Environment & Sustainability Educational Project
Proposal
Spring 2016
Proposal Cover Sheet
PROJECT INFORMATION
Projecttitle:
Projecttype:
IndicateNEWsubject,ADAPTEDsubject,orOTHER(ifother,pleasedescribe):
Instructorofrecord:
Projectstartdate:
NoearlierthanJune1,2016.
Projectenddate:
NolaterthanAugust1,2018.
Anticipatedfirstsemester
ofoffering:
Homedepartmentof
offering:
Potentialjointlisting
department(s):
LEAD FACULTY INFORMATION
Leadfacultyfullname:
Leadfacultyhome
department:
Leadfacultyemailaddress: Assistanttoleadfaculty:
Assistantemailaddress:
COLLABORATING FACULTY INFORMATION
Collaboratingfacultyfull
name:
MITdepartment:
Emailaddress:
Collaboratingfacultyfull
name:
MITdepartment:
Emailaddress:
Questions?ContactDr.AmandaGrahamatagraham@mit.edu.
Guidelines for Proposal Narrative
Pleasesubmitaconciseproposalnarrativethatincludesallsectionslistedbelow.Pleaserefertotheattachment
onlearningobjectivesandmeasurableoutcomesinpreparingthosesectionsofyourproposalnarrative.
Content and approach
I.
II.
Whattypeofeducationalactivitydoyoupropose?i.e.,lecture,seminar,studio,workshop,etc.(ifthe
proposalisforaneducationalactivityotherthanaformalsubject,pleasedescribethenatureoftheactivity
andwhythechosenformatisneeded)
Subject/activityoverview(includecontent,methodology/pedagogy;noteMITguidelinesat
http://web.mit.edu/registrar/general/cs/catalog/standards/descriptiongen.html)
III. Subject/activitylearningobjectives(seeattachment):
IV. Measurableoutcomesandassessmentstrategy(ies)forthesubject/activity(seeattachment):
Plans to sustain the activity
V.
Department/Instituterequirements:willthesubject/activityfulfillanydepartmentorInstitute
requirements?
VI. Indicationofsupportfromhomedepartment(ifnecessary,pleaseexplainhowtheproposedsubjector
activitywillevolveintoasustainedacademicoffering):
Enrollment, credits, pre-requisites
VII. Anticipatedenrollmentforthissubject/activity(number,level,majorofstudents,asfeasible):
VIII. EnrollmentfiguresforanyrelatedsubjectatMIT(number,level,majorofstudents,asfeasible):
IX. Anticipatedcredits:
X. Anticipatedpre-requisites:
Attachment:
ESI Guidelines for Drafting Learning Objectives and
Measurable Outcomes
Learningobjectivesandtheirassociatedmeasurableoutcomesserveasabaselinesetofsubstantiverequirements
foraproposedsubject.Together,theydefinethecapabilitiesandcompetenciesstudentsareexpectedtoacquire
bycompletingthesubjectandhowinstructorswillmeasureastudent’sabilitytoachievethesubject’sobjectives.
I. What should Learning Objectives include?
Eachlearningobjectivestatementshould:
• Focusonstudentimpact:Learningobjectivesshouldidentifyhowstudentcapabilityisexpectedto
changeasaresultofcompletingthesubject.Forsomesubjects,learningobjectiveswilloutlinewhat
studentswillbeabletodoasaresultoftheclass.Forothersubjects,learningobjectivesmayarticulate
specificcapacitiesfordiagnosis,analysis,oractionthatstudentsareintendedtodevelop.Weencourage
bothcreativityandclarityindevelopingyourlearningobjectives.
• Useactionlanguage:Usingactionverbsinthelearningobjectivesstatementhelpspavethewayto
develop/identifystudentoutcomesforthesubjectthatcanbemeasured.Onecommoncautionisto
resistthe(oftenstrong)temptationtousephrasessuchas“willunderstand”,“willdevelopintuitionfor”,
and“willlearn,”astheyarebroadanddifficulttomeasure.
