tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68137160764235262482024-03-12T17:42:51.914-05:00History and Philosophy of Engineering EducationA course blog for ENE 69500 05, a graduate course held<br>in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University.alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-82571025290753003562010-11-21T20:53:00.001-06:002010-11-21T20:53:55.440-06:00History of education - a whirlwind tour<div>Julia just reminded me I never put these on the blog. Here they are - sorry for the delay and hope you can decipher most of them!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "> </span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br><img height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="12e99719-3182-4686-a303-5d5c48b918b6" src="cid:684A1D8D-6872-4750-9892-8E06515BAE42@domain_not_set.invalid"></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><img id="18b0c93d-522f-41af-8262-5151b5fb9d87" height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:1AFB247C-DDCA-4C61-BB38-DA9C3D0022BC@domain_not_set.invalid"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><img id="21e06e86-ccf1-47eb-8707-498d4278bdb1" height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:F57289A9-33EF-40FC-BF68-C638CE92B117@domain_not_set.invalid"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><img height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="2933ec8a-115e-4e6b-b5c4-038ab4e80b52" src="cid:59737D8E-A1E9-4C41-8C99-9ED580A1B82F@domain_not_set.invalid"></span></p><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><img height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="b52c93e9-cc78-45ad-908a-dbe3ff4bb7e4" src="cid:476B0F57-F1DC-49A5-A614-1B0AEE3421A9@domain_not_set.invalid"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><img height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="c0232fde-a91c-4b9f-8558-a26385786f4a" src="cid:DEA0A58A-1F77-43F6-85D2-45C2489FE641@domain_not_set.invalid"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><img height="640" width="480" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="1ea0d2bc-9662-4f6e-88fd-29bcbe767abf" src="cid:2A34A484-6E1C-4551-B5F3-67D4F0DB4A9C@domain_not_set.invalid"></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> </div>alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-14783122432996436652010-11-08T10:30:00.001-06:002010-11-08T10:30:39.428-06:00Photos from board from class<div>Folks -- here are the photos of the notes Robin wrote on the blackboard on class last Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div><img height="480" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="c8e5c60c-7426-4db7-ad8a-a0c767fa8cd4" src="cid:85CCDD7C-028C-46BB-A921-C056322390F5@itap.purdue.edu"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br><img height="480" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="56ce65ae-1688-41d1-8585-46ab4b3059cf" src="cid:078CD7ED-671E-4F41-BBEF-DF01289D39A7@itap.purdue.edu"><br></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br><img height="480" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="65aa40d1-d598-4c65-9af3-68e63d5df3a5" src="cid:AB6CDE5B-412A-4296-AE5E-15C9BC919E99@itap.purdue.edu"><br></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br><img height="480" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" id="dcfb78f1-3972-47e8-9755-cbfb3bb7cad5" src="cid:F2BF9FE2-124A-492C-8F3A-02359A6DFFA4@itap.purdue.edu"><br></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> </div>alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-54557480885531605642009-12-21T15:59:00.000-06:002009-12-21T15:59:25.403-06:00YouTube extravaganzaFolks, we have had our last class, we shared our videos with the public, and final grades have been uploaded. Thanks so much for a fun semester, and enjoy your final youtube video products, as well as the other pieces of writing you have generated this semester. Good luck in the spring!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keylRp9OOjM">The Journey of Engineering Education</a>, by Mark Carnes, Brianna Dorie, Yuchuan Deng, and Jing Chen<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbdLAr9s5Q">The Engineering Education Carol</a>, by Noah Salzman, Preeti Rajendran, Jiabin (Emily) Zhu, and Bethany Fralick<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4iE1jccSNU">Engineering Education Zone</a>: by Meagan Pollock, Junaid Siddiqui, Sensen Li, and Roy Melton<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i4iE1jccSNU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i4iE1jccSNU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-31744559500301840982009-12-14T07:49:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:08:18.914-06:00Importance of Context<link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">As we approach the completion of our course, I was re-reading the Jamieson et al. ASEE paper and getting excited about its contents. Reflecting on the structure and flow of the course, I was wondering if a re-ordering of the topics might be beneficial, especially in light of the diversity of the students. Many have never been exposed to educational philosophy (or any philosophy, for that matter), and experienced some confusion when this topic was presented first. I was thinking that it might be better to present some of the material on the history of engineering and engineering education first to establish a context to which the subsequent topics could then refer. With the historical framework studied first, then the philosophical piece could be studied as it has related to that framework and influenced it over time. This type of context could have helped focus better on those philosophies that have influenced this historical development, or that could be applied to future development. I know from my own philosophical studies over the years that the context in which the study takes place is a key element in determining the direction that the study takes.<br />
