To Cohort or Not to Cohort:

1. AAPT 127th National Meeting Physics Outside the Box August 2-6, 2003 -- Madison, WI To Cohort or Not to Cohort: An Experiment in Extensive Integration and Partial Differentiation Yevgeniya V. Zastavker Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

2. Why a New Engineering College? A call for “systemic engineering education reform” to prepare leaders able to predict, create and manage the technologies of the future. • A superb command of the engineering fundamentals • Broad perspectives on the role of engineering in society • The creativity to envision new solution to engineering challenges • The entrepreneurial skills to bring vision to reality NSF, ABET, ASCE, NAE, ASEE, NRC circa 1990 Physics Outside the Box

3. Clean Slate: Creating a “Renaissance Engineer” Size: Projected total enrollment – 600. Program: Undergraduate engineering. Majors: B.S. in electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering and engineering Curriculum: Project-based, team-oriented approach emphasizing business and entrepreneurship, arts and humanities and rigorous technical fundamentals. Scholarship: All admitted students receive a four-year full-tuition scholarship valued at $120,000. Faculty: 25 full-time and 2 academic partners; 17 men and 10 women Student to Faculty Ratio: Currently 5 to 1; anticipated ratio of 10 to 1 at full enrollment of 600 students. Innovations: No tenure awarded, no academic departments; faculty is multi-disciplinary. Physics Outside the Box

4. Curricular Philosophy Rigorous Engineering Fundamentals AHS Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences Creativity, Innovation, Design, and Communications E! Business/Entrepreneurship Philanthropy and Ethics Physics Outside the Box

5. Curriculum Distinctive Features • interdisciplinary teaching; • an emphasis on teamwork and communication; • consideration of the social, economic, and political contexts of engineering; • an emphasis on design- and project-based learning: “do-learn” environment; • passionate pursuits and co-curricular activities; • gates: regular institution-wide assessment periods; • sophomore and senior design projects: capstones. Physics Outside the Box

6. Curricular Structure Physics Outside the Box

7. Foundation Years Curricular Scope COHORTS: integrated block of course(s) and project(s); FREE-STANDING COURSES: non-cohorted courses and projects, including free electives; AHS: arts, humanities and social sciences; SOPHOMORE DESIGN PROJECT: team design and implementation of a student-chosen product; NON-DEGREE CREDIT: extracurricular activities undertaken for non-degree credit, e.g. Passionate Pursuits, Co-Curricular Activities, Research, or Independent Studies; GATES: end of year assessment activities; LEARNING PLANS: student-written documents used to shape his/her education.

8. Option 3 Year 1, Fall Semester Option 2 Option 1 Passionate Pursuits Research (optional) Arts, Humanities, And Social Sciences (AHS) Signals and Systems Cohort: Physical and Mathematical Foundations of Engineering I and Engineering Project Calculus and Ordinary Differential Equations Newtonian Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Waves Mechanical Engineering Project(s) and Practica Option 3 Year 1, Spring Semester Option 2 Option 1 Passionate Pursuits Research (optional) Arts, Humanities, And Social Sciences (AHS) Free Elective -or- Independent Study Cohort: Physical and Mathematical Foundations of Engineering II and Engineering Project Electricity and Magnetism, Circuits and Optics Electrical Engineering and CS Project(s) and Practica Linear Algebra and Vector Calculus Foundation Structure Gate Physics Outside the Box

9. “Cohort” Philosophy and History Course Sequence –OR- Integrated course block Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: Math, Physics, Chemistry, Design, Graphical Communication, CS; Arizona State University: English, Math, Physics, Engineering Design; North Carolina State University: CS, Civil Engineering, Math, Physics, ECE; Drexel University: Math, Science, and Engineering. coordination of curriculum to stress the links between science, mathematics, and engineering; providing a common foundation to all engineering students regardless of their specialization; handling of open-ended problems; interdisciplinary learning and working on multidisciplinary problems; an emphasis on teamwork and cooperative working environment. Physics Outside the Box

10. Course A Course B Project Course B Course A “Cohort” Philosophy and History Integrated course block equivalent to 1 or more conventional course(s) and project(s) interdisciplinary teaching and learning; an emphasis on teamwork and communication; handling of open-ended problems; an emphasis on design- and project-based learning: “do-learn” environment; consideration of the social, economic, and political contexts of engineering; relationship between theory and application; student choice of an application or “cohort flavor” or “cohort option”. Physics Outside the Box

11. “Things That Go” Cohort or miniature drag racers “Moving On Up!” Cohort or rice ramp devices “Kinetic Sculpture” Cohort or integrating motion and art Cohort Structure Physics Outside the Box

