Embedded Knowledge in Transportation Engineering: Comparisons between Engineers and Instructors

Davis, Shannon; Brown, Shane; Dixon, Michael P; Borden, Robby; Montfort, Devlin

doi:10.1061/(asce)ei.1943-5541.0000119

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Researchers have studied the influence of industry experience on engineering educators' beliefs and behaviours toward teaching and research [7], on course content [3] [15], and course design [6]. These researchers tended to focus specifically on engineering design courses.…”

Section: Industry Experience and Engineering Facultymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Davis et al [6] explored common and embedded knowledge (described as a way of thinking that is situated and contextualized in industry experience) in instructors and practitioners who taught entry-level undergraduate engineering courses, and how that manifested in an integrated curriculum. Researchers found that the common content or topic knowledge were similar between these two groups of educators, but differences were evident in the context brought to the learning environment.…”

Section: Course Content and Design Burnsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engineering educators’ perceptions of the influence of professional/industry experience on their teaching practice

Barneveld¹

2018

PCEEA

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This preliminary study explored engineering educators' perceptions of the influence of industry experience on their teaching practice. Fifty American engineering educators were interviewed. There appeared to be a distinction in the extent to which influence on practice was reported, based on years of industry experience. Three themes emerged -influence on content and curriculum, influence on instructional strategies and the integration of real world components, and benefits of being a practitioner/educator. Implications and future research are discussed.

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Section: Industry Experience and Engineering Facultymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Course Content and Design Burnsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering educators’ perceptions of the influence of professional/industry experience on their teaching practice

Barneveld¹

2018

PCEEA

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“…Despite this, past research examining transportation engineering practice identified the textual resources utilized in this study as being relevant to practice and academia 41,42,16,43,44 . For example, a previous study examined syllabi of introductory transportation engineering courses within the United States, and identified 7 textbooks (with two of the textbooks being represented in various editions) utilized within such courses 41 .…”

Section: Sampling Of Textual Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For this study, seven of the textbooks analyzed match those mentioned in the previously conducted syllabi analysis 41 . Data from another study comparing embedded knowledge between engineering practitioners and instructors identified the common use of the referential text, "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets" 42 . This book is commonly referred to as the "Green Book."…”

Section: Sampling Of Textual Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts in Roundabout Resources: A Comparison Between Academic and Practical Text Using Content Analysis

Wallace¹,

Bornasal²,

Brown³

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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Through the analysis of textual resources in reference to roundabout design, researchers explored possible differences in context presented in academic and practice-based resources through comparison of use and representation of engineering concepts. Researchers completed a content analysis of academic resources (i.e. textbooks) and field-collected, workplace resources (i.e. state and federal design guidelines and standards). Using engineering concepts (i.e. "sight distance," "superelevation," etc.) as units of analysis, researchers compared these two forms of material resources according to the prevalence of engineering concepts utilized, types of inscriptions utilized in concert with the concepts, structural differences in the layout of the resources, and differences in meaning associated with word usage in the two different forms of texts. Initial findings indicate suggestive (but inconclusive evidence) of a difference in use of visual representations in the texts. In regards to use and representation of engineering concepts, concepts descriptive of geometric elements of roundabouts were equally prevalent in both types of resources. Overall, there existed suggestive, but inconclusive evidence, in a difference in density of use of words relating to transportation engineering concepts between the two types of textual resources. The most interesting outcome of the analysis of data is the apparent different functions of auxiliary verbs between the sources in communicating information regarding design of roundabouts. This research explores textual resources from a situated learning lens allowing identification of concepts that are relevant to engineers as they design a specific transportation facility. It also initiates the identification of contexts relevant to the day-to-day work of practicing engineers. Students are viewed as "newcomers" as they transition from academia to industry and are poised to learn and be mentored by "old timers" through firsthand and secondhand experiences. As such, newcomers tend to learn via the perspective of their mentors, and-as cited by studies of newcomers to industry -they may not utilize their academic resources in the same way or even at all as they make their transitions to the workplace. By comparing the types of resources relevant to newcomers' experiences, and in particular, differences in the ways concepts are presented and the discourse emergent within the text, the gap between academia and practice may be better bridged.

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“…This method of inquiry has shown to be an effective means of identifying structures in problem solving and patterns of conceptual understanding. [8][9] Further, this future iteration will provide greater detail regarding the effectiveness of the course in developing students' understanding of electrical concepts, as well as identify the structure of student thinking when faced with solving contextualized problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pilot Study of a Novel Set of Three Courses for Teaching Electrical System Analysis to Mechanical Engineering Students

Slaboch¹,

Bornasal²,

Picone³

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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For many years in the mechanical engineering curriculum, the topics of electric circuit design, mechatronics and instrumentation have all been taught as separate courses. However, these topics are all fundamentally related through the manipulation of electrical energy to produce some desired result, whether it be to turn on a light, drive an electric motor, or measure the stress in a beam. In an effort to more explicitly demonstrate how these subjects are related, a set of three courses, meant to be taken concurrently, was developed to integrate these topics. Two lecture based courses, one covering mechatronics and one covering instrumentation and experimental design, as well as a laboratory course that put to use the knowledge gained in those lectures, were created and implemented during the fall semester of 2014. The students enrolled in these three courses were junior level (third year) students. The lectures for both courses were taught by one faculty member (i.e. Faculty A), while a second faculty member (i.e. Faculty B) taught the lab course. In the following year, the faculty who taught the lab course (Faculty B) taught one of the lectures while the other taught a lecture and the lab. Close collaboration between the two faculty members ensured that the topics being covered in lecture kept pace with the labs so that students were able to see the theory and then put it directly to use in the laboratory. Two methods of evaluation of course learning outcomes suggested that students were better able to relate topics that were common between courses and had a stronger understanding of all topics. Assessment of the course learning outcomes included the analysis of final exams and midterm quizzes. Additionally, a pilot study of semi-structured interviews with six students from the first cohort has also been performed to determine whether students recognized concepts from this course in a different context, namely the students' senior design projects.

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Embedded Knowledge in Transportation Engineering: Comparisons between Engineers and Instructors

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

Engineering educators’ perceptions of the influence of professional/industry experience on their teaching practice

Engineering educators’ perceptions of the influence of professional/industry experience on their teaching practice

Concepts in Roundabout Resources: A Comparison Between Academic and Practical Text Using Content Analysis

A Pilot Study of a Novel Set of Three Courses for Teaching Electrical System Analysis to Mechanical Engineering Students

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