</div>MarkChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403674385392796492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-79715987410720391032009-12-13T17:25:00.000-06:002009-12-13T17:25:25.897-06:00YouTube tagsFor those of you uploading your YouTube videos, please tag it somewhere with "engineering education", and "fall09-ENE-HP". Those should both help us and help others find it. <br />
<br />
Thanks!alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-88936795168918598272009-12-10T10:15:00.000-06:002009-12-10T10:15:55.888-06:00Follow-up on Jamieson-Lohmann reportIn class today, it seemed as though most people agreed that we should submit the feedback that you generated in class last week. Bri volunteered to champion the writing to submission, and Beth and Junaid agreed to help if we could do this in January. Most people agreed they could help if we did it in January, rather than yet this semester.<br />
<br />
It also seemed there was agreement (I hope I read this correctly) in submitting the feedback both online and to Dean Jamieson directly, with perhaps a cover letter prefacing the feedback. <br />
<br />
Things to do include<br />
<ul><li>put together an email list yet this semester <br />
</li>
<li>drafting a cover letter</li>
<li>revising the material written last week to be consistent in format and voice, no bullets etc.<br />
</li>
<li>getting everyone's feedback, if it's going to come from the class</li>
<li>actually submitting the final version. (W00T!)</li>
</ul>Robin and I want to offer our availability to look at a draft, but we don't want to block the process, and offer it only if you collectively want our critical eye. We're also fine if you'd like to just shepherd this through on y'alls own. We <i>would </i>like a copy of this when you're all done just so we can bask in your amazingness. :-D<br />
<br />
COOL.alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-78334246252719326262009-12-09T15:51:00.002-06:002009-12-09T15:52:42.639-06:00We're not the only ones having this conversation...Okay - came across this intersting <a href="http://sciencestudies.univie.ac.at/events/conference2010/">conference</a> - see a short overview below<br /><br />Recent key macro studies agree that scientific research is increasingly entangled in various societal rationales. On the one hand, these analyses should be understood within the context of the growing importance attributed to scientific and technological innovation for shaping contemporary societies. On the other hand, society's readiness to contribute to an innovation-friendly climate is considered a key-asset for materializing this imagined progress. For both issues, the human side of science, thus researchers and their way of doing research, their values and their readiness to engage with both science and society, is perceived as essential.<br />As this unfolds on a global scale, it is interesting to observe within research policy and science institutions the convergence of various discourses that stress and imagine what seem to be the key values or myths guiding research today: excellence, accountability, mobility, flexibility, ethical conduct, societal relevance or application orientation, to mention but a few. However, far too little analytic attention has been devoted to (1) how these broad and ostensibly universal notions impinge on different work and knowledge production cultures, (2) how specific local histories and contingencies play out in practice, (3) how these global changes get refracted locally and personally, and (4) how all this re-frames what being a researcher today actually means. This lack seems astonishing given the importance the 'human factor' is attributed in current policy discourses around innovation.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-17568454468744507662009-12-05T21:24:00.002-06:002009-12-05T21:26:54.809-06:00Course EvaluationsBy now you should have all received the email about course evaluations. Please take the 5 minutes to do these - Alice and I value your input and take it into account. We would also like any guidance you might have regarding the challenges of bringing a very diverse group of students into so many different ways of talking and thinking. <div><br /></div><div>Thanks!</div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-17427259145801330352009-12-03T16:59:00.000-06:002009-12-03T16:59:12.532-06:00Sending feedback on Jamieson/Lohmann reportSo we didn't get to talk about what to do with your draft reply in response to the Jamieson/Lohman report. Let's start getting some thoughts out here first, and then we'll pull it into the beginning of our last class next week.<br />
<br />
First, would you like to help create an actual group response that we send in?<br />
