The Emotional Rescueof Engineering Education: Why Unleashing Student Engagement is Crucially ImportantDavid E. Goldberg Olin-Illinois Partnership (OIP) & Alliance for Promoting Innovation in Engineering Education (aPIE2)Urbana, IL 61801deg@illinois.edu; www.apie2.org

My Job Right Now

• Answer two questions:– What is connection of Engineer of

the Future 3.0 to EotF1.0 and EotF2.0?

– What is connection of Dan Pink & Drive to • EotF3.0 and • Unleashing Student Engagement

in and for the Transformation of Engineering Education?

• Stimulate thinking and doing, reliance on appropriate extrinsic & intrinsic motivation.

Synchronicity

Paradigm: Math-Science Death March

EotF1.0 2007: Bill Wulf & Sherra Kerns

iFoundry Launch 9.5.2008

OIP Signing 9.12.2008

EotF2.0 2009: Transformation & Change

iFoundry as Incubator

20

Rider at Olin: Olin Triangle

Rider at UIUC: The Missing Basics

• “The basics” = math, science, and engineering science.

• Reflections on 20 years senior design.• After 4 years students don’t know how to– Question: Socrates 101.– Label: Aristotle 101.– Model conceptually: Hume 101 & Aristotle

102.– Decompose: Descartes 101.– Experiment/Measure: Bacon-Locke 101.– Visualize/draw: da Vinci-Monge 101.– Communicate: Newman 101

Socrates (470-399 BC)

The Olin Effect

Fa09 & iLaunch: The Students are Coming

Bumps, Confusion, then Demos & iCheckpoint

• Students: What do you want us to do?

• iFoundry staff: Don’t know. What do you want to do?

• Then steam engines worked. • iCheckpoint held.• Something seemed to click.• Jaime Kelleher: “Weren’t sure you

were serious about us doing what we wanted to do, but then realized you were, and it was very cool.”

AAAs: Aspirationally Assertive Acts

The Olin Effect at Illinois!

• But how?– Weren’t able to change the

whole curriculum.– Weren’t able to build new

buildings.– Weren’t able to remake the

classrooms.– Weren’t able overhaul the

teaching or teachers.• Did one-hour course +

iCommunity? Seems like too little. Olin Effect at Illinois

Power for Change in Students

• How could so little do so much?

• Tapped into the power of intrinsic motivation.

• Threefold model:– Autonomy–Mastery– Purpose

Why So Important?

• Achieve alignment with best industry practices.• Get more students to become engineers.• Get higher quality category creators.• Overcome unfavorable economics of engineering

education reform.

Goldberg-Laffer Curve

What Can We Do?

• Intrinsic motivation with and without training wheels. Inject autonomy, mastery & purpose into culture & curriculum in increasing amounts.

• Student power and light. Make students part of transformation team. Trust them to do big jobs.

• Incubate and cooperate. Make innovation an ongoing activity between and among departments.

• Share & pair. Suspend intercollegiate rivalry. Make your own odd couple. Pair with rival. Pair with complement. But work with another school.

• Come together. Alliance for Innovation in Engineering Education meant to be loose, active alliance of the willing. Don’t need another ASEE. Need active collaboration & learning.

Bottom Line

“I'll be your savior, steadfast and true, I'll come to engineering education’s emotional rescue.”

• Have reviewed history of early EotFs.

• Have considered the organizational, conceptual, and motivational change at Olin and Illinois.

• Emphasized missing emotional component.

• Day designed as celebration and exploration of intrinsic motivation in engineering education.