Four Pillars of Engineering Education Reform that Will Attract (and Graduate)...
Over the last few decades, much time and energy has gone toward reform efforts in engineering education. This work has yielded a great deal of insight into the relative effectiveness of different...
View ArticleIntegrating Science, Engineering, Design and Society
By Guest Blogger, Natalie Kuldell I’m a scientist by training so—no big surprise– I’m excited to discover how the living world works. But new to me is just how powerfully students can learn the...
View ArticleFor Men Only: Stories from Our Fathers
I was watching the 1972 movie Young Winston with Robert Shaw, Anne Bancroft, and Simon Ward, and a number of the most powerful scenes were those when young Winston faced the criticism (and approval) of...
View ArticleSilver Medal Universities and Unhappy Faculty
Medalists: Gold, Bronze & Silver As the memory of the London Olympics fades into the rearview mirror, an interesting piece of psychological research gives us a clue to the origins of a certain kind...
View ArticleStudent-Centered versus Student-Led Education
It is increasingly commonplace to hear calls for student-centered education, but increasingly I’ve been thinking that the term doesn’t go far enough and have been using the term student-led learning...
View ArticleMOOCs, Moola, and Love: The 5 Smooches of MOOCs
MOOCs and Moola There was an article in the New York Times about how massive open online courses are popular and not yet profitable (here). To me this is reminiscent of the rush to place newspaper...
View ArticleWhat engineering exams can’t teach you
When I speak with young engineers, as I often do in my work as founder of Engineer Your Life, I notice how focused many are on impressing their new employer and getting a good job. I remember feeling...
View ArticleChange the Conversation: Engineering Awareness in K-12
When compared to other professions, such as medicine or civil service, engineering is largely misunderstood by the general public. Educational research shows that K–12 teachers and students generally...
View ArticleJoy in Engineering: Some real-life data points
Last night I hosted the Big Beacon twitter chat, Joy in Engineering. After introductions to welcome participants from the engineering community (including professional engineers, engineering students...
View ArticleA Whole New Engineer (The Book) is Coming
This week I spent time at Olin College in Needham, MA with my co-author, Mark Somerville, and collaborating writer, Catherine Whitney as we worked toward a first full draft manuscript for a new book,...
View ArticleTwitter chat: Citizen Engineers, Global Engineers and Whole New Engineers
Tonight’s twitter chat topic will be ‘Citizen Engineers, Global Engineers, and Whole New Engineers’. Join us at 8 pm EST on twitter at #BigBeacon to join the conversation. All with interest in...
View ArticleCoaching Engineering Education
Engin Ed(ie): A Troubled Client As a one-on-one leadership coach to academic administrators, faculty, and others, I’ve learned that clients oftentimes struggle with various misalignments in their...
View ArticleTwitter Chat 7/17/2013 – Student Engagement in Communities of Practice
Hi there, Meagan Pollock here, a Big Beacon Ambassador and Leader. What does that mean? It means, as an Ambassador, I am working to increase the awareness and influence of the Big Beacon movement to...
View ArticlePlanning: 2000-Pound Invisible Gorilla of Educational Transformation
Christopher Chabris and Dan Simon have written a popular little book, The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us, and if you’ve never seen the namesake video watch below. As explained...
View ArticleTwitter Chat 2013-11-13, 8 pm: Non-Analytical Engineering Skills
Join Jeff Shelton, co-host of The Engineering Commons podcast, to chat about the skills exhibited by practicing engineers. Join us with your experiences and insights, as we discuss the manner in which...
View ArticleTwitter Chat 2013-12-04, 8 pm:The Ways Technology Can Improve Student...
Topic: The Ways Technology Can Improve Student Engagement and Learning in STEM & Engineering Education Co-Host: Tom Nicknish, Director of Sales & Marketing of Cyber-Anatomy (@CyberAnatomy)...
View ArticleTwitter Chat: Reflections & Goals for Transforming Engineering Education
As we embark on 2014, we at Big Beacon find it prudent to reflect on 2013 and look forward with anticipation to what lies ahead for us in the New Year. In this post, we will reflect on some of 2013’s...
View Article#BigBeacon Twitter Chat: Trust, Courage, and Engineering Education, 22...
Trust, Courage & Engineering Education Join me (@deg511) for a lively #BigBeacon twitter chat on Trust, Courage, and Engineering Education on Wednesday, 22 January 2014 at 8pm ET. This topic is...
View ArticleTwitter Chat: Empathy, Intuition and other Engineering tools
I was recently asked to write an open letter giving some advice to the class of graduating engineers this year. You can check out my whole letter here, but I’ll share a snippet that got me thinking...
View ArticleTwitter Chat: Evolution of Education – Rapid Iteration Teaching
Teaching has been trapped in old, slowly evolving models for hundreds of years now. Suddenly, those models are being completely rethought out on the cutting edge, thanks to recent leaps in technology...
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