If so, tell us why, and what would you like to see in it? And what can you do to help?<br />
If not, tell us why not, and how you might rather participate in the engineering education research community?alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-66339462210951448252009-12-03T14:22:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:09:01.769-06:00Empowering Engineering Faculty and adminstratorsIn the article of "Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education", they talked about focusing on engineering faculty and administrators as the major changing agents for the increase of attention to teaching. In Educating the engineer of 2020, it specifically talked about the front-line role of engineering faculty member in supporting the engineering education innovations. We (Tommy, Marc, Junaid and I) discussed about why there is still not much increase in the emphasis on teaching innovation. Although we have realized that the present faculty reward system is very research-oriented, it has not moved much towards the teaching side.<br /><br />I think the reason for the lack of this shift is still about the "customers" of our educational systems. Are the administrators really care about "students" as our "customers"? Are they really care about "educating people"? Or maybe in a sense, the administrators don't think students are the actual consumers of educational systems. Instead, whether or not research funding are brought in is more important than whether or not the professors are teaching the students in a better way. The point is whether we want to change or not depends on where our values are set upon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-48445950372403356092009-11-30T15:26:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:09:23.565-06:00Educational philosopher and provocateurAccording to Adams and Felder, educational philosopher and provocateur is one of "exciting new roles for enabling engineering education to dynamically respond to the evolving nature of the engineering profession".<br /><br />I had never have engineering ethics or philosophical class before I enrolled in the ENE department. To be honest, I was reluctunt to have philosophical class at first because I thought it was irrelevent to engineering. But my mind has changed now. I have new ideas about engineering because of the philosophy class. And I think other engineering students should have philosophy classes, too.Jing Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996161143720785459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-66570403065279378882009-11-22T17:03:00.023-06:002009-12-18T08:10:26.368-06:00Ethics, Morality, and Responsibility<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >It's very interesting to read and hear the different perspectives on what is ethics. I will now share mine:<br /><br />For me ethics is <span style="font-style: italic;">simple</span>. It is linked to (1) awareness of your own actions and the consequences they have (and might have) --in the other human being, in yourself, and in your surroundings-- and (2) the responsibility for your actions and amendments if necessary. Note that when you <span style="font-style: italic;">act</span>, you have <span style="font-style: italic;">thought </span>before committing the act...<br /><br />I see the term <span style="font-style: italic;">morality </span>as the particular code of ethics bounded to a certain religion. Thus the word "ethics", without (any other word accompanying it) are more universal aspects to preserve life, harmony, and consensus<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span></span></span>between people<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span></span></span></span><br /><br />And in the context of engineering, ethics has traditionally been linked to the set of codes belonging to, for example, the IEEE or any other engineering professional organization. It should also include the <span style="font-style: italic;">simple</span> ethics I mentioned before.<br />/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-//-/-/-/-/-/-/-/</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-//-/-/-/-/-/-/-/</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><br />Recalling our friend, Nel Noddings <span style="font-style: italic;">--why we don't send her a Christmas card?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">She will get happy and we'll exercise Utilitarianism--</span> we see that Noddings use the terms 'moral' and 'ethics' interchangeably (p. 151).<br /><br />I liked some aspects of Kantianism, but not all. For example, I liked that Kant see ethical agents "constrained not to do things that will interfere with the free agency of other" (p. 159); however I <span style="font-style: italic;">must </span>interfere if I see that the person is trying, for example, to suicide. I <span style="font-style: italic;">must </span>interfere if an infant, child, person with a severe mental illness is being the recipient of harm by other with more <span style="font-style: italic;">strength</span>.<br />If I do not have the physical conditions to stop the situation, I have the responsibility (<span style="font-style: italic;">ethics</span>) to either call the police, or scream, or notify someone else, or do something to stop that. The other aspect I liked is his approach to do "the <span style="font-style: italic;">right</span> (procedural aspects of ethics) rather that the <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> (the context or ends sought in ethical action)" (p.158).