Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Founding Faculty Member
Sept. 26, 2013
Department of Engineering
Director, Advanced Thermal Fluids Laboratory
Director, Center for Innovation in Engineering Education

A little about myself

Madison Engineering

Translating Authentic Problem Solving into the Classroom

Your thoughts? Your ideas?
“To know where we are going, ….
we must know where we came from.”
Sparta, Greece
Virginia Tech
Richmond, Virginia
James Madison University
Understanding the Development and
Evolution of the Engineer Identity
Learning Through Service
Advanced Thermal Fluids Laboratory
Understanding and Translating
Complex Problem Solving
Slide Credit
Dr. Kurt Paterson, JMU Engineering Department Head
Economic
recovery?
How can we more effectively
translate real-world problem solving
into the classroom?
“Reduction to Practice”
ASME article, October 2012
How can we work with our industry
partners to produce stronger and
better prepared engineers?
JMU Engineering and the
Madison Engineer
The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, National
Academy of Engineering, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2004).
1.
The ingenuity of Lillian Gilbreth (Mother of Ergonomics)
2.
The problem-solving capabilities of Gordon Moore
3.
The scientific insight of Albert Einstein
4.
The creativity of Pablo Picasso
5.
The determination of the Wright brothers
6.
The leadership abilities of Bill Gates
7.
The conscience of Eleanor Roosevelt
8.
The vision of Martin Luther King
9.
.......
1.
The ingenuity of Lillian Gilbreth (Mother of Ergonomics)
2.
The problem-solving capabilities of Gordon Moore
3.
The scientific insight of Albert Einstein
4.
The creativity of Pablo Picasso
5.
The determination of the Wright brothers
6.
The leadership abilities of Bill Gates
7.
The conscience of Eleanor Roosevelt
8.
The vision of Martin Luther King
9.
The curiosity and wonder of children
The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, National
Academy of Engineering, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2004).
Educating The Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New
Century, National Academy of Engineering, The National Academies Press,
Washington, DC (2005).
The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, National
Academy of Engineering, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2004).
December 2005 - Beginnings of JMU Engineering Program
The Mission - A task force of JMU faculty from the College of Integrated Science
and Technology, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of
Business set out to develop a new kind of engineering degree program.
The Vision - A new engineering degree program that combined the best elements
from a strong Liberal Arts education with a strong STEM and business curriculum.
Educating The Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New
Century, National Academy of Engineering, The National Academies Press,
Washington, DC (2005).
Versatilists are individuals who can “apply
depth of skill to a progressively widening scope
of situations and experiences, gaining new
competencies, building relationships, and
assuming new roles.”
In Just over FIVE YEARS:
 Over 12 engineering disciplines represented in faculty
 Over 100 capstone, industry, and research projects offered to students
 105 engineer graduates (first two classes)!
Current Students In
the Program –
~450
~115 Freshman
Inaugural Class – 47 Graduates (May 2012)
 30% Graduate School – Over 9 engineering disciplines represented
 65% Industry and Government
Employer
Volvo Powertrain
Advanced Engineering, Inc.
DCO Energy LLC
U.S. Army
Capital One
KPMG
Peterson Technologies
Position Title
Engineering Consultant
Mechanical Engineer
Project Engineer
Army Officer, 2nd LT
Business Systems Analyst
IT Attestation Associate
Junior Systems Engineer
Starting Salary
$76,000
$60,000
$49,750
$33,900
$65000
$61,000
$72,600
Spans Traditional
Engineering
Disciplines
7-Semester
Hands-On
Design Experience
Integrated
Sustainability
Focus
Integrated
Business
Curriculum
Strong
Liberal Arts
Core
Fundamentals
of Engineering
Pre-Licensure
Exam
Real World
Problem
Solving
20 Hours of
Laboratory
Credits
Flexible
120-Credit
(4-Year)
Curriculum
Spans Traditional
Engineering
Disciplines
7-Semester
Hands-On
Design Experience
Integrated
Sustainability
Focus
Integrated
Business
Curriculum
Strong
Liberal Arts
Core
Fundamentals
of Engineering
Pre-Licensure
Exam
Real World
Problem
Solving
20 Hours of
Laboratory
Credits
Flexible
120-Credit
(4-Year)
Curriculum
Spans Traditional
Engineering
Disciplines
7-Semester
Hands-On
Design Experience
Integrated
Sustainability
Focus
Integrated
Business
Curriculum
Strong
Liberal Arts
Core
Fundamentals
of Engineering
Pre-Licensure
