Category / Teaching/Learning

by shannonchance

Improving Engineering Students’ Design Skills

ARROW logoThe article Improving Engineering Students’ Design Skills in a Project-Based Learning Course by Addressing Epistemological Issues that Gavin, Brian, and I wrote for the SEFI conference in Greece is available for download on DIT’s ARROW database.  Check it out!

by shannonchance

Sima’s Emerging Manifesto

Sima's emerging vision.

Sima’s teaching philosophy, drawn from the Bauhaus.

Sima Rouholamin delivered an energetic, thoughtful, and inspirational lecture at the DIT School of Architecture last night.  One of the culminating speakers for this semester’s Schools of Thought lecture series, Sima discussed her dissertation work. A facet of her literature review involves the Bauhaus — a natal fit with the theme of the lecture series (Schools of Thought).

Sima brings such energy and vibrancy to everything she does. She’s so very engaged and engaging.

Alongside her dissertation, she’s developing a vision for what DIT’s School of Architecture is and what it can become. Last night’s event provided a way for her to get some feedback on that vision from the community here, and that community replied with keen interest and resounding support.

Regarding the Bauhaus, Sima discussed the emphasis on making and craft — and the connection between play and design. She’ll soon be conducting phenomenographical interview designed to identify the various different ways architects conceptualize design. I hope to help her collect data for the study this spring.

A little about the Bauhaus.
Sima’s emerging manifesto.
by shannonchance

Chugging toward that PhD

Gavin Duffy and Rob Howard discussing Gavin’s conceptual framework.

We’re making definite progress on our research, Gavin and I.

Last week’s meeting with Dr. Rob Howard was a success, I’d say.  Gavin had a good “statement of purpose” to share with his dissertation advisor.  During our lunch meeting, the three of us were able to produce a diagram for the study (i.e., a conceptual framework model) that I hope will help speed the writing along.

It’s so inspiring to see Gavin make progress on his PhD!  Kind of makes you want to write a dissertation yourself, doesn’t it?

I wouldn’t mind writing another!  That lucky because my current research project actually feels like a dissertation study.  I’m happy to report progress on it as well.

Last week I emailed the outline, theoretical models, and introduction to my supporting authors and Dean Murphy.  I’m hoping to get feedback from them over lunch today.

Shannon Chance and Joe Dennehy at the Scholars Cafe on Aungier Street.

I’m putting the research to good use already, though.  Right after the meeting with Rob Howard, I was in the faculty cafeteria at the School of Business.

A very energetic professor, Joe Dennehy, bounded over to ask follow-up questions to the Teaching Fellowships keynote I delivered.  Joe wants to coordinate a group like the one I’ve been studying and asked my advice.

Every time I discuss the study I learn more.  And fortunately my graphic models worked well for communicating core ideas to Joe.

His zest for new ideas is contagious. How can you not love someone who writes of “the joyful serendipity of running into you on my way to see” the Head of School.

I plan to keep the conversation going with Joe… maybe I’ll soak up some knowledge about housing economics (which he teaches) while I’m helping him coordinate his faculty learning group in the spring.

by shannonchance

Exploring Material Ethics

A progress review in Patrick’s 4th year studio at the DIT. Patrick, Shannon, and Connor are clearly captivated by this student’s presentation.

I asked the architecture students to tell me what interested them most from the lecture on Materials that I gave today in the studio coordinated by Patrick Flynn.  They said Dave Chance’s images!

I’d been asked to talk about materials in a way that would help students with designing schools.  So I started by downloading pages from Dave’s website.  He travels the world photographing materials in relation to light.

To prepare for this lecture I also attended a review of the class’s proposed designs last Friday.  Patrick invited me as a guest critic, but my primary goal was to find out how I could tailor today’s presentation to their needs and interests.

A slide using Dave Chance’s photograph from the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy. (Copyright Dave Chance Photography.)

I decided to present my thoughts using: (1) Dave’s images to provide inspiration and (2) images of schools as a tool for conveying more pragmatic content.

I structured the talk around themes of Material Ethics, Teaching Capacity of materials, the need to Generate Knowledge regarding materials, Authenticity, and Sustainability.  I titled it “How an Architect’s Material Palette Can Enhance Student Learning” with the subheading “Cultivating an Ethics of Materiality.”