</span><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >Of Utilitarianism, I liked the idea of "sensitive thinkers" (p. 160).</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >Going back to my <span style="font-style: italic;">simplistic </span>definition of ethics, I see that it might fit more with Dewey, because "Dewey put much more emphasis on the <span style="font-style: italic;">responsibility </span>of individuals and institutions than is usual in utilitarianism. For Dewey, the primary criterion of ethical behavior is willingness to accept responsibility for the full range of anticipated outcomes" (p. 163).<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-//-/-/-/-/-/-/-/</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><br />--I cut here to prevent myself from writing an essay --</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-55576341955637618822009-11-19T08:27:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:10:45.387-06:00RileyI loved this article. It really captures a lot of the reasons why I am interested in Engineering Education. I believe very strongly in engineering as a tool for social change, both in terms of using engineering to improve peoples' lives, the environment, etc. and encouraging a more diverse community of engineers as a means of individual empowerment. I am, however, stuck on two things.<br /> I have been thinking about issues of social justice for a long time, and always come back to the following problem. What is the best way for me to be an agent of change given that I am empowered, i.e. I am white, male, middle-class, and heterosexual. I am aware of the issues that I am trying to deal with in my classroom or employment, but do I have the legitimacy to help others learn how to deal with these issues themselves?<br /> I also wonder how does one get old-school, traditional (sorry, Alice!) engineering departments to start thinking along these lines. As Dr. Riley mentioned at the beginning of her article, Smith is unique in offering the first engineering program at a women's college. One could potentially see a similar approach at a historically black college or university. But my mechanical engineering professors here at Purdue? It almost makes me laugh (or cry) to think about the likelihood. I think that we are just getting to the point where engineers are starting to acknowledge the value of diversity in engineering and not just see it as an additional, unwelcome constraint.<br /> Finally, as long as academic promotion is primarily based on publications produced and research money brought in, there is very little incentive for new or exisiting faculty to really focus on their teaching. To affect real change in engineering pedagogy, a stronger focus needs to be placed on teaching ability and the value of improving teaching methods.noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552348353151253764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-9708129249476964792009-11-19T07:45:00.004-06:002009-12-18T08:09:23.567-06:00Responsibility and ethical behaviorI do not think responsibility and ethical behavior are the same thing. In my opinion, responsibility is a commitment and willingness to accept consequences. Ethical behavior is linked with the word "moral". <br /><br />For example, a boy damages a table which belongs to the public property and he has the willingness to accept the punishment. I can say that the boy is responsible, but he does not behave in a moral way.Jing Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996161143720785459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-12511206714024270742009-11-16T14:53:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:11:02.067-06:00When we prepare the youtube draft, I have the feeling that video is really a multidimensional way of communication. Power point slides are only one dimensional-picture. But a video can have text, picture multiply by time, and multiple sources of voice. So it takes a lot more efforts to make a video than do power point slides. Maybe the philosophy behind making videos is that we should never forget that communication is multidimensional.Quhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09251546734153802354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-34657144502272652062009-11-15T08:41:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:09:23.569-06:00Equipped for life"Women who entered equipment studies faced extensive requirements, including three physics courses and two classes in household electrical equipment, plus one six-hour introduction to laboratory research methodology."<br />It is very surprising that they had classes that I had when I was undergraduate.<br /><br />"As additional career training, journalism classes taught equipment students to write about technology for a general readership. " <br />It is cool. Many engineers do not even know how to write for a general readership.