Layton and Noble

I first would like to mention that my original idea of "what is an engineer" is right now with a big question mark. I had the "enlightened" idea of an engineer as a professional who brings "beneficial things to people". There's no such thing. I'm trying to construct a definition; but right now I just have this cloudy image of a "compound mix" made of an artist, a businessman, a worker, and an entrepreneur.

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Layton in his book "The Revolt of Engineers" mentioned that the idea of social responsibility was one of the pillars to build the identity of engineers (p. 62). Several speeches between 1895 and 1920 portrayed engineers as professionals who "had a special social responsibility to protect progress and to insure that technological change led to human benefit" (p. 57). Here I have to highlight that this idea of progress is the one that have "modern" societies, founded partially by the idea that "material achievements would benefit humanity and advance civilization" (p. 59).

Four other pillars are (a) the belief that laws of nature can also govern man and society (p. 66);
(b) the high importance given to methods and the mind rather than the subject (p. 66);
(c) the appropriation of the Puritanism idea of success established in moral principles of hard work, self-denial, initiative, and loyalty (p. 70);
(d) the emphasis in the "scientific professionalism of the engineer" (p. 70-71) and the transfer of the scientific reputation to the profession (p. 58).

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Chapter 3 of Noble's book "America by Design: Science, Technology, and the Rise of Corporate Capitalism" quoted many thoughts of engineers about the profession. The following is a summary of the main themes of their thoughts:
1) Emphasis in the capitalist ideology (p. 34-35).
2) Urgency to add the businessman, manager, and ''skilled worker for a large corporation'' component in the engineer's identity (p. 37-39).
3) Concern about the engineering profession becoming a "tool of those whose aim is to control man and to profit by their knowledge" (author citing O. Bates, p. 44).
4) Engineering schools shifted their focus to tailor future engineers to the industry and powerful corporations interests (p. 45).

Philosophy Essay

I think I have learned a lot from writing this "What is Education" essay. Honestly, I was very reluctant to write this essay. Because I really had no idea about education at that time. So I had to force myself to think and believe me, it was painful. However after the completion of the essay, I begin to have some idea about education. And reviews from peers and teacher did help me a lot. I sensed the power of collaborative more strongly than before.

Yesterday, I talked with a friend who also has an engineering background but just entered a PhD program of education. I would like to write down his unique understanding of education, which might give me some idea to improve the essay. His philosophy is that educational research involves looking into the details in the learning process from every angle of view, which is very different from engineering research. Engineering research involves the input of knowledge and the output of a new design.

He gives a very funny example to illustrate the difference between education and engineering. When cereal is added into milk, educational research concerns how cereal feels when it is added into milk, how milk feels when it is mixed with cereal, how cereal and milk can be well mixed together, what is the reason for mixing, what result turn to be after the mixing, what if using other brands of cereal, etc. These questions imply the questions discussed in the class: who, why, and how. Educational researchers concern about the every details from every perspective during the process. There are no correct answers for these questions. Engineering research concerns in a total different way. What engineers care about is only what has been created after cereal is added into milk. They believe that if all the parameters are consistent, they can reproduce the results.

Reflection on Perry’s Model

Perry’s model divides intellectual development into nine positions. With the development, the authority plays less and less important roles in students’ thoughts. Culver mentioned that most students appear to leave college in Position 3 or 4, because at this point, students admit a lot of alternative views but do not take a stand or commitment towards any of these ones. Some students also quit at later positions because they do not have the strong will to take the commitments. From Culver’s view, students’ willing to commit is a very important factor that dominates students’ retention. This makes me to think about what is related to willingness to commit or what “commitment” means. From my own experience, I would like to commit because the benefit covers the effort in the long run. I think this also applied to the students. If a student thinks continuing can bring more benefit, he or she probably will stay. But the decision and situation varies for different students. For example, getting a degree may help a student to find a better job. However, a report mentioned that fewer students stay in engineering because they find engineering hard and requiring more effort than other disciplines. So their decisions are much dependent on how they balance a better job and the effort they will spend during degree pursuing.

I like Perry’s model very much. It describes the changes happen in students mind so that we can analyze the key factors behind students’ quit. We can also think about what should we do at certain positions to prevent their quit. My research topic also involves analyzing factors that affect the retention of engineering students. Perry’s model is a good reference for me.

