Understanding and Eliciting Engineering Science Practice: Exploring Beginner Embodiment Through Musical Instrument Design
Mueller, Matthew.
2019
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While learning
scientists have advocated for students to engage with the practices of science and
engineering in addition to learning the content, engineering science is still broadly
viewed as the math and science content particularly relevant to engineering design.
Mechanical engineering faculty members, both practitioners and teachers of engineering
science, were interviewed about the ... read moreactivities they use in their research projects and
their learning goals for foundational science courses they teach to undergraduate
students. A design based research study then explores how students can begin to enact
engineering science practice when asked to conduct an investigation as part of a musical
instrument design provocation. Learning environments for middle school students and
undergraduates were developed to enable them to think like engineering scientists while
generating knowledge about how their instrument produces sound. Multiple, descriptive
case studies from each age group are presented, and student engagement is analyzed.
Using a grounded theory methodology, I propose a framework made up of three main
features, each with sub-activities, for understanding engineering science practice. (1)
To determine the scope of their investigations, engineering scientists (a) recognize
relevant variables, (b) limit their investigation to be productive given constraints,
and (c) interpret implications of results and their reliability. (2) To apply science or
math concepts and practices, they (a) apply a mechanistic understanding of the
phenomenon, (b) use a domain specific understanding of how to mathematize the problem,
and (c) reason scientifically about results. (3) Making decisions based on an awareness
of economy, they (a) guide the investigation based on material resources (e.g.
computational tools) or theoretical tools (e.g. nondimensionalization), and (b) decide
how to invest resources based on their present understanding and time constraints. A
phenomenography of how middle school students, university students, and faculty members
can embody these practices is presented, along with principles for designing learning
environments to elicit student engagement with them. One key finding is that the
knowledge products generated by students at the end of a focused investigation are rich,
multi-dimensional formative assessment tools for teachers. Future research directions
are proposed to investigate engineering science learning in alternative, constructionist
inspired learning environments.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2019.
Submitted to the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor: Chris Rogers.
Committee: Kristen Wendell, Brian Gravel, and Aaron Johnson.
Keywords: Engineering, Education, and Acoustics.read less - ID:
- sx61f059b
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