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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
En Route To Lifelong Learning? Academic Motivations, Goal Orientations And Learning Conceptions Of Entering First-Year Engineering Students, Jonathan Stolk, Katherine Chen, Robert Martello, Roberta Herter, Taylor Lobe, Boris Taratutin
En Route To Lifelong Learning? Academic Motivations, Goal Orientations And Learning Conceptions Of Entering First-Year Engineering Students, Jonathan Stolk, Katherine Chen, Robert Martello, Roberta Herter, Taylor Lobe, Boris Taratutin
Robert Martello
Although lifelong learning is among the most critical skills required of today's engineering graduates, the complex processes through which individuals develop the attitudes, beliefs, and skills of lifelong learners remains unclear. Instructors have only begun to understand the impacts of academic background, institutional climate, and pedagogy on students' development of the motivations and learning strategies characteristic of lifelong learners. In this ongoing mixed-methods investigation, we draw on existing motivation and self-regulated learning theories to examine how undergraduate students at a small private college and a large public university become more self-directed as they progress through the first two years of …
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
Robert Martello
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 …
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
Robert Martello
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 …
Student-Directed, Project-Based Learning In An Integrated Course Block, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Steven Krumholz
Student-Directed, Project-Based Learning In An Integrated Course Block, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Steven Krumholz
Robert Martello
Imagine a course block in which students discuss the cultural implications of 17th century iron working in North America in one hour, and design experiments to examine connections between composition and strength in modern steel padlocks immediately afterward. In the Paul Revere:Tough as Nails course block, students don’t just study materials science and history of technology topics … they experience them. Through a series of readings, discussions, and self designed projects, students explore materials science concepts alongside the social, cultural, and environmental factors that shaped technological and scientific history. Although some formal in class activities are planned, many class sessions …
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
Robert Martello
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 …
Paul Revere In The Science Lab: Integrating Humanities And Engineering Pedagogies To Develop Skills In Contextual Understanding And Self-Directed Learning, Rob Martello, Jonathan Stolk
Paul Revere In The Science Lab: Integrating Humanities And Engineering Pedagogies To Develop Skills In Contextual Understanding And Self-Directed Learning, Rob Martello, Jonathan Stolk
Robert Martello
ABET, ASEE, and the wider engineering community have long acknowledged the potential benefits of interdisciplinary education, including the opportunity to develop non-technical skills such as communication and teamwork while cultivating a broader awareness of the ethical, societal, historical, and environmental impacts of engineering work. Instructors have encountered many challenges in planning and implementing integrated courses, such as the difficulty of coordinating the teaching methods, content, and learning objectives of different academic disciplines in a finite and already overcrowded curriculum. This paper presents the goals, design approach, implementation, and selected outcomes of one integrated project-based course (using Paul Revere and other …
Implementation Of Paul Revere: Tough As Nails, An Integrated Project-Based Course On Materials Science And History Of Technology, Jonathan Stolk, Robert Martello
Implementation Of Paul Revere: Tough As Nails, An Integrated Project-Based Course On Materials Science And History Of Technology, Jonathan Stolk, Robert Martello
Robert Martello
Olin College sophomores participate in integrated course blocks that merge technical content with business, arts, humanities, and social science topics, allowing students to work on engineering projects that have broader implications than the purely technical. In this paper, we present Paul Revere: Tough as Nails, a multidisciplinary course block that combines an introductory materials science course with a history of technology course and a large scale project. In Paul Revere, students explore connections between historical and technological materials science developments through examinations of Paul Revere's metallurgical work and analyses of the relevant social, environmental, political, and economic aspects that contribute …