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Clarkson University to receive $200,000 to promote ‘reflection in learning’

Posted 9/16/14

POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is one of 12 institutions that granted $4.4 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to promote teaching practices that help engineering …

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Clarkson University to receive $200,000 to promote ‘reflection in learning’

Posted

POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is one of 12 institutions that granted $4.4 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to promote teaching practices that help engineering students reflect on their experiences.

Each institution will receive $200,000 over two academic years to fund a principal investigator and other colleagues to carry out the work. Tools and practices developed throughout this initiative will be shared with engineering programs nationwide.

“Reflection, though not always explicitly recognized, is a crucial component of learning and teaching," said Professor John C. Moosbrugger, associate dean of Clarkson's Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering. "We are very excited to be a partner with the University of Washington and the other colleges and universities in documenting, exploring and promoting reflective practices in engineering education.”

Moosbrugger will serve as the grant's principal investigator (PI) at Clarkson. A Clarkson Steering Committee will be made up of co-PIs Assistant Vice President for Diversity Initiatives Warren Andersen, Associate Professor of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering Doug Bohl, Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Jim Carroll, Engineering Instructor Jan DeWaters, Associate Professor of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering Kathleen Issen, Assistant Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Selma Mededovic, Assistant Professor of Physics Michael Ramsdell, and Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Shane Rogers.

This team will organize campus and local/regional activities to promote reflection in engineering education, and produce a campus-specific field guide of reflective practices in engineering education.

"Research increasingly points to reflection as an important activity in achieving these goals," said Jennifer Turns, a consortium co-director and a University of Washington professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering.

Because reflection practices and strategies may vary greatly across schools, the consortium incorporates both associate’s degree-granting and four-year institutions. Each institution brings a distinct perspective on engineering instruction and great enthusiasm for expanding their focus on reflection, leaders said.

The 12-school consortium will involve nearly 250 educators that will collect data on 18,000 student experiences. In the first year, the emphasis is on documenting reflection activities already in use on the campuses and creating support for student reflection. Another key part of the work is for the campuses to learn from each other.