The Iron Range Engineering Model: Project-based Learning for Technical, Professional & Design Competencies

Rebecca Bates, PhDEngineering the Future

NSF PEEC Workshop2 August 2012

Learning engineering by doing engineering

• Students drive their own degree• Students decide:– What they learn– When they learn– How they learn

• Students earn a B.S. in Engineering

Characteristics

• +2 program: 3rd and 4th year engineering students

• 100% Project-based Learning• Strong industry partnerships driving projects• Entrepreneurship and leadership are included in

our student outcomes.• Eligible for NSF S-STEM MAX Scholarship• Housed in the Department of Integrated

Engineering

Overview

• History• Curriculum• Pedagogy

• Industry partnerships

True partnerships

ITASCA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

First students in 2013First graduates in December 2011

Tribal Colleges with STEM programs in MNCurrent partners

General Education

23 cr.

Lower DivisionENGR13 cr.

Upper Division

PBL60 cr.

Math and

Science32 cr.

B.S.ENGR128 cr.

• Required for entry to upper division– Calculus 1 (4 cr.)– Calculus 2 (4 cr.)– Calculus 3 (4 cr.)– Differential Eq. (4 cr.)– Physics 1 (4 cr.)– Physics 2 (4 cr.)– Chemistry 1 (4 cr.)

• Required, but may be taken during upper division– Biology 1 or Chemistry 2 or

Physics 3 (4 cr.)

Math and

Science32 cr.

*ABET Requirement – 32 credits calculus and laboratory based science

• Typically taken prior to upper division (1-2 courses may be taken during upper division)– Communication (7 cr.)

• First Year Composition• Speech or Technical Writing or Composition 2 or equivalent

– Micro or Macro Economics (3 cr.)– Humanities (minimum of 9 cr.)– Social Sciences (minimum of 6 cr.)* Humanities and Social Sciences must total 16 credits* For breadth two courses from above must be in same department* Student must meet University diversity (purple and gold) requirements

Math and

Science32 cr.

*Replicate of Electrical, Civil, and Mechanical Engineering; meets university graduation requirements

General ED

23 cr.

• Taken prior to admission to upper division– Engineering Mechanics: Statics (3 cr.)– Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics (3 cr.)– Electrical Circuits (4 cr.)– Introduction to Engineering Design and Engineering Graphics (3 cr.)

This requirement can be flexible, based on local offerings.

Math and

Science32 cr.

*Typical lower division engineering course requirement: these serve as the foundational knowledge for the upper division technical core competencies.

General ED

23 cr.

Lower DivisionENGR13 cr.

Technical Competencies (32 cr.)• Mechanical Core (8 cr.)• Electrical Core (8 cr.)• Advanced Technical (16 cr.)*“Mechanical Emphasis” if 12 of advanced credits are directly related to mechanical engineering* “Electrical Emphasis” if 12 of advanced credits are directly related to electrical engineering

Professional and Design Competencies (28 cr.)

• Engineering Project Design (12 cr.)• Professional Development (12 cr)• Contemporary Issues Seminar (4

cr.)* 7 credits per semester (3 cr. Design, 3 cr. Professional, 1 cr. Seminar)* These are the credits students earn while executing the client sponsored projects in “project based learning”

Math and

Science32 cr.

* 15 credits per semester for four semesters. Technical credits are the math, science, and engineering theory needed to be an engineer (ABET outcomes: a,e, and k) . Professional and Design encompass the wide range of communication, ethics, leadership, learning, and contextual competencies needed to practice engineering (ABET outcomes: b,c,d,f,g,h,i, and j).

Upper Division

PBL60 cr.

