What I Have Done Since Attending FOEE Paul Blowers University of Arizona

First… FOEE gave me the courage to think bigger with more tools Knowing there are others out there who care and put thought into teaching is empowering.

Engineering the Classroom - I ESL students often struggle a lot more than they need to due to language barriers Flu season can decimate classes and students can get lost quickly What is a good solution to both of these? Recording lectures live as you give them Application of Multimodal Software Tools to Teach Problem Solving Skills (ASEE 2009)

Engineering the Classroom - II It is boring for students to transcribe notes. It is also not fun to lecture in this kind of environment. BORING!!!!! What is a good solution to both of these? Start to flip the classroom by having students be responsible for online content ahead of time and then do activities in the classroom. Use of Asynchronous Media to Facilitate Active Learning AIChE 2010

Engineering the Classroom - III Students never figure out the complexity of design until the last minute. How can we train them to think big picture AND detail at the same time with our level of expertise? Concept mapping with course translation:

Engineering the Classroom – III – Concept Mapping Two scaffolded HW assignments to have students practice prior to their first project Using Concept Mapping to Teach Students Critical Thinking for Fragmenting Senior Design Projects into Coherent and Manageable Tasks AIChE 2011

Engineering the Classroom –IV Students sometimes cannot be on campus but still need to make progress. Companies may have technicians who are place bound who want to earn an ENGR degree. What is a good solution to both of these? Building interactivity into an e-learining environment: Combine many software tools to try to achieve an interactive, asynchronous arena

Engineering the Classroom IV: Camtasia – Pro and Con Software markets are so fluid, this is probably outdated from last Saturday’s web-pull. Camtasia is full screen and voice capture –easy to use – can be exported to other formats easily, but that takes some time

Engineering the Classroom IV: Captivate and Pros and Cons

Engineering the Classroom V Students are often locked in to credentialing and not in learning. Solution keys are out there for all our textbooks older than about 1 year. What is a good solution to both of these? Create and share real world, relevant problems that use the course concepts to help students see “where they will ever see this n the real world”.

Engineering the Classroom V: Real World Problems Topics covered: Mass balance Ideal gas law Review of physics NOT in textbook

Engineering the Classroom VI: What is Next? Transforming the instruction of others… U of Arizona AAU-STEM grant, one of 8 in the country. We are transforming physics, chemistry, biology, programming, and chemical engineering…one course at a time. Faculty learning communities – developing ground up change one person at a time even as P&T criteria are changing. Cool!

Engineering the Classroom n-1: What is Next for You? Start small and build a skill you like to use. Stay in your comfort zone Meet your obligations for research and service Find champions who will carry your case forward Be confident that what you try can get better even if it doesn’t work the first time. Engineer your classroom!