Moving into thinking about "engineering"

Our readings for the next week are some classic and contemporary works on how some engineers have written about the nature of engineering. Some questions for you to think about:

1. What does each argue about the nature of engineering (what would be their answer to the question ‘what is engineering?’ what do engineers know and how do they come to know it?’)?
2. How do they build their arguments (what evidence to convince their readers)? What was persuasive (or not) about their arguments? Why?
3. Where are the similarities and differences between these three readings?

Enjoy the readings!

A story - remembering my first experiences in education

i was remembering today (and someone poked at me for this) just how big a leap it was to move from engineering to education. i was a master's student in materials science and started taking classes over in our college of education. i was completely alone in those classes - the "odd one out". i remember the first day of class where the professor put us in a circle (there were maybe only 10 of us) and then asked us to say something about our selves. yikes. my whole university education was sitting in the back, never asking a question, never answering a question - my biggest engagement was deciding what color of pen i would use to take notes with (i took beautiful rainbow-colored notes). now they wanted me to speak out and say something about me! i remember i couldn't even listen to what others were saying because i was so anxious about what i might say. and then it was my turn - i babbled something - i said that i was in engineering (got some odd looks from people) - and quickly turned to the next person. within 5 minutes i realized this was a completely different place and it was a bit scary. and then there were the readings (pages and pages and pages of them) - what on earth were these people saying? and i was supposed to jump into the conversation (after years of never saying a word in class)? they must be joking!

it took me a while to find my stride, to feel comfortable jumping into discussion, to "fit" - and i had many people to thank for helping me in my transition. i think one of the biggest lessons was getting comfortable with not knowing something - and giving myself the time to "catch up" with my peers in class. i think another big lesson was realizing that i would get there in my own way and in my own time - that bits would unfold and make sense, and then some more bits, and then some more.

so, i remember...and i don't really want to forget because it was an important turning point for me. i also know that many of the students in this class are having their own transition experiences - and that it is probably not the same for everyone. i don't have any answers...but i appreciate the ways everyone is engaging in class and being a bit "fearless" :)

Hey Gentlemen, it's our third date!!

As a student majoring in Education, it is quite often to come across these old great guys: Socrates, Platos, Dewey, etc. They always sat in the first few chapters of a dusty old book, such as Driscoll's Psychology of Learning for Instruction, the one I used in my Master's learning theories class. What attitude do people hold when they examine their thoughts? Personally speaking, I didn't like these philosophers and their tricky perspectives when I first studied them in my undergraduate study. In order to pass a close-book exam related to them, I had to adopt rote learning to repeatedly memorize all their stories. My only acquisition from my first learning experience is to know how efficient Behaviorism is since I got a great grade as the reinforcement in the end. The learning theories class was my second time to systematically and formally date these gentlemen. When I first opened Driscoll's book, I thought it could be a piece of cake to learn them again since I got such a beautiful grade last time. However, things did not go as what I thought. I almost forgot everything. Everything seemed familiar to me, but I could not clearly remember which is which. Therefore, I began to suspect Behaviorism and would want to find the "best" theory which is trustworthy and reliable. I was looking for it all that semester. We had a heavy course load on that course. One of the assignments is to design a case study with ill-structured learning problems every week, and allow other students to solve the problems with the consideration of a specific learning theory. I began to give up the idea of looking for the "best" theory when I worked on this assignment. I realized there are no absolute reliable theories without the considerations of the context, learners, and other conditions. I began to carefully think about why we learn theories and how to apply them. If I want to create a great case, I have to go in-depth into the theories, and talk with these gentlemen sincerely.

OK, now it is my third date! I am more like prudent to learn, to think and to reflect this time. I want to construct my own world view and theories of learning under the careful examination and reflection. Noddings is a great storyteller. She mixed her own emotions and ideas in the plot, and made the story vivid. I decide to keep an open mind when considering each theory. Certainly, theories grow popular or fall out favor, but all of the theories have at the least concepts which can positively impact my approach to learn. I don't know if my attitude towards learning philosophies could change in the future, but this time, I just wanted to get something, something that is from me, and only belongs to me.

