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Chapter 6 - Engineers as Problem Solvers
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- By David H. Jonassen, University of Missouri
- Edited by Aditya Johri, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Barbara M. Olds
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- Book:
- Cambridge Handbook of Engineering Education Research
- Published online:
- 05 February 2015
- Print publication:
- 10 February 2014, pp 103-118
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- Chapter
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Summary
Engineers as Problem Solvers
Evers, Rush, and Berdrow (1998) identi-fy numerous disconnects between skills acquired in college and those required of the workplace. Among the most important skills that ABET Inc., the primary engineering accreditation institution in the United States, has identified for the preparation of engineers are the abilities to identify, formulate, and solve workplace engineering problems and to function on multidisciplinary teams. Learning to solve workplace problems is an essential learning outcome for any engineering graduate. Every engineer is hired, retained, and rewarded for his or her ability to solve problems. However, engineering graduates are ill prepared to solve complex, workplace problems (Jonassen, Strobel, & Lee, 2006).
Problem solving from a cognitive perspective has been the primary focus of my research for the past decade and a half. My theory differs from traditional theories of problem solving in that I argue there are different kinds of problems that vary between contexts. The kinds of problems that practicing engineers solve are different from the problems that most undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students learn to solve. In most undergraduate classes, students learn to solve textbook problems that are constrained and well structured, with known solution paths and convergent answers (capstone courses are an exception). Workplace problems, on the other hand, tend to be ill structured and unpredictable because they possess conflicting goals, multiple solution methods, non-engineering success standards, non-engineering constraints, unanticipated problems, distributed knowledge, and collaborative activity systems (Jonassen et al., 2006). Learning to solve classroom problems does not effectively prepare engineering graduates to solve workplace problems. To prepare engineering graduates, it is necessary to articulate the differences between educational problems and workplace problems. To do that, I first describe how problems vary.
16 - The Collaboration Principle in Multimedia Learning
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- By David H. Jonassen, University of Missouri, Chwee Beng Lee, University of Missouri, Chia-Chi Yang, University of Missouri, James Laffey, University of Missouri
- Edited by Richard Mayer, University of California, Santa Barbara
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 15 August 2005, pp 247-270
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Summary
Abstract
Based on sociocultural and social cognitive theory, computer support for collaborative learning (CSCL) has emerged as a new research and development subdiscipline of computer-mediated communication. The emphasis of CSCL is on supporting collaborative learning activities in online multimedia environments. In this chapter, we review research on the nature of the technology used, how the learning groups are comprised (e.g., group size, learner characteristics), the learning outcome engaged by the task, the role of the tutor, the effects of community-building activities, the nature of the learning or communication assessment, and the effects of scaffolds or discussion constraints on learning. Based on this research, we make a variety of recommendations for the design and implementation of learning environments.
Introduction to the Collaboration Principle
In the past decade, the study of learning has been influenced increasingly by constructivism and social theories. Not only have the epistemological and ontological assumptions about the nature of learning changed as a result of constructivist influences, but the nature of instructional and learning activities has changed dramatically. At the risk of oversimplification, the most obvious effect of this influence has been a shift from emphasis on instructional communication systems to an emphasis on practice-based, collaborative learning systems. The goal of instructional systems, informed by objectivist assumptions, was to effectively design messages to support the efficient transmission of knowledge about the world.