Engineering Classrooms Before and After Innovation

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Engineering ClassroomsBefore and After Innovation

• David Cordes, University of Alabama,
  cordes_at_cs.ua.edu
• Jeff Froyd, Texas AM University,
  froyd_at_ee.tamu.edu

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Workshop Overview

• Introduction (20 min)
• Guidelines, what is an innovative classroom?
• What Other Institutions Have Done (25 min)
• Information dump
• Classroom Transformation (30 min)
• What do you do? How do you do this?
• Other Issues and Considerations (20 min)
• Items that can impact potential changes
• Wrap-up (5 min)

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Introduction Basic Guidelines

• Will operate in a team-based mode
• The group knows more than any one person
• Interrupt frequently
• No pre-defined set of material that must be
  covered in this workshop
• When looking at innovative classrooms, we will
  focus on
• The use of technology in the classroom
• Lower-division engineering courses

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Introduction Team Formation

• Self-Organize into four-person groups
• Want to emphasize both institutional and
  departmental diversity
• Try to organize so that you have no more than one
  institutional representative per team
• Introduce yourselves (name institution) within
  the group
• Group representative will introduce the group to
  the workshop as a whole

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Introduction Share information

• Within your group discuss the following question
  among yourselves
• What is an innovative classroom?(and could you
  recognize one if you saw it)
• Appoint a reporter to capture group results

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An innovative classroom is ...

• Is this room an innovative classroom ?
• Video projector and powerpoint
• The people in it are sitting in little groups,
  talking, working together
• Have a laptop computer
• Depends on where you come from (what is the
  norm)?
• Not still could find a better design
• Not have not done anything yet, just talked
  theory
• Not seats in rows, flexibility is limited
  (chairs dont roll)
• Not no network connections

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An innovative classroom is ...

• Use of novel methods in transferring knowledge
  and information to students
• Computers and computer connections to networks
  (wired or wireless)
• Appropriate software for the course
• Facilitating the class, not just a
  chalk-and-talk
• Not just having the equipment in the room, but
  the approach and how it is used
• Position of instructor/facilitator, walks around
  and gets involved
• Noise (other than instructor), other
  conversations taking place
• White boards available for groups to utilize
  (wall-to-wall)
• Distance capable, e.g. video-conferencing,
  video-taping
• Electronic white boards (can record on them for
  later), MIMIO
• Professor can look and assess what the students
  are doing
• Chemistry classroom feedback simple button
  students use to relay information back to the
  instructor (also online testing)

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Part 2 What others have done

• Short (25 minute) information dump
• Background Information
• one-page introduction to technology-enabled
  learning
• Representative Foundation Coalition efforts
• Arizona State University
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Texas AM University
• University of Alabama
• University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
• Other sample initiatives
• Drexels EE laboratories
• RPIs studio model

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New Classroom Environments
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Arizona State University

• Philosophy
• College focus on technology in classrooms,
  different classrooms for different needs, faculty
  training essential
• Classroom layout equipment
• Hold 40 to 80 students, team-based seating,
  instructor has ability to project student work on
  main screens
• Software Applications
• Wide variety, different rooms have different
  packages, all information available via the
  Internet
• Audience
• All fundamental engineering courses

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Arizona State University
Sample ASU Classroom
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech

• Philosophy
• Completely networked campus environment
• Classroom layout equipment
• Every student purchases a notebook computer as an
  entering student (model is specified by
  institution)
• Over 20 classrooms have been equipped with
  network and power connections to support notebook
  computers
• Software Applications
• Maple (calculus), Working Model Maple
  (dynamics), Physics labs (Excel - data
  acquisition/analysis)
• Audience
• All engineering students and classes

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Texas AM University

• Philosophy
• Classroom technology must be scalable for large
  classes (100)
• Classroom layout equipment
• Remodeled about 10 classrooms for first-year and
  sophomore courses
• One computer per two students
• Departments have constructed their own
  classrooms, more are planned
• Software Applications
• Microsoft Office, Maple, AutoCAD, Eng. Equation
  Solver (EES), Internet
• EE has students design, simulate, construct,
  measure and compare behavior of circuits. Class
  uses NI hardware and software.
• Audience
• Freshman and sophomore engineering students
• Specialized classes in specific disciplines

