For:

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
C
HAPTER
1: T
HEME
............................................................................................................. 3
Introduction of Metaphor ................................................................................................ 3
Connection to ME 6101 .................................................................................................. 3
Training ....................................................................................................................... 3
Equipment ................................................................................................................... 4
Tactics ......................................................................................................................... 4
Learning Objectives and Competencies.......................................................................... 4
C
HAPTER
2: N
INJA
T
RAINING AND
ME 6101 L
EARNING
G
OALS
.......................................... 6
Graduality ....................................................................................................................... 6
Continuity ....................................................................................................................... 6
Moderateness .................................................................................................................. 7
Self-restraint .................................................................................................................... 7
Courtesy .......................................................................................................................... 8
Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Training and Learning Goals ........................................ 8
C
HAPTER
3: N
INJA
E
QUIPMENT AND
ME 6101 A
SSIGNMENTS AND
LE
S
............................ 11
Equipment/Weapons and Assignments......................................................................... 11
Mission Journal and Learning Essays ........................................................................... 12
C
HAPTER
4: N
INJA
T
ACTICS AND
ME 6101 C
OMPETENCIES
.............................................. 14
Stealth & Disguise ........................................................................................................ 14
Planning ........................................................................................................................ 14
Versatility ...................................................................................................................... 14
Creativity....................................................................................................................... 14
Communication ............................................................................................................. 14
C HAPTER 5: C ONCLUSION : G EARING U P AND S ETTING O UT .............................................. 15
Semester Learning Essay Page 2 of 16 Bankston

I’ve always had an interest in the culture and mystery surrounding ninja. For a long time, my knowledge of ninja was limited to what I derived from cartoons and movies in my childhood. With the renewed popularity of ninja and hearing my best friend profess to be a ninja, I’ve learned more about how actual ninja performed their feats.
Ninja, who existed primarily in the 14 th
and 15 th
centuries in
Japan, were the special-ops of their day. Ninja were samurai who distanced themselves from their brethren by utilizing non-traditional warfare tactics. They were often ostracized for approaches deemed as shameful by the mainstream population. The Japanese have always been a proud people, where shame is worse than death.
Ninja focused their training on the unorthodox arts of stealth and infiltration. They operated as saboteurs, spies, scouts, and assassins. Ninja remained clouded in mystery, often faking their own deaths to strengthen their enemies’ surprise.
Even the anglicized word used to describe these warriors carries a mystery. The term ninja is both the singular and plural form of the same word. This means that the same word will be used to describe one or one hundred ninja attacking.
Ninja train according to guidelines set generations earlier. These guidelines, based on the
Zen-Buddhism principles of natural regulation, helped develop ninja who were not only ruthless and cunning but disciplined and innovative. The overall learning method in ME
6101 is not so different. We are trained and graded based on simple ideas that lead us to be great designers. We are not afraid of a challenge but can still complete that challenge while adding our own innovative ideas and integrating the work of those before us.
More specifically, my learning goals are like the various areas where ninja trained. For one, ninja were pushed through harsh assignments and forced to work in extreme conditions. Ninja practiced masquerade to blend in crowds more efficiently. They were adept in the use of every weapon available to them. Finally, ninja were taught to think quickly and creatively under pressure.
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Ninja would have found their work much harder without the assistance of their arsenal of weapons, clothing, and tools. From stealthy movement to efficient assassinations, ninja relied on the ingenuity and reliability of their equipment. Like the equipment the ninja used, my assignments were essential to my success in ME 6101.
The tactics of the ninja are what set them apart from the samurai. From their stealthy infiltration of enemy-held areas to their ability to confuse opponents by appearing to attack from multiple angles at once, ninja fully utilized their arsenal of skills. In the same fashion, the course competencies I developed in ME 6101 will help me mystify my opponent – design challenges.
In the first assignment of ME 6101, I outlined my original learning objectives and competencies for the semester. I have revised these many times throughout the course,
and these revisions are tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1: Learning Objectives
Goal Date Goal Development
1 08/24/07 Learn what steps and processes are involved in the P&B systematic design of a product. Learn ways to apply the design method to various subjects inside and outside of engineering.
2 08/24/07 Build team working skills in the team project by performing less familiar roles.
08/27/07 Build team working skills in the team project by opting to perform different tasks than usual, including leadership roles.
08/10/07 Learn useful team working skills in the team project by opting to perform different tasks than usual, including leadership roles.
