Getting Students Interested in Material Science and Engineering Through A Realistic Nanotechnology Modeling Problem
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Getting Students Interested in Material Science and Engineering Through A Realistic Nanotechnology Modeling Problem Tamara J. Moore Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, 230A Peik Hall, 159 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 ABSTRACT Attracting students to engineering is a challenge. In addition, ABET requires that engineering graduates be able to work on multi-disciplinary teams and apply mathematics and science when solving engineering problems. One manner of integrating teamwork and engineering contexts in a first-year foundation engineering course is through the use of ModelEliciting Activities (MEAs) - realistic, client-driven problems based on the models and modeling theoretical framework. A Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA) is a real-world client-driven problem. The solution of an MEA requires the use of one or more mathematical or engineering concepts that are unspecified by the problem - students must make new sense of their existing knowledge and understandings to formulate a generalizable mathematical model that can be used by the client to solve the given and similar problems. An MEA creates an environment in which skills beyond mathematical abilities are valued because the focus is not on the use of prescribed equations and algorithms but on the use of a broader spectrum of skills required for effective engineering problem-solving. Carefully constructed MEAs can begin to prepare students to communicate and work effectively in teams; to adopt and adapt conceptual tools; to construct, describe, and explain complex systems; and to cope with complex systems. MEAs provide a learning environment that is tailored to a more diverse population than typical engineering course experiences as they allow students with different backgrounds and values to emerge as talented, and that adapting these types of activities to engineering courses has the potential to go beyond “filling the gaps” to “opening doors” to women and underrepresented populations in engineering. Further, MEAs provide evidence of student development in regards to ABET standards. Through NSF-funded grants, multiple MEAs have been developed and implemented with a MSE-flavored nanotechnology theme. This paper and presentation will focus on the content, implementation, and student results of one of these MEAs. INTRODUCTION Mathematical modeling in engineering is a foundational ability for professional engineers. Gainsburg [1] studied structural engineers at work and found they perform significant mathematical modeling in their day to day activities. One conclusion from Gainsburg’s research was “modeling—transforming hypothetical structures into mathematical or symbolic language for the purpose of applying engineering theory—is the heart of the profession.” At the Curriculum Foundation Workshop in Engineering, professors from several disciplines of engineering all stated that mathematical modeling was a central skill in their professions [2], and in Karl Smith’s book, Teamwork and Project Management, he devotes an entire
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