Mechanical Core

• Properties• Material Science• Mechanics of Materials• Advanced Statics• Advanced Dynamics• Thermodynamics• Fluid Mechanics• Heat Transfer

Electrical Core

• AC Circuits• Instrumentation• 3-phase AC• Electromagnetics• Electronics• Digital logic• Electric Machines• Signals & Systems

Professional & Design Competencies

• Scoping• Ideation• Design Decisions•Modeling• Prototyping• Testing• Contextualization• Solution Realization• Etc……

• Leadership• Learning• Teamwork• Communication • Professionalism• Personal Responsibility•More…….

Project Cycle

IRE Model

Design Work Professional Growth

Technical Learning

Scoping

Needed Early to

Complete Design

Final Revie

w

Etc.

Outcome of Learning as a Result of Design

Work

Communication

Metacognition

Ethics

Contemporary Issues

Professional Responsibility

Leadership

Week 1

Week 16

A day in the life…

• 4 hours working on project• 3 hours learning more

engineering • 1 hour being a responsible

IRE citizen• 2-3 hours of homework –

organization and regulation of the learning

A week in the life…

• Design Review• Learning Review• Industry Interaction• Visiting Lunch Speaker• Learning About Learning• Student Life Activity• Exams

Projects: Connected to industry

• Blandin• Minnesota Power• United Taconite• Hibbing Taconite• Medtronic • General Electric• Design Wise Medical• Terex• And more…

Sample Spring 2011 Projects• Company: Delta T Delta S SliderDescription: An entrepreneurial project to design and market a camera

slider aimed at hobby level video enthusiasts.• Company: Design Wise Medical (Non-profit pediatric medical device company)• Description: Students are working to develop a noninvasive method to deliver oxygen to children as they

sleep. They will produce is a tracking system to say where oxygen needs to be delivered.• Company: Hibbing Taconite CompanyDescription: Students are developing a high flow fluids system, with

structural, and workplace design components, followed by a detailed economic analysis. • Company: MN PowerDescription: Students will be designing a heating system for the fuels storage and

process buildings at Minnesota Power's Clay Boswell plant, evaluating using waste energy from the power plant.

• Company: TerexDescription: The goal of the Terex project group is to design and construct two sound dampening booths for the end of the Terex assembly line where quality testing is done.

• Company: TesGenDescription: As a continuation and further development of an entrepreneurial project, the team will refine the design and determine feasibility for a small, lightweight, portable power generator.

• Company: Venari Trap SystemsDescription: Team members will be learning programming, electronics, and positioning technologies as well as business. Team members will be designing an autonomous triggering system for a clay pigeon trap based on relative position of a "hunter" to the trap.

A Student ReflectionAt the heart of IRE are industry-driven engineering projects; this semester, our group's industry partner was DesignWise Medical, a non-profit pediatric medical devices company. Compared to working on an internal IRE project, this experience has been much different on many levels. First, I felt a greater obligation to work on the project, because the project is real. In this case, delivering a sub par product would have meant letting down a non-profit company with the goal of improving the quality of life for children. Second, it became obvious whenever we fell behind on our work. Since the client was 200 miles away from us, our group met with the client weekly via teleconference. Long silences during these meetings were a sign that we had not made significant progress that week, and that we would need to change our work habits for the following week. And third, getting client feedback throughout the entire design process gave us a clear sense of what the client expected and forced us to reconsider our decisions. For example, we had initially dismissed one of our options, but then the client requested that we further pursue the option. This option later became part of our final recommendation. All in all, it has been a great experience and I look forward to future projects of this type!

Growing Areas

• Continued assessment• Propagation of the partnership PBL model• Faculty development & training: How do we

teach this way when we didn’t learn this way?

Successes

• 22 graduates– 2 headed to graduate school– 19 employed– 1 starting his search this fall

• 2011 Minnesota Cup winners• Active research engagement• ABET accreditation visit scheduled: Oct. 2012

Questions?

• More information and applications: http://ire.mnscu.edu & http://cset.mnsu.edu/ie

• Student and faculty blog: http://irengineering.blogspot.com

• Becky Batesbates@mnsu.edu507-389-5587