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CVLB 319 ENGR 112 Team Layout Sections 501 - 503
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University of Alabama

• Philosophy
• Technology in classrooms, classrooms convenient
  to students (one new classroom in engineering
  dorm)
• Classroom layout equipment
• Remodeled six different classrooms
• Tables for four, one computer per two students
• Departments constructing their own classrooms
• Software Applications
• Microsoft Office, compilers, FORTRAN, Maple
• Audience
• Freshman engineering students
• All students in introductory computing sequence

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Alabama Classroom Layout

• Several classroom formats exist
• All have computers at student desks, instructor
  console, projection system
• Primarily used for lower-division classes

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University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

• Classroom layout equipment
• Remodeled three classrooms with tables that seat
  four students and have two computers (48 seats)
• Software Applications
• Maple and Excel
• Based on Studio Physics model (RPI), students
  perform physics and chemistry experiments in the
  classroom, acquire, display and analyze data
• Audience
• Freshman sophomore engineering majors

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University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
IMPULSE Classroom
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)Studio
Classrooms

• Philosophy studio environment
• Integrate classroom (lecture) with laboratory
  (experiments, acquire/display/analyze data)
• Classroom layout equipment
• Tables with two students (one computer)
• Student
• Using computer faces away from instructor
• Listens to lecture facing away from computer
• Audience
• Mathematics, sciences, engineering students

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RPI Classroom Layout

• Students face instructor during lecture
• Away from computers
• Student away from instructor when using computers
• Instructor cansee monitorseasily

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Drexel Classroomshttp//www.educatorscorner.com/e
ducation/case_studies/drexel.shtml

• Laboratory layout equipment
• Laboratory bench for two students (one computer)
• Suite of measurement equipment with computer
  control
• First-year and sophomore students
• Perform experiments and laboratory projects for
  three hours/week
• Philosophy
• From the start students work with current
  equipment and explore stimulating physical
  phenomena
• Audience
• Engineering students

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Part 3 Transformation

• As a team, design your ideal classroom
  environment for the Fall of 2002
• Describe this classroom environment
• Describe how your new activities would benefit
  students and their learning
• Describe the resources (besides ) that would
  be required to realize your visions
• Select a different reporter from last time

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Group reports

• Text goes here, fill in during workshop

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Part 4 Other Critical Issues

• Design Utilization
• Rooms available for renovation
• Physical layout considerations
• Equipment (cost, size, location, power, HV/AC)
• Time (often takes more than one summer to build)
• Faculty support and education development
• Scheduling of these rooms
• Monitoring after-hours access
• Maintenance upgrade time availability

• Administrative
• Institutions computing policies
• Software licensing
• Purchase, replacement upgrade costs
• Support staffing
• Clear plan for what inst. is doing with
  technology
• Impact on TP process
• Want to assess results, how to best do this
• How to get financial support from State or
  outside sources?

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Identifying Critical Issues

• In your group, assume that your ideal classroom
  for the Fall of 2002 was to be implemented on
  each of your members campuses.
• For each campus represented, identify the top
  five issues involved with its adoption and use.
  That is, what issues from the previous page are
  most critical to your success at your
  institution?
• Use a different reporter from last time

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Group reports

• Text goes here, fill in during workshop

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End of workshop

• Questions?

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Resources

• Relevant resources
• Foundation Coalition
• http//www.foundationcoalition.org/
• Arizona State University
• http//www.eas.asu.edu/ceasrooms/
• http//www.eas.asu.edu/asufc/teaming.html
• Texas AM University
• http//coalition.tamu.edu/
• RPI Studio Classroom
• http//ciue.rpi.edu/studioteaching.html
• Sigma Xi Resources
• http//www.sigmaxi.org/scienceresources/undergrade
  du.htm