The Emotional Rescue of Engineering Education

© David E. Goldberg 2010

The Emotional Rescueof Engineering EducationDavid E. Goldberg Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 [email protected]; www.ifoundry.illinois.edu

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ifoundry.illinois.edu/


Working Out One Day

• Wondering what to call my talk.• Emotional Rescue came on.• Tell story about the evolution of the

Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (iFoundry)

• Story begins in typical rational engineering fashion.

• Ends with a punch line that could have been written by Sir Mick.

• Student engagement and emotion as undervalued transformational design variables.

Sir Mick Jagger (b. 1943)


Roadmap

• A postmodern beginning: Once upon a blogpost.• Why can’t we change? A NIMBY problem and the

iFoundry curriculum/programmatic incubator. • What should we change? An answer from Athens.• Finding an aspirational target in Needham, MA.• 73 freshmen last fall.• A surprise in October.• Switch: The rider, the elephant, and the path.

Once Upon a Blog Post

• Wrote a blog post on 24 May 2006 at www.entrepreneurialengineer.blogspot.com .

• Wondered why not a philosophy of engineering like philosophy of science?

• Response from the UK.• Pointer to a National Academy of Engineering

committee.• Led to 4 things:

– Meetings on Philosophy & Engineering (WPE-2007, WPE-2008, fPET-2010).

– Lecture series: Engineering and Technology Studies at Illinois (ETSI).

– Workshop on the Engineer of the Future.– Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering

Education (iFoundry).


http://www.entrepreneurialengineer.blogspot.com/

Why Can’t We Change? A NIMBY Problem

• Academic change is a NIMBY problem.

• NIMBY = Not in my backyard.• “Reform is fine…”• “….as long as you don’t change

my course.”• Politics of logrolling: You

support my not changing. I support your not changing.

• Even when agreement for change is acknowledged, almost all specific changes are resisted.


NIMBY = Not in my backyard

iFoundry: A Pilot Incubator for Change

• Starting point: Organizational redesign.• iFoundry = Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education:

– Separate pilot unit/incubator. Permit change.– Collaboration. Large, key ugrad programs work together. Easier approval if

shared. – Connections. Hook to depts, NAE, ABET (?), industry. – Volunteers. Enthusiasm for change among participants. – Existing authority. Use signatory authority for modification of curricula for

immediate pilot. – Respect faculty governance. Get pilot permission from the dept. and go

back to faculty for vote after pilot change– Assessment. Built-in assessment to overcome objections back home. – Scalability. Past attempts at change like Olin fail to scale at UIUC and other

big schools.

6 © David E. Goldberg 2010

Myth: The Basics of Engineering Settled

• “The basics” = math, science, and engineering science.• Reflections on 20 years in industry-sponsored senior

design.• After 4 years students don’t know how to– Question: Socrates 101.– Label: Aristotle 101.– Model conceptually: Hume 101 & Aristotle 102.– Decompose: Descartes 101.– Measure: Bacon-Locke 101.– Visualize/draw: da Vinci-Monge 101.– Communicate: Newman 101

• Call these the missing basics (MBs).• Fundamental to engineering, organizational prowess, and

lifelong learning.Socrates (470-399 BC)

7 © David E. Goldberg 2010


The Olin Effect as Educational Target

• Went to Franklin W. Olin College first time February 2008.

• A moving experience: Talked to freshmen during heat-sink measurements.– Pride in design-build

prowess: Engineering identity.

– Confidence.– Assertion of personal

aspirations & initiative.• Envisioned distant day when we

got “Olin effect” at Illinois.

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

JoyAspiration

Choice Identity

Illinois Engineering Freshman Experience

(iEFX)


Fa09 & iLaunch: The Students are Coming• 22 August 2009 was iLaunch.• 110 admitted, 93 accepted,

88 came to campus, 73 still in program.

• iLaunch signaled different kind of program.– 3 Joys: Joy of engineering,

community & learning.– Unified by the missing

basics.– Within student-run

community of learners: iCommunity.

• But it wasn’t all smooth.

iStudents on Allerton low ropes course


Bumps, Confusion, then Demos & iCheckpoint

• Students: What do you want us to do?

• iFoundry staff: Don’t know. What do you want to do?

• Then steam engines worked. • iCheckpoint held.• Something seemed to click.• Jaime Kelleher: “Wasn’t sure you

were serious about us doing what we wanted to do, but then realized you were, and it was very cool.”


