An official website of the United States government
This paper describes the use of a freely-accessible open-source platform based on Google Apps for Education that combines Google Sites, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Hangouts and script language in a custom-based interface that supports collaborative service-learning projects for teams of Engineering and Education students. The approach discussed in this paper was successful in promoting collaboration among students from two different disciplines working remotely. The analysis suggests that balanced participation in the team, presence of shared goals and clear roles that emphasized individual and collective responsibilities were key to a successful interdisciplinary project experience. While many students still reported struggling with normal teamwork challenges, like finding common meeting times, others were pleased with the dynamics of their team and the opportunity to learn from one another. While SCOL, the open-source collaboration tool, did not significantly predict team satisfaction, the instructors found it very valuable for structuring project tasks, monitoring student progress, and providing timely feedback. The tool was seen as critical in supporting cross-disciplinary course collaboration for which students had limited access to face-to-face interaction. Faculty emphasized the importance of training students to use the asynchronous communication and collaboration tools (e.g., Google Docs and Google Hangouts) to maximize the benefits for students. Training will be included in future implementations of SCOL to ensure a more effective use of the platform.
more »
« less
WIP: Industry 4.0 Robotics - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Deep Learning
This innovative practice work in progress paper describes an interdisciplinary course, “Industry 4.0 Robotics,” aimed at fostering deep learning and innovation in students across Manufacturing, Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Networking, Cybersecurity, and Technology Management. The course, jointly taught by faculty from different domains, emphasizes interdisciplinary connections in Industry 4.0 (IN4.0) Robotics through a combination of lectures, real-world insights from industry guest speakers, and hands-on interdisciplinary project-based learning. The contribution of this work lies in its innovative approach that combines proven best practices in education, inspiring deep learning, and an appreciation of interdisciplinary teamwork. The course design builds upon education research on the benefits of leveraging student creativity and requirements engineering practices as learning tools that allow students to develop a deeper understanding. While the benefits of these practices, commonly cited for developing enhanced problem-solving and cognitive flexibility skills, are becoming well understood in many individual disciplines, far less has been published on best practices for achieving this in interdisciplinary thinking. This course design explores this through using hybrid experiential problem based learning and project based learning for students to develop an understanding of interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities. While the benefits of individual educational practices have been studied within specific disciplines, this work extends the understanding of these practices when applied to interdisciplinary challenges, such as those encountered in Industry 4.0 robotics. The course design aims to bridge the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work. This work in progress seeks to share early results showcasing the benefits of interdisciplinary teamwork and problem-solving. By articulating observations of commonalities and differences with prior work within individual disciplines, the paper aims to highlight the unique advantages of this interdisciplinary learning experience, offering insights into the potential impact on student learning. The chosen approach stems from the anticipation of future challenges increasingly necessitating interdisciplinary solutions. The goal of this work is to understand how best practices from individual disciplines can be effectively incorporated into interdisciplinary courses, maximizing student learning, and uncovering unique learning outcomes resulting from this innovative approach. The course design intentionally bridges the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work, to encourage effective communication and collaboration within mixed student teams. While this remains a work in progress, initial observations reveal a heightened interdisciplinary curiosity among students, driving deep learning as they explore the interconnectedness of their own discipline with others within their teams. This curiosity propels self-led exploration and understanding of how their expertise intersects with diverse knowledge areas, creating opportunities for innovative solutions at these disciplinary intersections. This work contributes to the broader landscape of engineering and computing education by offering insights into the practical application of interdisciplinary learning in preparing students for the complex challenges of Industry 4.0.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2315322
- PAR ID:
- 10590529
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 979-8-3503-5150-7
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 5
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Washington, DC, USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
