Tag / engineering education

by shannonchance

Headed to Thessaloniki

I’m learning the ropes of budget flights in Europe because I’m headed to Greece for an engineering education conference. Heather and Dave warned me about baggage limitations in Europe! (No wonder people wear so little on vacation at the beach here! They’re not allowed to bring more than a Speedo with them!)

My bag was 2cm too deep. It fit in the bin, actually, but the wheelbase hung over.

Penalty = 50 Euro for that leg of the flight alone. More than that flight cost! Someone in the customs line gave me a helpful tip: checking the bag online saves a little money. Thus, I bought airport wi-fi service (5 Euro) and paid “just” 31.25 Euro to check it for the second leg. The upside is that now I have wi-fi to commune with you!

Better luck to me next time! And luck I may need….

I just realized that although I brought my Irish Residency permit and passport, I didn’t carry my work permit with me (it’s a full sized page and I don’t normally carry it). I sure hope I can get back into Ireland without it! I’d better go ask the Irish Fulbright Office for advice….

by shannonchance

Always Learning to Teach

I love teaching students to design!  I’m also fascinated by theories about how students learn.  At the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) , I’m going to be researching:

  • How students’ ideas about “knowledge” and “knowing” mature over time.
  • How DIT professors are helping students become more flexible problem-solvers.
  • How DIT’s faculty has transformed its electrical engineering curriculum using a hands-on approach to education known as “student-centered, problem-based learning.”

I’m happy to report that these topics are of interest to the engineering education community… DIT’s Gavin Duffy and I have already been invited to present our work in Greece this September and to publish an article in the Journal of Engineering Education.

You can read more about the Fulbright in press releases by William and Mary and Hampton University.

Electrical Engineering students prepare to compete in the mid-semester round of “Robo Sumo,” March 2012.