<br /><br />"Equipment courses not only sought to teach students minor repair skills but also stressed strategies to avoid expensive major problems." <br />This sounds like a technical thing.Jing Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996161143720785459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-36368519337323329542009-11-12T13:50:00.022-06:002009-12-18T08:10:26.370-06:00Slaton and Bix<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">From the readings "Equipped for life" [1] and</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Technical education at land-grants institutions during WWII" [2] :</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">a)</span> "Isolation made the experience [of women in engineering] hard" [2, p. 120]<br />... And the quotation from a woman graduated at Cornell, in the 1930s:<br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" > </span><blockquote style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >"She must be ready to do alone the work the men do in groups (...) [men working] with her are far more interested in flirting than in checking computations. She must be prepared for a pretty lonely academic career..." </span><span style="font-size:78%;">[2, pp. 120-121]<br /></span></blockquote><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">This still happens today</span>. Perhaps not that much [?], but in my personal experience, that quote was like a portrait of my own experience in computer science and engineering.<br />And what is more ... in my country, the interaction, behavior, and jokes of some male faculty members, in and outside of the classroom, make the case even worse! Certainly, there were also many of them who had empathy, professionalism, respect, and understanding.<br />That's why when I came to Purdue it was so impressive for me to see the respect between male faculty members and women students. I feel treated as a human, not as a thing.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">b)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> "Wouldn't be nice if a woman could understand such matters?"</span> [1, p. 743]<br />The above quote comes from a dialogue between two women and the need of changing a burned out fuse.<br /><br />That reminded me that, when I was in second year of college, I had this hunger for knowing more about some technical courses (Java, Flash, computer graphics, etc). At that moment, Z branch of the university was not giving them. I asked myself a similar question, but regarding to get the knowledge of how to repair and assemble a computer.<br />I mentioned to a male classmate my interest in taking a computer assembling/repairing class. He chuckled and said "<span style="font-style: italic;">... but you cannot ... you are a ___</span>". And when he tried to say the word at the blank space, he shut up. I didn't care, I transferred to the other college branch and took all the technical classes I wanted there (including the computer repairing class).<br /><br />The good thing thing of that Home Economics program was that women having this hunger to obtain more technical knowledge could have the way, at that moment, to do so through that fostering environment. The hidden 'bubbles' are the consumerist intention of the program and the undervaluing of their work (not being called 'engineering'), as discussed in class.<br />///////////////////////////////////////////<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">From the reading of Amy E. Slaton, "Reinforced Concrete and the Modernization of American Building, 1900-1930":</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">a) </span>It was funny, for me, Potter's "inventory for personal characteristics" (p. 58).<br />Let's see, according to the inventory I have (1) ''black hair color'', (2) "average" height, (3) ''nasal'' voice tone, (4) ''foreign not-categorized'' accent, (5) "lukewarm'' religion, and (6) a ''good'' aesthetic taste (<span style="font-style: italic;">whatever that means</span>). With all these traits, I don't have the characteristics to be an engineer in Potter's mind.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">b) </span>I would like to point out this opinion of "Charles Ellis, a professor of civil engineering" that "declared memorization of formulas to be without merit as a teaching tool" (pp. 46-47). He (a) encouraged student initiative, and (b) preferred practical laboratory work above mere lectures. The reading mentioned his preference to teach "the behavior of structures through graphical analysis -- a means of describing the mechanics of materials with geometric notation (rather than algebraic terms) that had existed since the mid-nineteenth century" (p. 47).<br />His essential argument, according to the author, was that "effective engineering is not like scientific work in every respect, nor should it be. Where there is work (i.e., physical, technical, <span style="font-style: italic;">productive</span> work) to be done, one needs not classical bodies of knowledge but 'the mental powers to cope with life's problems' (...)" (p. 47).<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-87601006618642235352009-11-11T19:46:00.005-06:002009-12-18T08:11:22.696-06:00Closer to RealityI am pretty sure time has gone when women primarily learned how to replace a fuse and fix home appliances. However, it inspires me to think of another approach to ground engineering education in reality. I am so familiar with the top-down strategy where an instructor endeavor to find examples in real life to justify the value or necessity of the knowledge he just taught. This approach often sounds awkward because the instructor may not always find a perfect epitome. On the contrary, if engineering education starts from the other end - technology is the outcome of engineering - students will be more likely to naturally accept it. The example in Bix's book showed how excited the woman was when she repaired two appliances at home by applying the knowledge from the training. Both this problem based learning (bottom-up) and the top-down approach try to bridge the gap between scientific/engineering knowledge and reality but they start from different ends.