The New Scholarship Requires a New Epistemology
In this paper, the author presents a new scholarship which is more practical. This scholarship requires a change in the epistemology. To prove this claim, the author brings in the “reflection in” and “reflection on” concepts, which are used in the paper to explain many of the examples, including the MIT’s project, and can be seen very frequently in our everyday life.

The “reflection in” and “reflection on” concepts are very important in the process of learning and teaching. From the teacher’s point of view, what is going to be taught should be based on how much the students have already known. So during the teaching process, the teacher should observe the feed backs of the students and then decided what to teach and how to teach. This process is a reflection process. From the student’s point of view, during the learning process, they should not only learn what they are learning, but also learn how to learn and what to learn. This process is also a reflection process. To promote the efficiency of learning, the teacher and the students all need to be aware of the reflection concepts.

The Hidden Wholeness-Paradox in Teaching and Learning
In this book chapter, Palmer analyzes the concept of paradox of the world and presented the application of paradox in pedagogical design. Paradox presents everywhere around us. Right and wrong cannot be separated; light and dark cannot be separated; good and bad cannot be separated. Phelps’s parents are well aware of this concept. Paradox and wholeness also exist in the classroom. The students were divided into several discussion groups. However, the students all discuss under the same topic. Furthermore, everyone can express their opinions and participate into the topic better because of the division, so that a better wholeness or integrity can be reached.

The author talked about how to handle the six paradoxical tensions in pedagogical design regarding to its range, participators, contents, etc. For the fourth tension, there is an example. The engineering textbooks should include both the “big” theories and the examples or stories happen in students’ everyday life. It can help the students remember the theories. It also tells students that these theories can be used to solve practical problems.

My own “reflections”
During the transition from engineering discipline, there are several things I should keep in mind. First, making notes is very important. In the first class, I did not make notes. Then when I sit in front of the laptop, I found I cannot remember what other people have discussed. I started to realize that notes can not only help me remind the content of the class, but also allow me to look into the class in a different angle of view. After reading more articles or experience more, when I remember the class again, I can understand more of others’ opinions and why they presented these opinions. Similar to making notes in the class, making notes during reading also help me remind the content of the materials. Different from engineering textbooks, the educational reading materials are more like assays. It is impossible for me to read them again, but notes can help me remember the ideas in the articles.

Second, summary is very important. Making summary is also a “reflection” process. This blog is a summary. By writing this blog, I get reflection on my way of reading the materials and my performances at the class.

Just looking for some feedback

I had a lot of trouble understanding the different views of analytic philosophy. Noddings stated that many educational philosophers consider themselves analytic philosophers by being engaged in conceptual analysis. She also stated that philosophers cannot effectively set aside their values while then engage in analysis. I believe this to be true and a very interesting thought. I pose a question (hoping for feedback), is it better as a researcher to confess your values and base your studies on them or try to research without them?

I was exposed to this type of analysis during my masters program in a qualitative research class. This was discussed but referred to as 'subjective lenses' by Corrine Glesne in Becoming Qualitative Researchers. She expresses embracing the different values and calls them "Subjective I's".

I was wondering about other views on including personal subjectivity into research. Does anyone thing this is good? Or inevitable perhaps. Maybe it is bad?

First Week's Reflection

Now I will reflect on "what I reflected in" last week :) Palmer suggested people should think in the way of "both...and", instead of "either...or". He also proposed the concept of "profound truth", which led us to think of "paradoxes". The paradoxical way of thinking suggests that people should comprehend the world in a thorough way. It is not only abstract mode of knowing, but also it can help us to examine how good learning happens and what hard and/or soft scaffoldings we can provide to facilitate students' learning. The six paradoxical tensions mentioned by the author were meaningful when building a effective learning environment. An interesting thing that draws my attention is, my first history & philosophy class potentially followed the six statements by encouraging both "small group" discussion and "the big group" discussion to allow us sharing both the "small stories" and the "big thoughts". Furthermore, I totally enjoyed the free and kind atmosphere in class. I felt relaxed and would want to talk more with my friends. Another interesting topic in our small group discussion was about the different understanding about "silence" by culture. Emily, Pretti and me were all from Asia, and we believed, to some extent, silence indicated more positive facets, such as showing respect or introspectiveness. On the other hand, the western culture may hold more negative perspectives towards silence.