Exam
Real World
Problem
Solving
26 Hours of
Laboratory
Credits
Flexible
126-Credit
(4-Year)
Curriculum
Y
E
A
R
1
Y
E
A
R
2
Y
E
A
R
3
Y
E
A
R
4
Calculus 1
Physics 1
Calculus 2
Physics 2
Introduction to
Engineering
Calculus 3
Chemistry 1
Engineering
Design 1
Statics &
Dynamics
General Education
Linear Algebra &
Biology or Geology
Different Eq.
Engineering
Design 2
Engineering
Management 1
General Education
Instrumentation &
Circuits
Engineering
Design 3
Engineering
Management 2
General Education
Thermal-Fluids 2 Technical Elective
Engineering
Design 4
Materials &
Mechanics
General Education
Thermal-Fluids 1
General Education General Education General Education
General Education General Education
Sustainability
Fundamentals
Technical Elective
Engineering
Design 5
Systems Analysis General Education
Sustainability &
Design (LCA)
Technical Elective
Engineering
Design 6
General Education General Education
Junior Year
Senior Year
Translating Real World and
Authentic Problem Solving in
the Classroom
Olga Pierrakos, Robert Nagel, Heather Watson,
Kyle Gipson, Elise Barrella, Eric Pappas, Robin
Anderson, John Karabelas, Jacquelyn Nagel, ….
Real World
Practice
?????
How would you describe the types of problems and problem
solving in professional practice?
Undergraduate
Classroom
????
Real World
Practice
Ill-structured
Complex
Undergraduate
Classroom
Well-structured
Known & Correct
Solutions
Real World
Practice
Ill-structured
Complex
Undergraduate
Classroom
Well-structured
Known & Correct
Solutions
Process Adaptability
and Innovation
Adaptive expertise and cognitive flexibility - the
ability to restructure knowledge in multiple ways
depending on the changing situational demands –
[Spiro, 1995]
Frustrated
Novice
Novice
Adaptive
Expert
Routine
Expert
Knowledge Content and Efficiency
Real World
Practice
Undergraduate
Classroom
?
Ill-structured
Complex
Well-structured
Known & Correct
Solutions
Real World
Practice
Ill-structured
Complex
PBL?
Undergraduate
Classroom
Well-structured
Known & Correct
Solutions
Based on Jonassen & Hung (2008)
Brainstorming
Very
Unstructured Problems
Case
Studies
Fairly
Unstructured
Worked
Example
Problems
Moderately
Structured
Very
Structured
Undergrad
Research
Modeling
Problems
Labs
Inquirybased
Problems
Plug-NChug
Easy
Authentic
Design
Problems
Somewhat
Easy
Moderately
Complex
Very
Complex
Design of a Human Powered Vehicle for a Client with Cerebral Palsy
Customer Needs
Very
Unstructured
Target Specifications
Functional Modeling
Morph Matrix
Fairly
Unstructured
C-Sketch (6-3-5)
Design-by-Analogy
Moderately
Structured
Very
Structured
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
Concept Selection
(Pugh Chart)
Concept Selection
(Decision Matrix)
POC Prototype Build
& Test
Alpha Prototype Build
& Test
Beta Prototype Build
& Test
Capstone
Design
Plug-N-Chug
Freshman Reverse
Engineering
Very
Unstructured
Freshman Design
Project
Fairly
Unstructured
Sophomore
Bike Project
Typical engineering
science lab
Typical engineering
science homework
Junior Design
Challenges
Moderately
Structured
Very
Structured
Capstone Projects
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
Plug-N-Chug
Freshman Reverse
Engineering
Very
Unstructured
Freshman Design
Project
Fairly
Unstructured
Sophomore
Bike Project
Typical engineering
science lab
Typical engineering
science homework
Junior Design
Challenges
Moderately
Structured
Freshman
Very
Structured
Capstone Projects
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
Plug-N-Chug
Freshman Reverse
Engineering
Very
Unstructured
Freshman Design
Project
Fairly
Unstructured
Moderately
Structured
Sophomore
Bike Project
Typical engineering
science lab
Typical engineering
science homework
Junior Design
Challenges
Sophomore
Year
Very
Structured
Capstone Projects
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
Plug-N-Chug
Freshman Reverse
Engineering
Very
Unstructured
Freshman Design
Project
Fairly
Unstructured
Sophomore
Bike Project
Typical engineering
science lab
Typical engineering
science homework
Junior Design
Challenges
Junior
Year
Moderately
Structured
Very
Structured
Capstone Projects
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
Plug-N-Chug
Freshman Reverse
Engineering
Very
Unstructured
Freshman Design
Project
Fairly
Unstructured
Sophomore
Bike Project
Typical engineering
science lab
Typical engineering
science homework
Junior Design
Challenges
Senior
Year
Moderately
Structured
Very
Structured
Capstone Projects
Easy
Somewhat Moderately
Easy
Complex
Very
Complex
How can we more effectively translate real-world problem
solving into the classroom?
How can we work with our industry partners to produce
stronger and better prepared engineers?
DUE Award #0837465 – NSF CCLI
EEC Award #0846468 – NSF CAREER
Olga – pierraox@jmu.edu
Thank you!