j.b. speed school of engineering – university of louisville engineering critical thinking james e....
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J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Engineering Critical Thinking
James E. Lewis, Ph.D.Jeffrey L. Hieb, Ph.D.Tim Hardin, Ph.D.James H. Graham, Ph.D.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Outline: i2a Background JB Speed School of Engineering
Involvement ENGR 100: Introduction to Engineering ENGR 205: Differential Equations for
Engineers CECS 230: Introduction to Computer
Engineering and Computer Science
ECE 496: Professional Issues and Current Topics Seminar
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
i2a Background
Southern Association of Colleges (SACS) and UofL’s university-wide quality enhancement plan (QEP).
i2a – Ideas to Action: Using Critical Thinking to Foster Student Learning and Community Engagement
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Speed School of Engineering Involvement
Currently developing and implementing its i2a plan
Faculty members have participated in Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs)
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
ENGR 100
Course Description– Introduction to the engineering profession,
its disciplines, orientation to the university; includes critical thinking/engineering design, professionalism, ethics, team building, communication, computer software, freshman experience modules, diversity issues, and time management. Taken by all incoming engineering freshmen
Added to the curriculum in 2006/2007 academic year.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Critical Thinking in ENGR 100
Why include Critical Thinking in the Intro course?– Help students tackle the adjustment to
college– Engineers need to apply critical thought
and critical problem analysis throughout their career
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Critical Thinking in ENGR 100
Incorporated explicitly in five ways1. Explicit lecture on critical thinking using
the Paul-Elder model2. Critical thinking breakout session
following the lecture3. A specific critical thinking assignment4. Through case study discussions5. A pre and post general critical thinking
assessment
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Assessment
Pre-assessment Post-Assessment Motivation for the Assessment
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Actual Assessment
5 multiple choice questions 5 Likert scale questions One open ended question
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Comparisons of Assessment
Average score for pre assessment multiple choice questions 48%
Average score for post assessment multiple choice questions 48%
No statistical difference between pre and post assessments regarding the multiple choice questions
The Likert Data and Open Ended Question are still being evaluated
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Conclusions / Changes
Increase the number of lectures on Critical Thinking and Paul-Elder model
Continue reinforcing the Paul-Elder model (by using the language) in assignments and grading of assignments
Rework/modify the assessment tool
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Assessing Critical Thinking in ENGR 205
Jeffrey L. Hieb, Ph.D.Department of Engineering Fundamentals
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Critical Thinking in ENGR 205
Three Goals1. Continue to explicitly reinforce critical
thinking instruction• more discipline specific
2. Assess students critical thinking skills3. Provide relevant and meaningful
feedback to ENGR 100
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Reinforcement
Mathematical modeling section of the course
– Mathematical modeling is a part of critical thinking
– Critical thinking includes mathematical modeling
– Incorporate Paul-Elder language
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
How to Assess Critical Thinking?
Modify or add exam or quiz questions?
What are we really after?– What is it we hope to assess?– What is it we hope to impart to students?
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Rethinking Critical Thinking Assessment
University of Louisville definitionCritical thinking is . . .
a guide to belief or action. From FLC participation
– Modeling• Recognize critical thinking and see it in action
– Closing the loop• Motivational and instructional feed back
From i2a specialists– Aim for: a progression of critical thinking skills
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Two Critical Thinking Assignments
1. Given two commentaries decide and justify which one best exemplifies critical thinking.– Model to students both good and bad critical thinking– See discipline specific example (both have ODEs)– Response requires critical thinking
• What is critical thinking? Paul Elder Model
– Not time consuming, students should just write a response
2. Compare the importance of two methods for solving differential equations.– Now do some of your own critical thinking.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Assignment #1 RubricAssignment #1 Rubric
Part 1: correctly identified the better example of critical thinking
1 – stated commentary number 2 better exemplified critical thinking
0 – stated commentary number 1 better exemplified critical thinking, or did not say
Part 2: Justification that commentary #1 exemplified poor critical thinking
0 – Gave no valid justification or gave no justification
1—Gave a single valid justification.