3 08/24/07 Learn self-teaching tools to aid my continuing education.
4 08/24/07 Learn when to apply certain decision making techniques.
09/19/07 Learn how to use various decision making techniques.
10/10/07 Learn how to use various idea generation, decision making, work management, and quality management tools.
5 09/04/07 Learn to abstract design characteristics.
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Table 2: ME 6101 Competencies
1 Ability to apply a systematic design method.
2 Ability to design while accounting for the life-cycle.
3 Ability to analyze multidisciplinary systems.
4 Ability to apply decision making methods.
5 Ability to effectively communicate results verbally and in written form.
Semester Learning Essay Page 5 of 16 Bankston

Ninja conditioning centered on the Zen principles of natural regulation. These include graduality, continuity, moderateness, self-control/self-restraint, and courtesy [1]. The training was intended to harden the ninja, so they could think in the most stressful situations. Ninja also had to be innovated problem solvers to meet some of the unique challenges they faced in non-traditional warfare.
Graduality, the first of the Zen principles, meant that ninja were taught to train in a sequential way, with increasing difficulty over time. This intensification of training gave the ninja opportunity to build on previous skills and strengths. This also regulated the advancement of ninja in training assignments, as a ninja who rushed to the next training risked serious injury from the relatively high level of difficulty of the challenge.
Scaffolding is both a learning and working style in which you build on previous work with more in depth learning. Scaffolding was an integral part of ME 6101, as all of the assignments were information vessels toward the final submissions.
At times during the semester, I thought I could avoid extra work and skip some steps, instead of scaffolding upon previous work day by day. In the beginning of the semester, I thought I could quickly work though
Assignment 1 without performing the deep reading of
Chapter 4. I found myself swamped and overwhelmed with work, just like the young ninja who rushed to the next level of training. Eventually I worked through the assignment, but I learned two very important lessons.
Scaffolding is not to force me to do extra work; it is to lead me to a higher level answer. I also learned that by
Figure 1: Japanese scroll calligraphy of Bodhidharma [4] working through the tough situation I became more able to work through a mountainous load under a stressful deadline.
Following the Zen principles, ninja practiced continuity in their training. They set themselves apart from leisurely activities and built their skills through regular, systematic
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training. Ninja took no vacations and very few breaks. A lazy ninja would not last long in training.
To complete ME 6101, I had to develop and exhibit a strong work ethic. Engineering
Design requires daily work, even over holidays. Whenever I skipped two or three days, I found myself facing a pile of work the next time I got to my computer.
For example, when I went to Six Flags and a GT Football game with other students from the Georgia Tech Savannah campus, I found two 60-page best practices to deep read sitting on my desk when I returned to Savannah. I needed to draw some best practices from these previous Q4S submissions for use in my final submissions. Although I eventually completed the assignment, the value I gained was reduced significantly because of the extended break.
“To gain success in training, [ninja] required moderateness in everything” [1]. Ninja knew that their training would take years of their lives. The high skill level required takes patience and practice. Knowing that they could not become ninja masters overnight,
Ninja worked hard at their training from the very beginning. Patiently, ninja strengthened their bodies and minds.
I know now that I needed to practice the same moderateness that ninja practice.
Although I usually waited too late to begin assignments, I tried to rush through the ones
I began early. That always burned me out, leaving me struggling to meet the deadlines once again.
Figure 2: Bodhidharma Woodcut [4]
One of the notable abilities of the ninja is to think quickly in any circumstance. This is a direct result of their rigorous training. Their goal is to remain calm and self possessed in the most extreme situations.
I’ve always had the ability to stay calm under pressure. Whether a life threatening situation or a stressful deadline, I can think clearly. Stressful situations in ME 6101
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require an extra level of self-restraint. It is not enough to remain calm and self possessed,
I have to continue to concentrate on the task at hand.
Ninja were taught to “behave in organized, disciplined, respectful, and industrious way”.
This was known as the Zen principle of courtesy. Courtesy works well in conjunction with self-restraint. Without courtesy, self-restraint would be like being calm with no direction.
For example, when an impending deadline is fast approaching, if I just stay calm, I will surf around on the internet reading tech blogs or web-comics about ninjas. It is my discipline that helps me concentrate on the assignment. I apply this principle to my learning.
Once ninja were conditioned in the Zen-Buddhism principles, they moved on to basic ninja training. This is where most of the stereotypical awesomeness of ninja in American pop culture is derived.