<br /><br />The origin of laboratory discussed in Slaton's book also evokes my reflection on the 'so-called lab' I attended in college. I was also greatly controlled in the lab at that time, but in the sense that instructions were clearly drafted by the instructor and even results were often predictable. The experiments were all out-dated and I never got a chance to operate a machine that would actually appear in the factories. This kind of control is completely different from what Slaton described in the book. As he mentioned, greater control of student work was necessary because lab must prepare students for all possible commercial applications. I was not a bit stimulated because neither the equipments nor methods would be applicable in my professional life. I do not know whether the modern lab setting in the U.S. retains the essence of the lab or also grows towards a wrong direction. As an engineering student, however, I would prefer a more practical experience in the lab session.Hanjunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13825466067002682271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-37049524415293834342009-11-10T14:21:00.003-06:002009-12-18T08:11:42.842-06:00Extending Time for "Basic Engineering Education" (Bachelors + Masters)In the last week readings Goals Committee (1968) tried to predict the future in terms of how technology will progress and consequently what will be the needs for engineers in the next 10-20 years. They noted that there is an increasing demand of students with graduate education in the industry where undergraduate education is not considered sufficient. The one major recommendation they had is to extend basic engineering education to include at least one year of graduate studies leading to master’s degree. Their recommendation could not be materialized in form but I think we know that what they were saying is right and masters has increasingly become important for an engineering career in industry.<br /><br />The academics from the science disciplines it seems have come up with a neater idea. They have what they call as professional science masters [<a href="http://www.sciencemasters.com/">link</a>]. This type of masters program has also gained some good ground across the universities [<a href="http://www.sciencemasters.com/Default.aspx?tabid=58">link</a>]. The program integrates business and industry oriented courses with technical courses. I was wondering why such an idea has not been tried with engineering? I think this will be a more attractive option for engineering graduates who are interested in working in the industry.Junaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00569120587926380456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-41430212961367780632009-11-05T20:00:00.007-06:002009-12-18T08:11:02.069-06:00HistoryIn today’s class, each of us in our Youtube group talked about our own paper, which summarizes the issues of engineering education in a certain time period. After that, we start to merge our findings of different time periods and try to find how engineering education evolve for a longer time period. It is very interesting. It seems that the issues for a long time ago are still under intensive debate today. For example, should engineering education emphasize more on science or practice? These stories happen again and again in the history, and they will probably happen again and again in the future. Later, more questions came out of my mind.<br /><br />Since these stories happen again and again, can we use them to predict the future? My answer is yes. But can we predict all the stories? My answer is no. There should be something new that will happen in the future and have not yet happened. Is history just repeating? My answer is no. I think although these debates happen again and again, the social context for each of the cycles is different from each other. Something should be improving as a function of time. It may be the society or technology background. It may be other things.<br /><br />It is also very interesting that although the stimulus of the birth of engineering education in different countries (US and Europe) is different, they all happened. However, it did not happen in China before the World War I. Why?<br /><br />At last, history is always summarized by historians, so in my opinion it is always biased to some extent. The bias may come from the limitations of vision of the historians or the pressures from the society they lived or other factors.<br /><br />What are your opionions?Quhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09251546734153802354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-45355060383214869632009-11-05T13:18:00.003-06:002009-12-18T08:09:23.570-06:00Reflection of Engineering Education Nov 5According to "Goals": "the engineering student should be sufficiently exposed to the new facts and theories offered by the social sciences to help him understand the large social problems of his time."