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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Work In Progress - A Provisional Competency Assessment System, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra, Jonathan Chambers, Ellen Cooney, Kristen Dorsey, John Geddes, Gill Pratt, Kathryn Rivard, Ann Schaffner, Lynn Stein, Jonathan Stolk, Stephen Westwood, Yevgeniya Zastavker
Work In Progress - A Provisional Competency Assessment System, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra, Jonathan Chambers, Ellen Cooney, Kristen Dorsey, John Geddes, Gill Pratt, Kathryn Rivard, Ann Schaffner, Lynn Stein, Jonathan Stolk, Stephen Westwood, Yevgeniya Zastavker
John B. Geddes
Over the last two years Olin College has been defining and implementing a provisional system to develop and assess student competency levels. The system particularly emphasizes the importance of creating a community of practice that includes not only faculty but also staff and students. In this paper we provide an overview of the design process, and comment on the results of our first year of implementing the system.
Work In Progress- Understanding Discomfort: Student Responses To Self-Direction, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, John Geddes, Rob Martello
Work In Progress- Understanding Discomfort: Student Responses To Self-Direction, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, John Geddes, Rob Martello
John B. Geddes
The literature consistently reports that students express some degree of discomfort when they are thrown into self-directed learning environments. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of an investigation of the causes of student discomfort in several different self-directed project-based courses. Our results suggest that student motivation and opportunities for the development of deep understanding and transferable skills are important in creating a positive self-directed learning experience. Negative experiences and student discomfort in self-directed environments may stem from problems with self-regulation, low self-perceptions of content learning, lack of personal engagement with the topic, and difficulties related to the social …
Stability Of A Microvessel Subject To Structural Adaptation Of Diameter And Wall Thickness, Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, John Geddes, Ilari Shafer, Rachel Nancollas, Morgan Boes
Stability Of A Microvessel Subject To Structural Adaptation Of Diameter And Wall Thickness, Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, John Geddes, Ilari Shafer, Rachel Nancollas, Morgan Boes
John B. Geddes
Vascular adaptation—or structural changes of microvessels in response to physical and metabolic stresses—can influence physiological processes like angiogenesis and hypertension. To better understand the influence of these stresses on adaptation, Pries et al. (1998, 2001a,b, 2005) have developed a computational model for microvascular adaptation. Here, we reformulate this model in a way that is conducive to a dynamical systems analysis. Using th ese analytic methods, we determine the equilibrium geometries of a single vessel under different conditions and classify its type of stability. We demonstrate that our closed-form solution for vessel geometry exhibits the same regions of stability as the …
Work In Progress – Building Autonomous Students: Modeling Curricular Approaches For Lifelong Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, John Geddes
Work In Progress – Building Autonomous Students: Modeling Curricular Approaches For Lifelong Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, John Geddes
John B. Geddes
Student development of self-directed learning skills is critical for success in today’s rapidly-changing engineering world. The details of how instructors may best foster engagement in life-long learning, however, are unclear; many educators have struggled to define, implement, and assess lifelong learning in engineering curricula. We present a framework for student autonomy that may serve as a useful curriculum design tool by aiding instructors’ consideration of learner responsibility and development. The model describes lifelong learning as a set of choices over which students may gradually gain control. These areas of learning autonomy include four question categories: why is learning necessary, what …
Engineering Students' Conceptions Of Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, John Geddes, Mark Somerville, Robert Martello
Engineering Students' Conceptions Of Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, John Geddes, Mark Somerville, Robert Martello
John B. Geddes
Researchers have developed numerous theories and developmental models to describe self directed learning, lifelong learning, and self-regulated learning. The literature includes a large body of research that illustrates the cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, affective, and behavioral attributes of self-directed learners; the influences of social and physical environment on self-directed learning development; and the roles of self-perceptions, causal orientations,learning conceptions, and demographics in determining certain self-directed learning responses. But how do undergraduate engineering students characterize and critique self-directed learning? This paper evaluates the responses of engineering students to questions regarding the definition of self-direction and the primary positive or negative factors contributing …
Engineering Students' Definitions Of And Responses To Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Mark Somerville, John Geddes
Engineering Students' Definitions Of And Responses To Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Mark Somerville, John Geddes
John B. Geddes
COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS have struggled with a lack of self-directed learning (SDL) development in their students for many decades. Self-direction is by no means a new topic in teaching and learning, but it is one of growing significance in engineering educational discourse. In 1969, Carl Rogers articulated the need for flexible, independent learners: Teaching and the imparting of knowledge make sense in an unchanging environment. This is why it has been an unquestioned function for centuries. But if there is one truth about modern man, it is that he lives in an environment which is continually changing . . .We are, …