• Addressthesubjectoverall:Thefewlinesofthestatementshouldcapturethetop-levellearning
objectivesforthesubject,ratherthaneverydetailofwhatiscoveredinthesubject.
• Beconcise:Eachstatementshouldberoughlyfromonetofoursentences.
For example…
ALearningObjectivesstatementforthesubject“ThermalEnergy”isgivenbelow,withtherelevantaction
verbsshowninboldtypeface.
ThermalEnergyLearningObjectives:
Aftercompletionofthissubjectstudentswillbeableto:
1.UsetheSecondLawofThermodynamicstoevaluatethelimitationsonthermal-mechanical
energyconversioninaerospacepowerandpropulsionsystems;
2.Estimateheattransferratesinsimpleengineeringsituationssuchasaconvectivelycooled
turbineblade,
3.Carryoutconceptualdesignofbasicaerothermalcomponentsandsystems.
A resource (with caveat)
GuidanceindevelopinglearningobjectivesandmeasurableoutcomesoftenreferstoBloom’sTaxonomyof
EducationalObjectives(seehttp://teaching.uncc.edu/learning-resources/articles-books/best-practice/goalsobjectives/writing-objectives).AnupdatedversionofBloom’sTaxonomy(see
http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/effective-teaching-practices/revised-blooms-taxonomy)maybeauseful
sourceforbrainstormingtheaction-orientedlanguagethatisessentialforgoodlearning
objectives/measurableoutcomes.
Thetaxonomyandsomewaysinwhichitisusedaresubjecttocritiqueforoversimplification(see
http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/13602_Chapter_1_Marzano_Final_Pdf_2.pdfand
http://edglossary.org/blooms-taxonomy/,forexample).Weincludeithereasapromptforcreativethinking
ratherthanasaphilosophyofeducation.
II. Measurable Outcomes [and Methods of Assessment]
Themeasurableoutcomesshouldbedescribedatthelevelinwhichtheyareactuallyassessedinthesubject.
Thenumberofmeasurableoutcomeslistedwillvarybetweensubjects;somehaveobservedthatusefulsets
ofoutcomesincludesomewherebetween5and15distinctoutcomes.
AnexampleofmeasurableoutcomesandassessmentmethodsforThermalEnergyisgivenbelow.Again,the
actionverbsareshowninboldtypeface.Theassessmentmethodisindicatedinbrackets.
1. Explainthephysicalcontentandimplicationsofthesecondlawinnon-mathematicalterms[conceptquiz,
quiz];
2. Defineentropy[conceptquiz,homework];
3. Estimatethethermodynamicefficiencyandpowerproductionofanarbitraryidealcycle[conceptquiz,
homework,quiz];
4. Obtainabasicphysicalintuitionforthethermodynamicperformanceofrealpowerandpropulsion
devicesasindicatedbyrecognitionofwhatgood,average,andpoorperformanceis(metricsand
numbers)forengineeringpowerandpropulsiondevices[conceptquiz,homework];
5. Useentropycalculationsasatoolforevaluatingirreversibility(lostwork)inengineeringprocesses
[homework,quiz];
6. Estimatetheeffectoflossesonthermodynamicefficiency[homework,quiz];
7. Estimateheattransferratesforaerospacevehicleconditions[homework,quiz];
8. Carryoutathermodynamicanalysisofabasic(realorproposed)powerorpropulsionproducer,assess
performance,andsuggestwheredesignimprovementswouldbemosteffective[GEdesignproject].
Noteinoutcome(4)abovethedesireisforthestudentstodevelopintuitionbutthemeasurableoutcomeis
theirrecognitionoftypicalperformancelevels.
Acknowledgement
TheseguidelineshavebeenadaptedfrommaterialspreparedbytheMITDepartmentofAeronauticsandAstronauticsandthe
SingaporeUniversityofTechnologyandDesign.