12. “Things That Go” Cohort or miniature drag racers “Moving On Up!” Cohort or rice ramp devices “Kinetic Sculpture” Cohort or integrating motion and art Cohort Vision and Implementation Physics Outside the Box

13. “Things That Go” Cohort or miniature drag racers “Moving On Up!” Cohort or rice ramp devices “Kinetic Sculpture” Cohort or integrating motion and art Math Physics Project Cohort Syllabus Map Physics Outside the Box

14. Project Syllabus:“Things That Go” Cohort Physics Outside the Box

15. Cohort Syllabus:“Things That Go” Cohort Physics Outside the Box

16. Physics Syllabus:“Things That Go” Cohort vs. Traditional Physics Physics Outside the Box

17. Physics Syllabus:“Things That Go” Cohort vs. Traditional Physics Physics Outside the Box

18. Physics Syllabus:“Things That Go” Cohort vs. Traditional Physics • Much faster pace; • Flexible physics calendar; • Sequence of topics dependent on project and math necessities; • Co-dependence on math and project for presentation of various topics; • Creative “lab” environment: no “canned” laboratory exercises and write-ups; • Learning of lab design and manufacturing skills; • Direct application of knowledge gained in class environment Physics Outside the Box

19. Project Syllabi:“Things That Go” vs. “Kinetic Sculpture” Cohort Physics Outside the Box

20. Physics Syllabus:“Kinetic Sculpture” Cohort vs. Traditional Physics • Much faster pace; • Flexible physics calendar; • Sequence of topics dependent on math necessities; • Co-dependence on math and project for presentation of various topics; • LOTS of individual tutoring of physics, math, and fabrication; • Creative “lab” environment: no “canned” laboratory exercises and write-ups; • Learning of lab design and manufacturing skills; • Direct application of knowledge gained in class environment Physics Outside the Box

21. All Courses “Moving On Up!” “Kinetic Sculpture” “Things That Go” Student Reactions to Physics:Cohort Comparison The Content of This Course Was This Course Stimulated My Interest in the Subject This Course Provided Opportunities to Apply the Knowledge I Gained Assignments in This Course Contributed Effectively to My Learning Physics Outside the Box

22. “Moving On Up!” “Kinetic Sculpture” “Things That Go” Student Reactions to Physics:Cohort Comparison This Course Was Well-Coordinated With Other Courses In This Cohort This Course Was Well-Integrated With Other Courses In This Cohort Physics Outside the Box

23. The Cohort System Pros • holistic and coherent education; • blurring the boundaries between science, engineering, and social aspects; • learning to work in a “real-world environment”; • transferability of the teaching method; • fostering learning by motivation. Students Speaking: I’m not sure what was reinforcing what—it all went together: exactly as I expected. WOW. This is how the real world works. THIS IS EXACTLY HOW OLIN SHOULD BE. I LOVE MY COHORT. There were many times where I was unsure whether I was doing math homework, physics homework, a projects assignment or even EC homework. The project showed us that the math and physics had actual uses in things like projectiles. The projects are like a direct reward for learning the math and physics. We’re able to cover so much, so well, because it all intertwines and reinforces each other and the project backs it up. This was an eye-opening physics class. Practical applications of the physics were dripping all throughout the course. Physics Outside the Box

24. The Cohort System Cons • large faculty time commitment; • restrictions on the choice of each discipline topics; • restrictions on scheduling of each discipline topic (dependence on other disciplines); • steep learning curve for instructors: learning each other’s “language”; • difficulty with advanced students and their needs. Students Speaking: I can definitely see that for a project like Kinetic Sculpture, getting to the relevant physics in time for students to have the resources they need, when they need them, is terribly tricky. In this cohort, the math and physics are just normal classes like anywhere else, and we apply what we learn in project…What would be truly innovative and useful would be if the project class provided the motivation for learning by raising questions an instigating thought BEFORE the other classes teach the concepts. A big disadvantage is that if you don’t understand something in particular, you may be messed up in the other subjects of the cohort as well. I have come to hate do-learn. I just want to be taught, lectured to even. It’s so frustrating to be thrown into a situation with so little preparation and so little instruction. We can only take so much of the do-learn method before we get discouraged. Physics Outside the Box

25. Lessons Learned Cohort must be physics – centered (not project – centered), I.e. it must serve the role of the tie between math and projects; Many small projects must be done prior to completing a final project; Projects must be common, not individualized; Project must be well-defined and well-constrained; The choice of small projects must be made on the basis of physics learned and fabrication skills; Extra thought must be placed into correct utilization of the “do-learn” methodology. Physics Outside the Box

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