This paper explores the implementation and impact of reflective practices in engineering courses, as perceived by faculty members and teaching assistants (TAs) who integrated these strategies in their Spring 2023 course offerings. Reflection provides a valuable opportunity for students to enhance their learning process and become more self-aware of their strengths, weaknesses, and overall progress. This study aims to investigate the experiences and perceptions of instructors who employed reflective practices and gain insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with their implementation. The qualitative research design employed for this study involved conducting in-depth interviews with faculty members and TAs from two engineering disciplines, civil and environmental engineering, and biological systems engineering. These reflective practices encompassed six reflections over the semester, all aimed at promoting metacognition and fostering meaningful learning experiences. The interviews were structured to elicit detailed information regarding the perceived usefulness of reflective practices, the strategies employed, the perceived impact on student learning outcomes, and any observed challenges encountered during implementation. Preliminary results from interviews with three faculty members and three TAs highlighted the diverse ways in which reflective practices were integrated into engineering courses. Common themes emerged concerning the perceived benefits, including student and instructor growth, better self-regulation skills for the students, deeper learning, and enhanced critical thinking skills. Moreover, instructors found that these strategies could foster a more productive learning environment and improved student-teacher communication. However, challenges included time constraints, student resistance, and off-topic reflections. Faculty members and TAs stressed the importance of clear guidelines and scaffolding to optimize the effectiveness of reflective practices and mitigate these challenges. The findings from this study will contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning by providing empirical evidence on the successful implementation and positive outcomes of reflective practices in engineering education. This study also pinpoints valuable recommendations for instructors seeking to implement reflective strategies effectively. Additionally, the insights gained provide a foundation for further research and discussion regarding the integration of reflective practices into alternative STEM disciplines.more » « less
-
Founding Editor-in-Chief Professor Elizabeth Boling, Indiana University (Ed.)Two graduate-level courses were designed to advance creative, interdisciplinary teamwork among graduate students. Over three years, the two courses underwent three iterations largely focused on refinements to teamwork, which led to high-quality student products. This design case presents the three course iterations, how course design decisions were made, and the kind of results that were achieved. The paper concludes with reflections for designing higher education courses focused on creativity, interdisciplinarity, and teamwork.more » « less
-
This work in progress investigates how the role of an educational intervention that coupled sustainability principles with an innovation-driven learning platform guides students through the development of a protype of innovative technology. Specifically, the intervention includes the purposeful pairing of the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) framework1 with the Renaissance Foundry model (i.e., the Foundry)2 in an undergraduate chemical engineering course that requires student teams to address societal challenges as learning outcomes. We argue that pairing the EOP framework with the Foundry results in an increase in students' sustainability efforts in the design of their prototype of innovative technology that addresses identified societal challenges. A preliminary analysis is presented comparing outcomes from two semesters of the CHE 3550, Transfer Science II (Fluids), course, which is a three-credit hour course with an additional one credit of laboratory work (CHE 3551). Preliminary implications related to holistic engineering education efforts and socially relevant learning will be presented and discussed.more » « less
-
Communication and collaboration are key components of engineering work (Trevelyan, 2014), and teamwork, including interdisciplinary teamwork, is increasingly seen as an important component of engineering education programs (Borrego, Karlin, McNair, & Beddoes, 2013; Male, Bush, & Chapman, 2010, 2011; Paretti, Cross, & Matusovich, 2014; Purzer, 2011). Employers and education researchers alike advocate teamwork as a means of developing skills that engineering graduates need (Purzer, 2011), and accreditation bodies consider the ability to both lead and function on teams as an important outcome for engineering graduates (Engineers Australia, 2017). However, “despite the clear emphasis on teamwork in engineering and the increasing use of student team projects, our understanding of how best to cultivate and assess these learning outcomes in engineering students is sorely underdeveloped (McGourty et al., 2002; Shuman, Besterfield-Sacre, & McGourty, 2005)” (Borrego et al., 2013, p. 473). In order to contribute to the current conversation on interdisciplinary teamwork in engineering education, and to advance understandings of how best to cultivate teamwork learning outcomes, this paper discusses the most common teamwork challenges and presents boundary negotiating artifacts as a conceptual framework for addressing them. Drawing on data from long-term ethnographic observations of a design competition project, and the challenges students experienced, we utilise findings from a systematic literature review and the conceptual framework of boundary negotiating artifacts to present a case study of how boundary negotiating artifacts can support important teamwork constructs.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE61694.2024.10893360