What I got most from Schon's reading is the difference on "reflect on" v.s "reflect in". Reflecting on emphasizes standing with a distance to re-examine what you have done, and trying to figure out the ways to refine and to improve. It was like "If I could have a second chance, I would do it in this way to make it even better". Reflecting in means when you are in the process, you are tying to find the flaws and correct them immediately before it is done. One example that came into my mind in the group discussion was making cookies. When I stirred the milk, eggs, suger and flour together, I realized I might put too much milk, so I decided to put some chocolate power to make the dough dry. That is what is called "reflecting in". After my cookies coming out of the oven, I tried one, and I found maybe I should add some cinnamon to make it more tasty. That is what is called "reflecting on". It also made me to relate what I have learned in instructioanl design. Reflecting in and reflecting on are like the formative evaluation and the summative evaluation. A famous saying from Robert Stakes about this two evaluations is, "When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative."

Finally I want to share my two cents about the group behaviors. People are unconsciously playing different roles in a team. Personally I excel in providing information and clarifying the thoughts. I am not a good starter since too much information fill into my brain and sometimes I am too sensitive on details. I am afraid I may mislead people away from the main structure. But no matter what roles we play, we should think together. I appreciate what Beth and Julie did to keep everyone on the same page. Secondly, Everyone will gradually grow up and become comfortable with teamwork. As a foreign student, we don't need to "hate" or "blame" our English or slower reaction towards a topic. What we can do is to practice more, and let time shape. The more we practice and participate, the faster we can grow up and get used to the style.

Off-class thought: share my stories

This is also my first time to join a group discussion. I enjoyed the moment when we shared our stories and experiences because I like watching movies. How can they be related? The primary reason why I like watching movies is that I can sense actors/actresses' feeling even if I don't have a chance to stand in the same situation in real life. In this way, their stories either arouse similar emotion from my own event or breathe wonderful expedition into my mind.

I was taught long time ago that everything is a double-edge sword. But one edge was getting blunt ever since I entered college to be trained as a technician. It's a world containing only bounded, charged, individual's voice and long-time meditation. No one is going to break the rule; no one feel the need to do so.

Two years later, I was shocked by a success and a failure when I tutored two high school students. They were of the same age, similar performance in school when I first started and I taught them almost at the same time with the same tone. I stayed humorous, brought in real-world object and phenomenon to explain the obscure formulas, and kept the course active. It worked out for the first student as he told me that he got 30% overall improvement in the exam. However, the second one started to hate me and finally he politely complained, "I don't care about your analogy and example. They will not show up in the exam. Just give me what the exam requires - a shortcut that helps to gain a ticket to college." So, was I doing wrong? Yes, because I failed to realize that teaching should put the right gear to fit the right machine. "But when my students refuse to dance with me, my strength turns to weakness." I do not agree with the attitude and motivation of the second student, but I feel guilty, really.

I suddenly find out my paragraph above is a reflection-on-action. What a surprise! We talked a lot on knowing-in-action and reflection-in/on-action in class but I am especially interested in "reflective transfer" - carrying practice over into new situations. I smelt it last weekend when I was moving to a new apartment. Since I have no license, I rent a U-Haul and asked my friend to help me drive.
"No, I can't."
"Why? You have a license and you drive your Camry every day. Do you mean different licenses are issued to different vehicle drivers?"
"Yes, but I am allowed to drive a U-Haul of this size. But eh...it's different."
Finally I ended up finding another friend who owned a pick-up.

I am also amused by the MIT project. I used to develop an application like 'program A' which turned out to be a total failure. My application is to pick up every two documents which actually come from students' homework, extract main content out of it, and compare them to see if there is any plagiarism. Of course the student disliked it. But the instructor also hated because the students always figured out tricks to crash my application or simply protected their documents from being inspected by my program. Unfortunately, that's exactly the project for my B.S. degree :(

Sorry guys, it's a long post. But some directors mean to make movies longer, right? Oh, by the way, I watched 'Uninvited' last week but it made me drowsy !