the emotional rescue of engineering education
Post on 19-Oct-2014
2.870 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
© David E. Goldberg 2010
The Emotional Rescueof Engineering EducationDavid E. Goldberg Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 USAdeg@illinois.edu; www.ifoundry.illinois.edu
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Working Out One Day
• Wondering what to call my talk.• Emotional Rescue came on.• Tell story about the evolution of the
Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (iFoundry)
• Story begins in typical rational engineering fashion.
• Ends with a punch line that could have been written by Sir Mick.
• Student engagement and emotion as undervalued transformational design variables.
Sir Mick Jagger (b. 1943)
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Roadmap
• A postmodern beginning: Once upon a blogpost.• Why can’t we change? A NIMBY problem and the
iFoundry curriculum/programmatic incubator. • What should we change? An answer from Athens.• Finding an aspirational target in Needham, MA.• 73 freshmen last fall.• A surprise in October.• Switch: The rider, the elephant, and the path.
Once Upon a Blog Post
• Wrote a blog post on 24 May 2006 at www.entrepreneurialengineer.blogspot.com .
• Wondered why not a philosophy of engineering like philosophy of science?
• Response from the UK.• Pointer to a National Academy of Engineering
committee.• Led to 4 things:
– Meetings on Philosophy & Engineering (WPE-2007, WPE-2008, fPET-2010).
– Lecture series: Engineering and Technology Studies at Illinois (ETSI).
– Workshop on the Engineer of the Future.– Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering
Education (iFoundry).
© David E. Goldberg 20104
Why Can’t We Change? A NIMBY Problem
• Academic change is a NIMBY problem.
• NIMBY = Not in my backyard.• “Reform is fine…”• “….as long as you don’t change
my course.”• Politics of logrolling: You
support my not changing. I support your not changing.
• Even when agreement for change is acknowledged, almost all specific changes are resisted.
© David E. Goldberg 20105
NIMBY = Not in my backyard
iFoundry: A Pilot Incubator for Change
• Starting point: Organizational redesign.• iFoundry = Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education:
– Separate pilot unit/incubator. Permit change.– Collaboration. Large, key ugrad programs work together. Easier approval if
shared. – Connections. Hook to depts, NAE, ABET (?), industry. – Volunteers. Enthusiasm for change among participants. – Existing authority. Use signatory authority for modification of curricula for
immediate pilot. – Respect faculty governance. Get pilot permission from the dept. and go
back to faculty for vote after pilot change– Assessment. Built-in assessment to overcome objections back home. – Scalability. Past attempts at change like Olin fail to scale at UIUC and other
big schools.
6 © David E. Goldberg 2010
Myth: The Basics of Engineering Settled
• “The basics” = math, science, and engineering science.• Reflections on 20 years in industry-sponsored senior
design.• After 4 years students don’t know how to– Question: Socrates 101.– Label: Aristotle 101.– Model conceptually: Hume 101 & Aristotle 102.– Decompose: Descartes 101.– Measure: Bacon-Locke 101.– Visualize/draw: da Vinci-Monge 101.– Communicate: Newman 101
• Call these the missing basics (MBs).• Fundamental to engineering, organizational prowess, and
lifelong learning.Socrates (470-399 BC)
7 © David E. Goldberg 2010
© David E. Goldberg 2010
The Olin Effect as Educational Target
• Went to Franklin W. Olin College first time February 2008.
• A moving experience: Talked to freshmen during heat-sink measurements.– Pride in design-build
prowess: Engineering identity.
– Confidence.– Assertion of personal
aspirations & initiative.• Envisioned distant day when we
got “Olin effect” at Illinois.
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
JoyAspiration
Choice Identity
Illinois Engineering Freshman Experience
(iEFX)
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Fa09 & iLaunch: The Students are Coming• 22 August 2009 was iLaunch.• 110 admitted, 93 accepted,
88 came to campus, 73 still in program.
• iLaunch signaled different kind of program.– 3 Joys: Joy of engineering,
community & learning.– Unified by the missing
basics.– Within student-run
community of learners: iCommunity.
• But it wasn’t all smooth.
iStudents on Allerton low ropes course
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Bumps, Confusion, then Demos & iCheckpoint
• Students: What do you want us to do?
• iFoundry staff: Don’t know. What do you want to do?
• Then steam engines worked. • iCheckpoint held.• Something seemed to click.• Jaime Kelleher: “Wasn’t sure you
were serious about us doing what we wanted to do, but then realized you were, and it was very cool.”