<br /><br />First, I am unhappy with the word " him" and "his". "Her" should be added.<br /><br />Second, I do not think engineering education introduces enough social sciences to engineering students, at least from my own experience.Jing Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996161143720785459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-18797809544994088912009-11-05T08:30:00.000-06:002009-11-05T08:30:53.249-06:00More on Amy SlatonNext week's readings include a chapter from Amy Slaton's first book on the education of materials and testing engineers around the material of concrete. Worst book title ever (you'll see what I mean) but the chapter itself is awesome. I want to draw your attention to two other items from Amy: 1) she has a new blog, <a href="http://stemequity.com/">STEMequity.com</a>, and 2) her new book on <a href="http://stemequity.com/books/race-rigor-and-selectivity/">race in engineering educatio</a>n is coming out next year from Harvard. You should check her out -- she's amazing.alicepawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09722642544674784808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-22456899510079754472009-11-04T14:32:00.002-06:002009-12-18T08:12:17.835-06:00NAE K-12 Engineering StandardsColleagues -<br />
<br />
I posted the presentation from last week on Blackboard. Here is an interesting and related article from IEEE: <br />
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<a href="http://www.todaysengineer.org/2009/Oct/STEM-education.asp">http://www.todaysengineer.org/2009/Oct/STEM-education.asp</a> <br />
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Cheers,<br />
Meagan Pollockmpollockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01470994079810586809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-13632881778819861612009-11-03T14:17:00.001-06:002009-12-18T08:11:22.698-06:00Classroom Observation ReflectionDuring my classroom observation, I intended to capture and record every activity of both the instructor, TA, and students. What impressed me most is the fact that group discussion and problem solving dominate the classroom while lecturing can hardly be noticed. Also, students show a strong inclination to use advanced technological infrastructure and dependency on computer tools.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Group Discussion</span><br />Students spent at least half of the class session in group discussion. Emphasis on group discussion echoes the need of teamwork in engineering disciplines. Some groups started to become well-structured where work division is very clear while most of them did not. Communication media varied significantly - some think aloud with plenty of gesture, emotion, and talking, whereas some worked individually with only occasional chatting and writing on paper. Both intra- and inter-group communications were allowed and welcomed. However, when a group is composed of students barely sharing any common, agreements cannot be easily achieved and very often voice of underrepresented members would be ignored. Also, the scale and difficulty of the topic for group discussion in this class were designed to be a bit beyond individual capacity but can be solved in groups within 15 minutes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Problem Solving</span><br />Real-world problems preceded almost all exercises, quizzes, and lecturing. From simple programming tasks to lecturing on engineering estimation, real-world problems always come along with the content actually delivered. When the instructor started the topic Engineering Estimation, he chose an interesting problem ‘Why mice are harder than elephants to keep warm?’ and then transited to the surface area volume ratio. In this class, theories and principles appeared only when they are needed. Once they were introduced, students used them to solve a problem immediately. I think in this way, student may value knowledge higher and become more skillful in tackling real-world problem when they step into industry later. However, structure of knowledge looks more scatter and non-systematic, which requires extra efforts to link knowledge together.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Influence of Advanced Technology</span><br />The most impressive scene was that students complained and felt upset when they heard the problem must be solved by only pencil, paper, and calculator. Even so, some students insisted in programming on their laptops to get the result and hence they were warned once more by the instructor. This exercise took much longer than others where computer programs were allowed. Finally, only a few groups completed it. I think the emergence of advanced technology not only requires students to learn more but also transform the way of accessing knowledge.Hanjunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13825466067002682271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813716076423526248.post-666534147163881582009-10-30T16:21:00.004-05:002009-12-18T08:10:26.372-06:00Class Observation: First-Year Engineering<span style="font-size:85%;"><a target="_blank" href="http://m101010.tripod.com/ene_itw_post_m.pdf">Click here</a> for the class observations. [I did not check for grammatical errors].</span><br />-------------<br /><br />Okis...now I fixed the link.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com