A progress review in Patrick’s 4th year studio at the DIT. Patrick, Shannon, and Connor are clearly captivated by this student’s presentation.
Beautiful design work!
The professors’ view at a studio crit… it’s the best view in the house!
Discussing the construction process.
My (boring) title slide.
Some of the sources I used for this lecture.
A slide using Dave Chance’s photograph from the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy. (Copyright Dave Chance Photography.)
Copyright Dave Chance Photography.
Copyright Dave Chance Photography.
The fourth year architecture studio lead by architect Patrick Flynn, after today’s lecture.
by shannonchance

Fellowships as Opportunities for Transforming Education

If you’d like to know a bit about the presentations I’m making here in Dublin, you can view the Prezi I used for the DIT Teaching Fellowships awards ceremony.

One of the award winners, the School of Business’ Joe Dennehey, was so enthusiastic about the presentation and wanted to see it again that I decided to open it for public access.

I’ve included an outline (below the picture) of what I said at that event.  If you borrow any of the images, ideas, or words for your future work, please cite the source:

CHANCE, S. M. (2012). Transformational Education at the DIT: Potentials of Your 2012-13 Teaching Fellowship. Keynote lecture for the kickoff of Teaching Fellowships hosted by the Learning, Teaching and Technology Center (LTTC) on 1 November 2012 at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland. 

Click here to see the slides for the 2012 DIT Teaching Fellowship awards ceremony.

Transformational Education at the DIT
 
A twenty-minute keynote presentation
by Shannon Chance
for the kickoff event of the
2012-13 Teaching Fellowship Awards
hosted by DIT’s
Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre
Thank you, Jen. Welcome and congratulations to the Teaching Fellowship award winners. 
We are witnessing something extraordinary happening at DIT. This extraordinary thing is something that helps shape you and that you help shape.
It is a culture of learning from each other.
It is a culture of continually improving over time.
It is a culture that is about learning and teaching well.
It became evident to me in March 2011, and it forms the basis of my research today.  What I am learning is of great interest back in the States and across Europe as well.
Today I’d like to share ideas about 
  • Scholarships as opportunities 
  • Path to Fulbright
  • An outsider’s view 
  • Global implications
  • Support available 
  • Potential of learning groups
  • Be the change you wish to see
 
SCHOLARSHIPS AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING [LTTC page with last year’s winners]
Fellowships and scholarships like yours (LTTC) and mine (Fulbright) offer unique opportunities to learn, grow, and change things for the better.
I encourage you to make the most of the opportunity that is before you and then to consider extending your reach by applying for a Fulbright scholarship to teach and/or conduct research in the US.[Fulbright page]
This year, there are 35 Irish Fulbrighters going to the US, and 17 Americans coming here to Ireland. They include students, teachers, and professionals in various fields.
Let me step back a moment and tell you about how I came to find something extraordinary happening. Then, I’ll tell you what I think is special here. I hope that this will help encourage you to make the most of your teaching fellowships, and for those of you not winning an award today, to make the most of your efforts at the DIT to build upon and enhance this important movement.
PATH TO FULBRIGHT [path sequence]
I’m an architectural educator who visited Ireland on a vacation in 2003.  My husband and I went and poked around the School of Architecture at UCD, and realized that with my current credentials—a BArch and MArch—I was qualified to teach architecture in Ireland.
I made it a central goal of my career to return to Ireland to teach and conduct research for at least a year.
When I returned home and looked up the Fulbright program, I realized that having a PhD would increase my chances of earning a Fulbright. I wanted to learn better research methods, anyway.  I firmly believe that the architecture profession has left itself behind the ball by not developing a PhD sooner. We’ve failed to develop a shared research agenda or refine our research techniques (beyond the case study). As a result, we kept building the same mistakes (like unsuccessful government-subsidized high-rise housing, known as “the projects”) over and over again.
PhD programs in architecture are very rare in the States, so I found a great one in a nearby School of Education. The program is somewhat similar to your LTTC offerings, although it focuses on Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership.
I took the route that focuses on educational research, and went about studying change theory, strategic thinking and planning, and the way students who are learning to design understand ‘KNOWLEDGE’ and their role in creating knowledge (i.e., how their epistemologies change over time).
I don’t know how hard your Fellowship was to obtain, but my first application to Fulbright was rejected at the US level because I hadn’t established strong enough ties to DIT. Fulbright has a three-phase selection process and I got shot down at the beginning of the first stage.
To address this problem, my husband, Dave, and I headed over here during spring break 2011 to find connections and develop relationships at the DIT.
I called the US Fulbright Office a few weeks before I came over and the Program Officer for Ireland suggested I look into the highly tailored calls for proposals, because the “all disciplines” grants have so many applicants.  I wasn’t certain if I fit the position DIT lists for Engineering Education Research, and my goal in coming over was to find where I best fit.  When I got here, I met with people in the LTTC and various Colleges at DIT.
I came back again during spring break 2012 to get the ground work in place–even though I wasn’t certain I’d be awarded the grant for this year.  I was determined to keep trying until it worked out. At the end of this past March I got notification I’d been selected for this year.  I packed my bags, and have been here for two months now.
You can learn about my adventures here on my blog, shannonchance.net  [blog page]
AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW OF DIT [HU webpage]
  • Great innovation and research (regarding outcomes) in DIT’s Electrical Engineering and Physics programs [Robo Sumo]
  • Positive outcomes accruing from the LTTC [LTTC logos]
    • The PGCert requirement is extending the benefits that accruing for students
      • shared vocabulary
      • active learning communities
      • evidence of formative feedback, engagement, and group learning
    • Many did PGCert voluntarily and they’re making a visible different in the quality of education students receive here [zoom in on collage]
      • Many continued on, to doctoral level studies
      • High quality educational research emerging
  • I’m glad to see you here, showing interest in extending these proven innovations into more programs
On my March 2011 visit, I discovered:
·      Research going on here in area of my interest
·      Evidence that the changes NSF wants are happening here in engineering and physics
·      Incredibly warm and enthusiastic scholars all across the institute who are working hard to get things done and who have a sense of optimism about the future
 
