Creating a Healthy Classroom Culture for Engineering July 2008 LEGO Engineering Summer Institute CEEO, Tufts University

What’s different about engineering? Hands-on projects Collaboration/Teamwork No single “right” answer No “right” way to approach a problem

Collaboration & Creativity Allow for ridiculous brainstorming Even silly ideas can inspire great innovation Encourage idea sharing Not “cheating” or “copying” Recognize Innovation Be sure to give credit to ideas you use Make students into experts Expert students help their peers

Reflection & Learning Embrace failure & redesign Engineers don’t expect it to work the first time around Reflect on why things aren’t working Each trial leads to a design change; each design change is motivated by a trial Emphasize end of class discussion Motivates students to improve design Provides a chance for student reflection Gives you an opportunity to assess progress

Competition vs. Collaboration Some thrive in competitions, others turned off Most successful if the competition isn’t seen as “high-stakes”: no grades on the line Some students won’t help peers if it could hurt their performance Try competition against a standard – then your success doesn’t hurt my chances Gold, Silver, Bronze medal ranges of performance Provides a motivating goal without pitting students against each other