Upcoming Presentation about Authentic Learning in Engineering Design

Don’t miss this event on February 27 from 3:00 – 4:00 in Rubenstein 349! The speaker Professor Robert Fleisig from McMaster University will present strategies for organizing team-based, real-world, engineering design projects.

students building prototypeThe IMPACT project is a community-engaging, authentic learning experience for first-year engineering students, undergraduate biology students, and graduate-level occupational therapy students. Together, the students, staff, and faculty work with local disabled community members to identify problem areas and then collaboratively design devices to meet the clients’ needs.

The final event of the project is a public showcase and competition to pick a best design and prototype to be given to the community members. One of the requirements is that the team members use an electronic portfolio to capture the design, planning, and learning process of this project.

Professor Fleisig will speak about the strategies and methods used to organize the disparate groups and schedules and methods used to capture the students’ work electronically. Plus, he will discuss the effectiveness of the project for the students who have participated. He will also touch on the use of portfolios in a graduate engineering design course from the Fall semester and share what students created.