HELICAL Learning Model Applied in a Nanotechnology for Science and Engineering Course
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HELICAL Learning Model Applied in a Nanotechnology for Science and Engineering Course Eric Peterson, Morgan Reed, Jewel Gomes, and David L. Cocke Chemical Engineering, Lamar University, PO Box 10053, Beaumont, TX, 77710 ABSTRACT In education, a popular model employed to represent the learning process is typically portrayed as a four-stage process signified by a cycle in a two-dimensional circular path. This cycle can be repeated by revisiting topics at increasing levels of sophistication in order to produce what is known as a spiral curriculum. In this presentation, a variation of Kolb’s two-dimensional learning cycle model is offered that represents the learning cycle as if it were a three-dimensional spiral or helix, with successive turns associated with increases in Bloom’s Taxonomic level. This representation is explored and developed, with a specific example from a chemical engineering course offered in a Nanotechnology for Science and Engineering. This more comprehensive concept-centered model for the learning cycle explicitly includes higher order thinking skills to promote creative thinking, through the application of concepts and can be used to develop more effective curricula and course instruction. Specifically, our sample class consists of four teams, each of which is responsible for becoming expert in the concepts associated with an area of science and another of application. Transfer of content is student driven while topics are explored. Students teaching each other allows for synergistic enhanced motivation to explore, with concurrent ultimate improvement in the retention of core concepts by the entire course population. INTRODUCTION Engineering education is inherently a global issue1 that compliments global engineering practice2. A paramount effort of engineering education is linking learning theory with recognized engineering learning goals, as illustrated by the ABET (a-k) criteria3, while producing new models4, 5 for instructional and learning practices. A cornerstone of modern engineering education is the stimulation of creative thinking in engineering students that requires helping the students learn how to think via idea creation and idea evaluation processes. Using a global stage and metaphorical analogies allow one to envision the global nature of the issue. Recognition of the currents (learning pathways) within the seas of knowledge and how they influence the learning of engineering is providing new horizons for designing instruction. Traditional pathways are shored up by educators who limit the learning process when they restrict students to conventional thinking. In order to break out of this paradigm, educators need to make tentative forays into evolving learning practices. A desired outcome is the development of the student’s independent problem solving skills and willingness to risk creative solutions. Exposure to, and acquaintance with, novel ideas fosters skill development and critical thinking through processes that are not fully understood. It is from wading in these u
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