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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Multi-Decade Response To The Call For Change, Bart Johnson, Ron Ulseth, Mike Raich Aug 2022

A Multi-Decade Response To The Call For Change, Bart Johnson, Ron Ulseth, Mike Raich

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Engineering and society have always been intertwined, especially with the accepted realization of technology's significant and rapidly increasing influence on the evolution of society. As a profession, engineering has a vital role in sustainably meeting needs and exploring opportunities that are ever changing and evolving. As societal and industry needs have evolved, engineering education itself has raised the call several times for evolving the way engineers are educated; however, the recent history of engineering education is, overall, one of missed opportunities. This was brought to a headline recently as ASEE leadership authored an article entitled “Stuck in 1955, Engineering Education …


Iron Range Engineering - An Overview Of Design And Open-Ended Problem Solving Activities In An Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Learning Program, Elizabeth Pluskwik Jun 2019

Iron Range Engineering - An Overview Of Design And Open-Ended Problem Solving Activities In An Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Learning Program, Elizabeth Pluskwik

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Project-based learning (PBL) in engineering education is growing at a rapid pace. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) Program of Minnesota State University Mankato, is an upper division (3rd and 4th year) undergraduate engineering education program based on the Aalborg, Denmark PBL model. Students work in teams to solve industry-sourced projects each semester. The learning of engineering is accomplished in three domains - technical learning of engineering concepts, professionalism, and design, which we call the “three-legged stool” of engineering education. The program promotes entrepreneurial mindset and innovative open-ended problem-solving in context. Fifty students are enrolled in 3rd and 4th-year studies at …


Iron Range Engineering Pbl Experience, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson Jul 2015

Iron Range Engineering Pbl Experience, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

A new PBL model started in 2010 in Minnesota, United States. The PBL model is upper-division (the last two years of four-year bachelor’s of engineering degree). Entering students are graduates of Minnesota’s community colleges. The Aalborg PBL model served as an inspiration for the program’s development. Unique attributes of the program include industry clients, semester-long projects, emphasis on development of self-regulated learning abilities, dedicated project rooms, technical competence learned in one-credit, small (3-4 student) groups with one academic staff called learning competencies, and an emphasis on continuous improvement. The program has earned ABET accreditation. Seventy-five students have graduated and are …


Professional Competency Development In A Pbl Curriculum, Bart Johnson, Ron Ulseth Jul 2015

Professional Competency Development In A Pbl Curriculum, Bart Johnson, Ron Ulseth

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Substantial dialogue exists regarding the needs of the engineering profession and the changes in engineering education necessary to meet them. Important to this change is an increased emphasis on the professional competencies as identified by the Washington Accord and the ABET professional skills for engineering graduates and how to educate for them. This paper will explore the potential for a project based learning engineering curriculum model to meet this need. It will summarize a newly developed upper-division undergraduate project-based learning (PBL) engineering program in the U.S. engineering educational system and its approach to professional competency development. Based on the ABET …


Shifting Facilitator Roles: The Challenges And Experiences Of Tutors Within Aalborg And Maastricht Pbl Settings, Lilian Furquim, Elizabeth Pluskwik, Sally Wiggins Jun 2015

Shifting Facilitator Roles: The Challenges And Experiences Of Tutors Within Aalborg And Maastricht Pbl Settings, Lilian Furquim, Elizabeth Pluskwik, Sally Wiggins

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Problem-based learning (PBL) has become a widespread method of teaching and learning around the world since the early 1970s. While several varieties of PBL are in use in many educational institutions, two primary models have taken root: the Aalborg model originating in Aalborg University, Denmark and the Maastricht model, originating in Maastricht University in The Netherlands. The two models both guide self-directed student learning under PBL principles, but they also have distinct differences. As developing PBL facilitators ourselves, we were particularly interested in understanding the role of the facilitator as it differs across the two models. Our goal for this …


Leading Large-Scale Change In An Engineering Program, Cheryl Allendoerfer, Rebecca Bates, Jennifer Karlin, Ron Ulseth, Dan Ewert Jun 2015

Leading Large-Scale Change In An Engineering Program, Cheryl Allendoerfer, Rebecca Bates, Jennifer Karlin, Ron Ulseth, Dan Ewert

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

While many efforts have been made to improve technical and professional skills in engineering graduates, there has been little comprehensive change in the pedagogy of most engineering education institutions in the U.S. Many of these efforts involve changing only one or two aspects of the curriculum, and therefore are less likely to make significant changes in the student learning outcomes. For better success, engineering curricular changes will need to address the entire education system. In order to see real, sustainable improvement in engineering education practice, both the behaviors of the participants and the systems within which these participants act must …


The Iron Range Engineering Pbl Curriculum: How Students Adapt To And Function Within Pbl, Rose M. Marra, Betsy Palmer, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson Nov 2011

The Iron Range Engineering Pbl Curriculum: How Students Adapt To And Function Within Pbl, Rose M. Marra, Betsy Palmer, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Iron Range Engineering is a unique complete-PBL curriculum for upper division students. Rather than studying about engineering in traditional engineering courses, IRE students solve complex and ill-structured industry problems in mining, milling, and manufacturing industries. To support students’ transition to PBL and to facilitate deep approaches to learning technical and professional competencies required for the engineers of the future, faculty have created a variety of structures. This paper describes IRE’s PBL implementation and reports the results of a qualitative study of their students.


A New Model Of Project Based Learning, Ron Ulseth, Jefferey E. Froyd, Thomas A. Lotzinger, Dan Ewert, Bart Johnson Jun 2011

A New Model Of Project Based Learning, Ron Ulseth, Jefferey E. Froyd, Thomas A. Lotzinger, Dan Ewert, Bart Johnson

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

A new model for engineering education has been developed and funded. The model is 100% project based learning (PBL) where the students develop their own learning objectives. The projects are authentic needs contributed by collaborating industries. Students monitor the acquisition of 32 technical competencies and all of the design and professionalism competencies required of new practicing engineers. The reasons for the new model, description of the model, research supporting the model, methods for evaluating the model and its transportability are discussed.


Entrepreneurship In The Iron Range Engineering (Ire) Model, Dan Ewert, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson, Jeff Wandler, Andrew Lillesve Jun 2011

Entrepreneurship In The Iron Range Engineering (Ire) Model, Dan Ewert, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson, Jeff Wandler, Andrew Lillesve

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

The aim of this paper is to describe a new model for engineering education that has entrepreneurship, in its many form, as a focus. Issues involved with integrating student-based entrepreneurship into the educational process are also described.