2 – Gave two valid justifications
3—Gave three valid justification.
Part 3: Justification that commentary #2 exemplified good critical thinking
0 – Gave no valid justification or gave no justification
1 – Gave only one valid justification
2 – Gave two valid justifications
3—Gave three valid justification
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Spring 2009 – Pilot
Both Assignments given to students enrolled in the ENGR 205 class in the Spring of 2009
Most of these students did not take EGNR 100 after explicit critical thinking was added
Pilot Goals– Develop a baseline– Identify problems– See what kind of responses students give
Currently this data is being analyzed
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Pilot Results for Assignment #1
Assignment #1 (61 responses)– 54 (89%) correctly identified commentary
#2 as the better example of critical thinking.
– For justification against #1 the average scorewas 1 (out of 3)
– For justification for #2 the average scorewas .6 (out of 3)
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Comments on Student Responses
Very few mentioned the PE model– Most of these students were not exposed
to PE in ENGR 100 Most correctly identified good and bad
critical thinking Less successful at providing
justification Some bad justification
– The formulas were more complicated– It was longer
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Closing the Loop
Give the instructor’s response to students– Commend students on giving good
responses– Stress/reinforce Paul-Elder model as a
reliable way to evaluate thinking (any thinking) and to justify why it is or is not “good thinking”.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Feedback to ENGR 100
Percentage of responses that used the PE model– Need to add this to the rubric
Percentage of correct identifications Average for part 2 and part 3 of the
rubric.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Conclusions
Students responded well, and there was a general engagement
Students exhibit common problem– Seem to know what critical thinking is,
don’t know how to define. Planned improvements
– Reflective piece• Revise mission: to a fellow student.
– Formalize rubric.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
An Example from CECS230 (Intro to
Computer Science and Engineering)
Tim Hardin, Ph.D.Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
About the course
3 credit hours 2nd semester freshmen Pre-requisite is intro to programming Course is a breadth-first look at the
CECS curriculum Occasional lab projects to reinforce
lecture material
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
When to do a Lab?
Before lecturing on the material? After lecturing on the material?
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Motivation
Beginning programmers No thought to program maintainability Minimal thought to program testing Some thought to program design
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Example: Variable Names
Students tend to choose variable names with no meaning: a,b,c,d
After being told to use descriptive variable names: tim01, tim02, tim03
The goal: length, width, area, etc.
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Lab Assignment – part 1
Two students, one computer 10 minutes to find all errors in a
programHere is the menu 1 - square 2 - rectangle 9 - quitYour choice: 2Enter side #1: 3Enter side #2: 4Rectangle: 4 x 4, perimeter = 14, area = 12
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Lab Assignment – part 2
15 minutes to download source code and fix the errors
int a,b,c,d,e,f;int main(){a=b=c=d=e=f=0;a1: printf("Here is the menu\n");printf(" 1 - square\n");a2: printf(" 2 - rectangle\n");printf(" 9 - quit\n");printf("Your choice: ");int r;scanf("%d", &r);if ( r == 1 ) goto x4; else goto q1;q1: if ( r == 2 ) goto hell0; else goto q2;
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Lab Assignment – part 3
15 minutes to add functionality for a circle
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Critical Thinking Discussion
What did you learn in the last 40 minutes?– Do NOT use ‘goto’ statements– Use meaningful variable names– Format and indent code– One instruction per line
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Take home assignment:
Download and look at “good” code What are obvious differences? Which is easier to understand? Why? What about ‘goto’ statements? Is the number of lines of code a good
indicator of program complexity? Why? How will you change the way you write
code in the future?
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Summary:
Lab was before the lecture Lecture was much more meaningful...
Students recognized elements of lecture from lab experience.
Students got a flavor of the “real world”
“... as a guide to belief and action”
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
i2a in ECE 496
James H. Graham, Ph.D.Department Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering
J.B. Speed School of Engineering – University of Louisville
Questions?