AAAs: Aspirationally Assertive Acts

• Students started to assert themselves as free men and women and as engineers:– 6 students go to NextGen conference.– 3 students apply and get accepted to

TEC Silicon Valley trip.– Student rearranges finals to go to

Indonesia with NUS students.– Student networks with Cory Levy to get

VC interview in Colorado.– 8 students visited Skidmore, Owings, &

Merrill.– Student starts passionate pursuits

brown-bag series.– Student invites IDEO lecturer to

campus.• Anecdotes confirmed in ongoing

assessment efforts.

Jaime Kelleher in Indonesia


Students Speak: The Experience is Working

• November 11th survey, First two weeks versus now.

• Agree & strongly agree (n = 51):

• Student words:– “Sure I made the right career

choice.” – “I might not like my future co-

workers, but I’ll love my job.”– “Making me more confident in

my decision to be an engineer.” – “I’m definitely more

entrepreneurial.” – “I think I feel more comfortable

being an engineer.” – “Just an overall all-rounded

engineer, not just a technician. A human, not just a problem solver.”

– “The future looks brighter thanks to iFoundry.”


The Olin Effect at Illinois!

• But how?– Didn’t change the whole

curriculum.– Didn’t build new buildings.– Didn’t remake the

classrooms.– Didn’t overhaul the teaching

or teachers.• Did one-hour course +

iCommunity? Seems like too little.

Olin Effect at Illinois


The Elephant, the Rider, and the Path

• Chip & Dan Heath have new book: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.

• Invoke tripartite model of change:– Motivate the Elephant (emotions), – Guide the Rider (rational thought), – Shape the Path

(institutional/organizational setting).• Emotions as primary design focus.• iFoundry model corresponds:

organizational change, conceptual change, and aspirational change.


8 Things Working

• We motivated the elephant (E), guided the rider (R), and shaped the path (P):– Transition (P). Met expectations in transition (iLaunch).– Passion (E). Appealed to passion (3 joys: engineering, community, learning).– Aspiration (E). Respected aspirations & choices (iTeam themes).– Thought (R). Built qualitative thinking skills (Roam + missing basics + HAPI).– Community & human behavior (P). Insisted on working together (iTeams &

iCommunity).– Trust & Initiative (E & P). Trusted student initiative (provided rules & structure, but

not instructions).– Inner builder (E). Unleashed inner builder & engineering identity (Steam engine &

μcontroller).– Begin with end in mind (P). Began with the end in mind (world of work and iCOAs).

• Chemo game story: Emotional variables most important in motivation.• Bottom line: Creates new level of student confidence, initiative, and engineering &

Illinois identity early in career.



Next Steps

• Moving from iFoundry to College as iEFX: Illinois Engineering Freshmen Experience.

• Scale up: 73300 of 1300 freshmen, Fa10.• Add iAAs (iTeam alumni advisors) to teams: Alumni

experience begins in the iCommunity.• Piloting courses for 2nd year now: UOCD, FBE, others.• Hold Engineer of the Future 3.0: Unleashing Student

Engagement, 14-15 November 2010, student-run summit.

Bottom Line

• iFoundry pilot a interesting & is being scaled up.

• Big jump in student confidence, initiative, and engineering identity Olin effect at Illinois.

• Used literature, theory to design, but was surprised by magnitude of student response.

• Engineering training overvalues the rational.

• Emotional design variables hugely important & need to incorporate them in our transformation efforts.


“I'll be your savior, steadfast and true, I'll come to your emotional rescue.”


Acknowledgments

• Autodesk• HP• IBM• Motorola• National Science Foundation (US)• Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill• Severns Family Foundation


Contacts & Information

• DEG: [email protected]• Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (

www.ifoundry.illinois.edu)• 2 meetings:– Engineer of the Future 3.0: Unleashing Student

Engagement, 14-15 November 2010, UIUC, www.apie2.org – Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology, 9-10 May

2010 (Sunday Eve-Monday), Colorado School of Mines, www.philengtech.org

• This powerpoint and other reflections at www.slideshare.net/deg511

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ifoundry.illinois.edu/

http://www.apie2.org/

http://www.philengtech.org/

http://www.philengtech.org/

http://www.slideshare.net/deg511

http://www.slideshare.net/deg511

The Emotional Rescue of Engineering Education

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