics and mechanics of materials have been characterized at two stages in time; • Nearly 200 hours of audio and over 400 written pages of data have been collected through semesterly, semi-structured extensive interviews and weekly, loosely-structured check-in interviews, as well as a collection of difficult engineering problems faced each week by both engineers and students; • Results and analysis of the previously stated items have been, or will be, published through two conferences and include: o A short explication of the theoretical approach that is being utilized by this study in 12…”

Section: Outcomes and Publicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is Engineering Knowledge: A Longitudinal Study of Conceptual Change and Epistemology of Engineering Students and Practitioners

Brown¹,

Montfort²,

Frye³

2013 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dr. Shane Brown conducts research on cognition and conceptual change in engineering. He received his bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees from Oregon State University, both in Civil Engineering. His Ph.D. degree includes a minor in Science and Mathematics Education. His master's degree is in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Brown is a licensed professional civil engineer and has six years of experience designing water and wastewater treatment facilities in central California. He was the recipient of the NSF CAREER award in 2011. Dr. Brown's research interests are in conceptual change, epistemology, and social or situated cognition. Specifically, his research focuses on theoretical approaches to understanding why some engineering concepts are harder to learn than others, including the role of language and context in the learning process.

show abstract