I also discovered something very special—the requirement for all incoming faculty members to earn a qualification in learning and teaching.  Your staff has to learn to teach!  That’s remarkable. 
 
And I see clear evidence that it’s making a positive difference.  People are using innovative methods. They are talking about good teaching practice over coffee every day (in some cases).
 
They share a common vocabulary and a common set of concerns about teaching – such as how to provide students with the most helpful feedback in ways that work where the staff have such heavy teaching loads (similar to my home institution). The institution has a similar mission and an ongoing conversation about good teaching. And, engineers and architects are housed in the same College, so I can do everything I love while I’m here!
HOW THIS IS OF INTEREST BEYOND DIT
  • NSF [existing mandate sequence]
    • Mandate
    • What NSF wants 
  • JEE article fortcoming [JEE mag and logo]
  • At HU — my Dean and Associate Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at HU [HU title] 
    • want to use DIT as a precedent for improving our program and building a common philosophy
    • across all our programs (engineering, architecture, and aviation) [Duffy charts > sequence]
  • Eternal reviewer at various levels have cited PBL courses and LTTC program outcomes as unique and positive. I came in with this sort of perspective since I serve on external review boards for the National Architectural Accrediting Board in the USA. [Barrie chart > zoom in]
  • What we learn from studying successful examples at DIT can help improve the way engineering, science, and architecture are taught far and wide. [zoom again]
 