Masters of Disguise
Ninja wore more than the stereotypical black robes. More often, they cunningly blended into crowds and palaces as peasants and servants [2]. It is then that ninja use their espionage training. Male and female ninja worked to further their agendas from inside their enemies’ homes. This ability to fulfill many roles is like my second learning essay:
“Learn useful team working skills in the team project by opting to perform different tasks than usual, including leadership roles.” Like ninja, I can now take on multiple roles in a group setting without anyone thinking I don’t fit the role, thanks to my practice in ME
6101.
Harsh Conditions
Ninja trained to fight, sneak, and use their weapons in harsh conditions. This was to condition ninja to work well under the most extreme circumstances so that normal situations would be simplistic. To pass assignments, they had to know their techniques flawlessly, so that the dynamic surroundings would not affect their concentration. I liken
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this to my first learning objective: “Learn what steps and processes are involved in the
P&B systematic design of a product. Learn ways to apply the design method to various subjects inside and outside of engineering.” To meet this objective, I had to internalize the core transformations of Pahl & Beitz. That way, even under the stress of deadlines I still knew the P&B method well enough to develop it into my own augmented method.
As ninja become more accustomed to the stress of harsh assignments, they began to not only think quickly under pressure, but innovatively as well. This is depicted visually in the White Ninja comic strip below. This training aspect is similar to my learning in my fifth learning objective: “Learn to abstract design characteristics,” where I learned to think deeply and look for new ideas from existing needs.
Figure 3: Ninja could think creatively in tough situations [10]
Weapons Proficiency
Ninja were skilled with every tool at their disposal. From stealthy shoes to gunpowder distractions, ninja relied upon their equipment and technology. In the same way, I learned to use the design tools at my disposal, meeting my fourth learning objective: “Learn how to use various idea generation, decision making, work management, and quality management tools.”
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Performance Critique
Finally, ninja were trained to constantly critique their own performance and stay up to date on weapons and tactics. To elude the stronger samurai, they had to stay sharp. In the same way, I have to keep my mind sharp by employing self-teaching tools like the
Observe-Reflect-Articulate method learned in ME 6101. The methods I learned this semester worked towards my third learning objective: “Learn self-teaching tools to aid my continuing education.”
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Ask anyone what the largest advantage of the ninja, and they will say stealth. The key to this famed stealth was silent movement. Moving silently relied on special shoes called jika-tabi .
These provided the foundation on which the ninja training and tactics were built. [3] My foundation for learning in ME 6101 was
Assignment 1. In this assignment, I internalized the Pahl & Beitz systematic design method and crafted the first draft of my Q4S.
Figure 4: Ninja jika-tabi [9]
By attaching ashiko, or spikes, to their arms and shoes, ninja climbed higher and further into unknown territory [3]. This allowed them to get above their enemies so they could drop down for a fast surprise kill. This is like the progress I made with the second ME 6101 assignment. In it, I clarified my Q4S and deep read previous best practice Q4S submissions for leveraging ideas.
Figure 5: Ninja ashiko foot spikes [8]
As seen in Figure 6: Common weapons used by Ninja, Ninja used a variety of weapons
and equipment, ranging from suntetsu (handheld stick to attack pressure points), shuriken
(throwing stars), grappling hooks, blowguns, and more [2][3]. These provided ninja support to validate their skills and training when performing espionage, sabotage and assassination. For my learning in ME 6101, these weapons represent the Assignment 3 project proposal development. These are both a continuation of my protection (method) and my weapons (validation).
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Figure 6: Common weapons used by Ninja
I imagine ninja as taking down their successes and failures in a mission journal. This mission journal outlined the ninja’s life and helped him or her organize their training.
This declaration and critical review of training was like my learning essays. Completing these assignments has had many advantages to my learning.
First of all, they helped me work toward my semester learning goals and competencies.
These goals and competencies were outlined in the first assignment, A0, where I matched them to my needs as an engineer, student, and researcher. At the beginning of each assignment and learning essay, I included the most recent iteration of my goals to keep a document trail. At the end of each assignment and learning essay, I described in detail how the assignment added value to my learning in that goal. I also gave the assignment a value rating for each goal, based on the qualitative equation value = utility/time.
This equation is an important part of the learning process, and I even devoted a learning essay to the question of its accuracy in determining my learning in me 6101. I came up with an alternative, more quantitative version of the value equation that based the value on a normalized utility scale and eliminated the value spike resulting from an infinitesimally small time spent.
