Problem-Based Learning with EFFECTs: Part I - Preparing Future Faculty to Integrate Teaching and Research
Charles Pierce1
1 University of South Carolina
Resumo
This paper describes an initiative to prepare doctoral candidates for the professoriate. In this program, doctoral students can opt to develop, implement, and assess instructional materials for problem-based learning (PBL) in an undergraduate course. PBL materials are created within the Environments for Fostering Effective Critical Thinking (EFFECTs) pedagogical framework. In this framework, students are presented with a realistic engineering problem that prompts a driving question. Using a decision worksheet, students prepare an initial estimate to the driving question based on their current state of knowledge. The decision worksheet captures two critical pieces of student thinking: (1) his/her visual interpretation and understanding of the problem, and (2) his/her estimation process using assumptions, approximations, and dimensional analysis. Once completed, the decision worksheet serves as a reference document for students to reflect on as new knowledge is acquired through a series of active learning exercises. To this end, the EFFECTs framework integrates active learning with collaborative learning and reflective learning. The PBL sequence ends with each student's final solution to the driving question, which is often presented in the form of a report. The initiative described herein, referred to as PFF PLUS, is an expansion of the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program at the University of South Carolina (USC). PFF is a national effort for transforming the way aspiring faculty members are prepared for their careers (http://www.preparing-faculty.org/). PFF programs provide students with opportunities to observe and experience faculty responsibilities at a variety of academic institutions with varying missions, diverse student bodies, and different expectations for faculty. PFF PLUS was created to provide doctoral students with an immersive experience in teaching and learning, while at the same time making connections between research and education. To that end, the initiative requires each student to devel
Palavras-chave: active learning; critical thinking; engineering education; geotechnical engineering; preparing future faculty; problem-based learning