© David E. Goldberg 2010
AAAs: Aspirationally Assertive Acts
• Students started to assert themselves as free men and women and as engineers:– 6 students go to NextGen conference.– 3 students apply and get accepted to
TEC Silicon Valley trip.– Student rearranges finals to go to
Indonesia with NUS students.– Student networks with Cory Levy to get
VC interview in Colorado.– 8 students visited Skidmore, Owings, &
Merrill.– Student starts passionate pursuits
brown-bag series.– Student invites IDEO lecturer to
campus.• Anecdotes confirmed in ongoing
assessment efforts.
Jaime Kelleher in Indonesia
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Students Speak: The Experience is Working
• November 11th survey, First two weeks versus now.
• Agree & strongly agree (n = 51):
• Student words:– “Sure I made the right career
choice.” – “I might not like my future co-
workers, but I’ll love my job.”– “Making me more confident in
my decision to be an engineer.” – “I’m definitely more
entrepreneurial.” – “I think I feel more comfortable
being an engineer.” – “Just an overall all-rounded
engineer, not just a technician. A human, not just a problem solver.”
– “The future looks brighter thanks to iFoundry.”
© David E. Goldberg 2010
The Olin Effect at Illinois!
• But how?– Didn’t change the whole
curriculum.– Didn’t build new buildings.– Didn’t remake the
classrooms.– Didn’t overhaul the teaching
or teachers.• Did one-hour course +
iCommunity? Seems like too little.
Olin Effect at Illinois
© David E. Goldberg 2010
The Elephant, the Rider, and the Path
• Chip & Dan Heath have new book: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.
• Invoke tripartite model of change:– Motivate the Elephant (emotions), – Guide the Rider (rational thought), – Shape the Path
(institutional/organizational setting).• Emotions as primary design focus.• iFoundry model corresponds:
organizational change, conceptual change, and aspirational change.
© David E. Goldberg 2010
8 Things Working
• We motivated the elephant (E), guided the rider (R), and shaped the path (P):– Transition (P). Met expectations in transition (iLaunch).– Passion (E). Appealed to passion (3 joys: engineering, community, learning).– Aspiration (E). Respected aspirations & choices (iTeam themes).– Thought (R). Built qualitative thinking skills (Roam + missing basics + HAPI).– Community & human behavior (P). Insisted on working together (iTeams &
iCommunity).– Trust & Initiative (E & P). Trusted student initiative (provided rules & structure, but
not instructions).– Inner builder (E). Unleashed inner builder & engineering identity (Steam engine &
μcontroller).– Begin with end in mind (P). Began with the end in mind (world of work and iCOAs).
• Chemo game story: Emotional variables most important in motivation.• Bottom line: Creates new level of student confidence, initiative, and engineering &
Illinois identity early in career.
© David E. Goldberg 2010
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Next Steps
• Moving from iFoundry to College as iEFX: Illinois Engineering Freshmen Experience.
• Scale up: 73300 of 1300 freshmen, Fa10.• Add iAAs (iTeam alumni advisors) to teams: Alumni
experience begins in the iCommunity.• Piloting courses for 2nd year now: UOCD, FBE, others.• Hold Engineer of the Future 3.0: Unleashing Student
Engagement, 14-15 November 2010, student-run summit.
Bottom Line
• iFoundry pilot a interesting & is being scaled up.
• Big jump in student confidence, initiative, and engineering identity Olin effect at Illinois.
• Used literature, theory to design, but was surprised by magnitude of student response.
• Engineering training overvalues the rational.
• Emotional design variables hugely important & need to incorporate them in our transformation efforts.
© David E. Goldberg 2010
“I'll be your savior, steadfast and true, I'll come to your emotional rescue.”
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Acknowledgments
• Autodesk• HP• IBM• Motorola• National Science Foundation (US)• Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill• Severns Family Foundation
© David E. Goldberg 2010
Contacts & Information
• DEG: deg@illinois.edu• Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (
www.ifoundry.illinois.edu)• 2 meetings:– Engineer of the Future 3.0: Unleashing Student
Engagement, 14-15 November 2010, UIUC, www.apie2.org – Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology, 9-10 May
2010 (Sunday Eve-Monday), Colorado School of Mines, www.philengtech.org
• This powerpoint and other reflections at www.slideshare.net/deg511
top related