The assignments also added value to my graduate research. The semester project, which was planned and completed through assignments, learning essays, and the semester project report and presentations, not only gave me time to perform a literature review on my research field, but it gave me a jump start in my graduate research by guiding me
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through the initial work. My particular project resulted in the formation of many research questions to answer in my field. I even chose one of these questions as my research topic for my master’s thesis.
The project also leads me to my first conference paper for the IDETC conference in New
York in 2008. The conference paper will cover the development of a method to design a design method as well as the comparison to the market review.
The largest result of the assignments and learning essays and final submissions in ME
6101 was, of course, the alteration to my way of thinking. I feel that I now think like an engineer. Just as the first engineering undergraduate class covering MATLAB makes students think more like a college engineering student than a high school student, I have now made the transition from undergraduate to graduate. What do I mean by thinking like a graduate student? Graduate students are more diligent. They aren’t afraid of papers ranging in the 50 plus page field. They don’t freak out about a weekly essay covering learning. They know how to modify a method and talk about learning in a course.
Graduate students don’t shy away from scaffolding their own work and leveraging the work of others. Finally, graduate studies aren’t full of separate classes with disconnected assignments. Everything in graduate school ties back to the graduate research thesis and learning goals as a person.
Semester Learning Essay Page 13 of 16 Bankston

To preserve their stealth or disguise, ninja had to follow a systematic mission outline, ensuring each job was completed before moving to the next. In the same way, I can now follow a systematic design method for designing an engineering system, acquiring my first competency: “Ability to apply a systematic design method.”
Each mission was planned for the duration. There had to be a way in, a technique to perform the action (assassination/sabotage), and, most importantly, an exit strategy. In design, planning is carried out through PLM, product lifecycle management. My second competency, “Ability to design while accounting for the life-cycle,” was achieved outside of my ME 6101 work.
Ninja were knowledgeable in a number of subjects. They had to use, fashion, and repair their weapons quickly. They learned swim fast with and against currents without giving away their position. Through a combination of training and proper footwear, they were able to silently walk, run, and climb, break into various secure locations, and use lethal force on enemies. These skills meshed together seamlessly. This follows my development of my third competency: “Ability to analyze multidisciplinary systems.”
If something went wrong in the middle of a mission, a ninja must decide on a course of action quickly, weighing her options instinctively. Intensive training instilled this ability in every ninja. Thanks to my developments in ME 6101, I now have my fourth competency: “Ability to apply decision making methods.”
Ninja usually worked alone, but when several ninja worked together, they were an unstoppably deadly force. Ninja used several methods of communication including hand signals and cryptic clues for other team members to interpret. Like the ninja, I developed my verbal and written communication skills as I worked toward my fifth competency:
“Learn how to communicate results verbally and in written form.”
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Having finished years of training and carrying an arsenal of physical weapons and expert tactics, ninjas combine their training, equipment, and tactics into a single deadly force.
Similarly, I have collected my learning and assignments together to complete my end of semester submissions. The portfolio, as a collection of all my assignments, is my entire ninja outfit. The
Semester Project Report and Answer to the Q4S are my final tests in ninja tactics.
Finally, this essay, my semester learning essay, is my collection of mission journals for me to look back on and continue to improve myself.
After reflecting on the time and effort I spent in ME 6101 this semester, I realize that I have grown as both a student and a researcher. My learning goals and course competencies gave me direction in my learning for the semester. Looking back on them I see that I’ve become a stronger designer through advances in those areas.
Through course assignments and learning
Figure 7: Ready to Kill [7] essays, I built a scaffold of work that I can look back on to gauge my learning throughout the past few months.
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1
Peterson, James. (2006, November 23). Ninja Training . EzineArticles .
Retrieved
December 02, 2007, from http://ezinearticles.com/?id=367022
2 Grabianowski, Ed. How Ninja Work . Howstuffworks. Retrieved December 02, 2007, from http://people.howstuffworks.com/ninja.htm
.
3
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Ninja . Retrieved December 02, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja .
4
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Zen.
Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen .
5 http://www.anniescostumes.com/
6 http://martial-art-supply.secure2u.com/0/7792495.html
7 http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/ninja-12.jpg
8 http://www.gungfu.com/pics-general/pics-apparel/apparel-ninja-gear-a-ashiko-footspikes.jpg
9 http://www.shop-japan.co.jp/shop/jikatabi/kodomo-jikatabi-magic-kuro.jpg
10 http://www.whiteninjacomics.com
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