This is of interest because, we can use what Gavin and his colleagues are doing at DIT to help improve science, engineering, and architecture education everywhere.
The National Science Foundation says there’s a problem with the way engineering has been taught for the past 50 or so years. Programs in the US are starting to change …but many aren’t changing fast enough.
DIT is among those using innovative pedagogies—to help students develop both disciplinary knowledge and personal skills like collaboration—in order to create flexible learners who can address address pressing issues—using higher order thinking skills.  They have to be able to create a bright new tomorrow, not just remember, understand, and apply what people already know how to do.
The NSF says “engineering education must change in light of changing workforce and demographic needs.” It’s leadership board recommends hands-on activities, collaborative work, real-life applications that have social relevance, and working at various scales.  The Electrical Engineering program at DIT is doing all this in the Project-Based Learning modules embedded across the four-year curriculum.
These PBL modules are helping students reach what the NSF wants to see in the US: effective communication, critical thinking, creativity, self-awareness, ethics, and skills for “self-directed life long learning.”
I’ve presented ideas I got at the DIT to the faculty at my university, to national conferences of architecture professors, and at education conferences in the US and Greece.
Right now, we’re researching how they’ve achieved this for the Journal of Engineering Education.  The top journal in the world in the field of Engineering Education is interested in publishing our study about how DIT’s electrical engineering staff managed to change the way they teach by using the formal peer learning groups that Gavin organized during his Teaching Fellowship.
SUPPORT AVAILABLE AT DIT FOR INNOVATIVE TEACHING 
  • Existing culture — balancing challenge and support imp. for students & staff [Computer Science lecturer; Duffy papers]
    • A community of people with experience doing this
      • from in and outside of the College
      • who want to help you do it 
    • Gavin’s paper on restructuring the EE program
    • Coffee time and the art of chat
    • Good teaching is an overarching value  [balancing chart]
      • our schools are somewhat similar
      • traditionally teaching-focused, non doctoral-level, non-research funded
      • you’re in the classroom a lot, but you also get to decide how you’ll spend your research time
  • LTTC programmes [logos, Gavin and Sima]
    • Some availability of funding for taking LTTC modules
    • Some availability of timetable adjustments for taking LTTC modules
  • LTTC Teaching awards [zoom to Sima]
    • Ability to earn public recognition for your work through Teaching Awards
    • Sima won
  • Project Grants [webpage]
    • Gavin and I got one this year for €2400 to fund transcribing
  • Teaching Fellowships [webpage]
    • Can have far reaching effects
    • Gavin’s case highlights two opportunities
      • Ability to form staff learning groups
      • A lot of curious, motivated colleagues who share a sense of purpose and optimism
    • I’m speaking at 2012-13 kickoff on Thursday
  • Ability to align activities with what the institution seems to value — this is where there’s lot of opportunity 
  • College Heads of Learning Development [Brian and Mike]
    • Brian Bowe really knows educational research and how to apply it [zoom to Brian]
    • has the active support of his Dean
  • Knowledgeable and supportive leaders [zoom to Mike at SEFI]
    • Mike Murphy is recognized for excellence in engineering education
    • genuinely interested in learning about
  • Fulbrighters who here each year to contribute to the conversation [zoom to Colleen, Pam, SMC]
  • A comprehensive library [Bolton Street library]
    • on Bolton Street
    • incredibly helpful and knowledgeable librarians
  • Internet resources [zoom to ARROW logo]
    • good access to databases
    • DIT ARROW database
  • Many outlets for sharing [SEFI conference pictures]
    • presentations 
    • publications [zoom]
    • Availability of travel funding to network and attend conferences
  • LTTC and LIN [logos]
    • workshops / webinars
    • experts in Teaching and Learning available by phone and in person)
 
POTENTIAL OF STAFF LEARNING GROUPS  [panorama]
I am getting to work everyday with a lecturer who earned one of these Teaching Fellowships in 2009. As part of his Fellowship, he organized a peer learning group.  They met formally through the year to discuss how to implement Hands-On, Group-Based learning in electrical engineering – in addition to their regular informal meetings over coffee to discuss issues they each brought to the table.
During his Fellowship year, Gavin also wrote two position papers to clarify what he thought needed to be done to improve DIT’s Electrical Engineering program.  So, he invariably had new ideas to offer up for discussion.
  • JEE interest in how this was achieved at DIT
  • The sessions included Brian Bowe who brought in
    • research
    • experience with implementing this in Physics
    • understanding of the way the institution works
  • Informal sessions are ongoing… they happen at coffee on a daily basis
  • Easy to set up and fun for participants
  • Highly motivational — participants cite increase confidence
  • They appreciate having a sounding board and knowing they’re not alone
  • Having a group keeps the momentum going, especially where there’s a champion
  • The book Learning by Design by Noel Fitzpatrick and Jen Harvey [book cover]
    • explains how learning groups have made a difference across the ITs
    • DIT formed the template
And his colleagues were keen on hearing his thoughts.  Several of them had, like Gavin, opted to take the Post-Graduate programs in Teaching and Learning even before these became mandatory.
Many of those “volunteers” have gone on to study at the doctoral level—thus bringing a more informed level of discourse to the DIT.
Today, Gavin is working on a dissertation. He and I put in an application for support on his project and received a grant for this year to help fund transcription of the interviews we’re doing.
His work caught the attention of the Dean while we were at the SEFI conference, and his line managers asked him to put together a seminar for the while College to learn about how to implement Student-Centered teaching into more programs.
He and I discuss this everyday, and often include his teaching colleagues in our learning process.
I’ll be presenting these ideas to the School of Architecture next week, at a symposium called “Schools of Thought” that’s being organized by architecture students. I will encourage teachers in that school to use more Student-Centered approaches.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE
The book Learning by Design by Noel Fitzpatrick and Jen Harvey [book cover]
  • explains how learning groups have made a difference across the ITs
  • DIT formed the template
Evidence of successful models being used at CEBE
  • Fullan [chart]
  • Prochaska and DiClemente [chart]
  • Behavior change [chart]
 
CONCLUSION
As you can see, one little Teaching Fellowship can have a very, very long reach. I encourage you to make the most of your Fellowship… the LTTC knows how to pick ‘em and I feel certain that you’re up to the challenge!
by shannonchance

Upcoming Lectures

I’ve been asked to deliver two lectures at the DIT School of Architecture next week.

