In engineering companies administered by standard procedures, role playing can develop and measure competences in junior managers. Describes a role-playing exercise that develops and assesses competence in communication skills used in problem solving. Outlines the simulation's aims, resources, scenario, exercise inputs and outputs, operation,…

Discusses the life of George Washington Carver. Explains how he achieved his goals of educating a better southern farmer and creating a better southern citizen based on his principles of agriculture economics. Discusses Carver's educational and teaching experiences that eventually lead to an expansion of human potential. (JS)

Evaluates the results of an experiment with comprehensive project-organized and problem-based engineering education at Aalborg University that has lasted for 20 years. Several independent evaluations show that the graduates are more readily adaptable, with strong qualities in the field of problem-solving, cooperation, communication, and…

Focuses on using science-related issues in classrooms. Explains how to select these issues and create a scenario, and presents a sample scenario for a role-playing activity. Provides several format structures for role-plays. (YDS)

This article describes an integrated problem solving and program development environment, illustrating the application of the system with a detailed case study of a small-scale programming problem. The system, which is based on an explicit cognitive model, is intended to guide the novice programmer through the stages of problem solving and program…

The George Lucas Educational Foundation began in 1991 with an ambitious mission: to demonstrate how innovative learning environments in classrooms, supported by powerful new technologies, could revolutionize learning. As an organization founded by George Lucas, its members believed that the same benefits of technology that were transforming…

We examined a novel formative assessment and instructional approach with 89 students in three electrical engineering classes in special computer-based discussion sections. The technique involved students individually solving circuit problems online, with their real-time responses observed by the instructor. While exploratory, survey and…

This study investigated students' conceptual and procedural understanding of calculus within the context of an engineering mechanics course. Four traditional calculus students were compared with three students from one of the calculus reform projects, Calculus & Mathematica. Task-based interviews were conducted with each participant throughout…

Twenty-eight engineering students were presented with complex spatial problems to investigate the effects of spatial aptitude and strategy selection on problem solving. Aptitude was determined by spatial aptitude test scores and strategy was determined by verbal reports and latency measures. It was found that aptitude determined the efficiency…

Argues that changes in the industrial output of other nations, and the stridency of today's workers have made businessmen more aware of the need to find solutions to the problems facing them, and explores job enlargement, modified workweeks, and the psychology of responsiveness. (JM)

Our department has redesigned its electrical and computer engineering programs by adopting a learning methodology based on competence development, problem solving, and the realization of design projects. In this article, we show how this pedagogical approach has been successfully used for learning probabilities and their application to computer…

Presented is a problem solving strategy emphasizing the definition step. Detailed analysis of the process of problem definition is included. (SL)

Between May 2003 and January 2004, Education Development Center's Center for Children and Technology (CCT) undertook a formative evaluation of Design and Discovery, a hands-on, project-based design and engineering curriculum being disseminated as part of the Intel Innovation in Education initiatives. The Design and Discovery curriculum invites 11-…

The study was carried out within the framework of a project that provided afterschool mathematics tutorial sessions to 10th-12th grade students by engineers in an informal setting. The participating students were selected from advanced level mathematics classes according to their need for additional support. The main goal of the study was to…

The paper presents literature related to the problems and promises of interdisciplinary work. Important characteristics of effective work groups are described, and origins of difficulty in groups are discussed. Most work on groups has been based on research on groups that come together only in the laboratory. These groups are different from…