At 11 AM on Monday I will talk about How an Architect’s Material Palette Can Enhance Student Learning.

At 1:30 PM on Friday I’ll present What Can the LEED Green Building Rating System Do For You?

Both lectures will be held in DIT’s Linenhall. Please contact me via engineeringfulbright (at) dit.ie for information about how to attend.

Photo from Ireland, copyright Dave Chance Photography.

by shannonchance

Finding Gavin Duffy

Gavin (left), his brother Aidan, and the Monday night musicians at Hughes Pub.

Finding Gavin Duffy has been a challenge lately.  This case is much different from finding Kevin Donleavy, but this story also ends in a pub.

November is notoriously hectic in the university world, and Gavin works so hard and teaches so many hours that he doesn’t have much time for lunch chatter these days.  In addition, he’s got his hands full at home with three growing kids and another (surprise!) on the way.  (Congrats are in order to Gavin and Carmel and their three very-happy-to-have-a-new-sibling kids!)

But I also want to do my job here, which is to help Gavin progress with his dissertation.  I want to make sure we’re ready to meet with his dissertation advisor Thursday.  We really need to have something new to say.  We need to show some progress — so as to use Rob’s (and our) time well.

In any case, I know I can track Gavin down in my own neighborhood once a week, when his group of musicians gathers to play at Hughes Pub.

We shared our research progress, quickly between songs last night, and had some fun in the meantime.

I’ve spent more than a little time at Hughes Pub this week.  Saturday night I went in at ten o’clock not knowing a soul.  I left at two in the morning with three new friends: Dubliners Kathleen, Sean, and Mick.

Paddy Woodward described the feel at Hughes as a fine suburban-style pub, if I remember correctly. I didn’t understand until I visited the back part last Saturday. I arrived with the tourist crowd…

…and left with the locals. Thanks for tons of laughs Kathleen, Sean, and Mick!

by shannonchance

Blue Moon Today

The Post Office was holding a package for me and I was thankful for the opportunity to get out in the sunshine and walk.  I’ve sequestered myself in an attempt to get some work done on this research project.  I’m up to my eyeballs in coding and making good, but slow, progress.

The sky was glorious and the neighborhood interesting to see.  I’m posting a reflection just exactly as my camera saw it.

Blue Moon in Phibsborough. Copyright Shannon Chance 2012.

by shannonchance

The Song Collector

Researchers help define and preserve culture. Last night, I got to hear Len Graham (a researcher and collector of Irish ballads) sing songs he has collected over the decades. Here’s a YouTube video of Len performing “at the Big Muddy Folk Festival in Boonville, Missouri on April 4, 2008.”

Len called last night’s performance “It’s of my Rambles… Recollections of Singers and Songs from the Ulster Tradition.” He prefaced each song with an explanation of how and where it was collected and which demographic group claimed to have originated the song (Ulster, the Travellers in Ireland, etc.). He explained some of the meanings behind each song.

Len spends his life singing and tracking down songs and singers.  He transcribes and archives words and melodies so that they aren’t lost to humanity. He’s travelled to Australia to find people who know rare songs and to Arkansas to record missing verses to a known song. These are just a couple of the many travel stories he told.

Len Graham singing at Na Píobairí Uilleann. The placard to the left lists Alfie Mulligan, who I’ve posted a snippet of on this blog (playing uilleann pipes at his brother’s Cobblestone pub).

Here you can see what the uilleann pipes look like (photo downloaded from an online blog).  (There are lots of YouTube videos available of uilleann pipers.)

Len spoke of a time not so long ago when there were just ten or so uilleann pipers in all of Ireland. Today, he says, more than a thousand people play these pipes.

He’s part of a vibrant oral tradition of storytelling that’s alive in Ireland today. But the songs have also been recorded and archived in important libraries–such as the one here in Dublin and another at Brown University. A researcher from Harvard (named Child) did a lot of important research into Irish ballads back in the 1800s.

I especially enjoyed Len’s songs involving heather (the name of a flower that became the name of my sister).  I also found “When Irish men throughout this world are brothers one and all” to be quite catchy.

This event was part of Na Píobairí Uilleann’s monthly Notes & Narratives lectures, which the organization describes as a series of “performance-based lectures on traditional music, song and dance by some of Ireland’s finest traditional artists.” Last night’s event was held at the Na Píobairí Uilleann hall on Henrietta Street.

Thanks, Jonathan Kennedy, my fully-bright friend, for the heads up about this event. Hope you’re putting your uilleann pipes to good use out there in Western Ireland this weekend!