Professor M. Ala Saadeghvaziri

Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Title: Transition to College: from Students to Scholars

Abstract - Academic and business leaders as well as politicians have challenged colleges and universities to embrace change in order to ensure the viability and affordability of the higher education. Higher education faces many challenges such as high cost and relevancy of a college degree compounded by very poor retention and graduation rates. These challenges are even more pronounced for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Various studies point to the vital need for more STEM professionals; however, fewer than 40% of students who enter college in a STEM field complete a STEM degree. This has significant impact on global economy and growth. In this presentation and paper, I would like to argue for two simple yet fundamental (and diametrically opposing) approaches, which both are quite viable and easy to implement. We also know well that status quote is not an option. We either simply continue to teach and treat them the same way we did in high school or transform higher education through a disruptive change. With regard to the former solution we simply teach, guide, discipline and nurture them the way it was done for their past 12 years: in a structured format or what we may call GPS (Guided Path System). After all, we call high-school and college cohorts both students! The disruptive solution is also simple and we have experienced with pieces of it, albeit in a flawed manner. It requires a transformative change in curriculum and more importantly psychological preparation of college entrants. It includes work on student’s cognitive transformation, direct and immediate (1st day in college), training on independent study, recognition of a professor as facilitator of knowledge & technology transfer and not a teacher, prerequisites reexamination to the point of upside downing the curriculum in many sequences. We need to train them to be scholars and creator of knowledge and not consumer of knowledge. A student in high school attends class and instruction 135 hours for a typical 3-credit course compared to only 45 hours in college. Thus, it is expected that a college students acquire a good part of the knowledge through self-teaching and self-discovery. Implicit in the learning model is that they are seeker (or researcher) of knowledge. This must be recognize and they should be trained for this. Indeed some languages distinctly distinguish between the two – such as in Farsi (Persian) where K-12 is called “Daneh-Amooz” or knowledge taught and in college they are called “Danesh-Joo.”Some English speaking nations also use different names where for example pupil is used for K-12 and student for those who attend university. We need to transform them from students to scholars. We need to create a truly student-centered university where they are trained and learn how to embark on self-discovery and creation of knowledge. This will also ensure their success beyond college as leaders, innovators, and creators. Another need is a fundamental change in “how” we offer the technical/professional subjects by infusing relevancy in a timely manner. I believe the “turn-off” of higher education (especially STEM fields) is that it fails to give students an experience different than high school in its first two years. It operates on “trust me”premise where students are loaded with the same materials as high school and taught (albeit for much shorter length) in the same format with the promise that “one day” they will use all these materials - 60% never see “that day,” and others do not really see the relevancy. Indeed, they graduate and they still do not see that relevancy. This is why one can easily find graduate of certificate programs by the like of Cisco and Microsoft make more than someone with a bachelor degree in computer science from a respected institution. Therefore, we need to revisit the “course-based” approach to education and knowledge delivery. Existing approach was more to address administrative and labor issues than academic ones. As a 1961 report by the Office of Education well describes this condition: “In most colleges and universities we have acted on the assumption that there is not effective learning unless a professor offers a course 'packaged' in quarter or semester units of a given number of hours per week and the student is exposed to direct instruction in the required number of hours. Content must be padded or trimmed down to fit neatly into the credit unit prescribed for a course, and generally speaking, innovations which would disturb the complex schedule of classes are discouraged.”We knew the issue in 1961 and with advances in technology and instant delivery of information and knowledge, this is that much more a critical issue. The presentation will also discuss the outdated concept of semester. A system that has not changed since the American Revolution and was developed on the needs of a nation of farmers must adapt to the age of Information Revolution and address needs of a global workforce and economy! Furthermore, we must recognize the “new traditional student” that is ethnically diverse and on one end includes more adult learners and on the other end millennials and beyond that are more driven by relevancy and instant gratification than degree and “promise you” you will use it one day! This is critical to its survival in order to remain relevant and competitive by engaging, retaining and graduating successful students while retaining the ability and viability to drive innovation and create new knowledge.

Biography - M. Ala Saadegh-Vaziri is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. He joined NJ IT in 1988 as an assistant professor after receiving his BS (with high honors, 1981), MS (1983), and PhD (1988) degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His area of specialization is structural engineering with emphasis on nonlinear response of structures, finite element and computational methods, extreme event engineering (notably seismic and blast loads), multihazard mitigation, and structural applications of composite and renewable materials. He is a member of ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), and is involved with professional service by serving as reviewer for various agencies such as NSF (National Science Foundation) and many Joumal publications and by conducting regional and national workshops and technical sessions. He is currently serving on ASCE’s Bridge Security Committee, and Blast Shock and Vibratory Effect Committee. He is a Program Evaluator (PEV) for ABET; a nonprofit, non-govemmental organization that accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. He is also a registered professional engineer in the state of New Jersey.

Dr. Amir M. Sodagar

Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, York University/ K.N.Toosi University of Technology

عنوان سخنراني: آموزش مهندسي در امتداد زمان و مکان

چکيده سخنراني - در دهه هاي اخير آموزش مهندسي در کشور و نيز در سطح بين المللي دستخوش تحولات و تغييراتي کمّي و کيفي بسياري بوده است. در اين سخنراني ابتدا مروري گذرا بر آنچه در اين مدت رخ داده است خواهيم داشت و سپس به بررسي برخي آفت ها و نقاط ضعف در وضعيت کنوني آموزش مهندسي کشور خواهيم پرداخت. در ادامه، از رهگذر نگاه به برنامه ها و تجربيات بين المللي و نيز با در نظر گرفتن تجربيات و مقتضيات اجرايي موجود در داخل کشور، پيشنهادهايي براي برون رفت از بعضي از مشکلات موجود و نيز ارتقاي کيفيت آموزش ارائه خواهد شد.

بيوگرافي - آقاي دکتر اميرمسعود سوداگر تدريس در دانشگاه ها و موسسات آموزش عالي را در سال 1371 آغاز کرد. وي تا کنون درس هاي متنوع نظري و آزمايشگاهي در دوره هاي کارداني، کارشناسي ناپيوسته و پيوسته، کارشناسي ارشد و دکتري در دانشگاه ها و موسسات آموزش عالي داخل و خارج کشور را تدريس کرده است. در سوابق فعاليت هاي آموزشي او طراحي يک درس جديد در مقطع تحصيلات تکميلي، تاليف دو کتاب درسي به زبان فارسي و يک کتاب درسي به زبان انگليسي، و عضويت در کميته هاي تخصصي آموزشي و بازنگري برنامه هاي آموزشي مقاطع کارشناسي و تحصيلات تکميلي به چشم مي خورد. آقاي دکتر سوداگر عضو انجمن آموزش مهندسي ايران و عضو ارشد موسسه IEEE است.

دکتر محمود مهرمحمدي

برنامه درسي و آموزش - دانشگاه تربيت مدرس

عنوان سخنراني: آموزش پژوهي

چکيده سخنراني

آموزش پژوهي، کارآمدترين و روزآمدترين راهبرد توسعه حرفه ­اي استادان در حوزه آموزشگري در سطح بين­ المللي است. هدف ايجاد يکي ضلع جديد در زندگي حرفه­ اي استاد و نرم­ هاي رفتاري دانشگاه است. آموزش ­هاي معطوف به آموزش پژوهشي، آموزش موردي متعارف و منتزع از زيست آکادميک استاد نيست. تز آموزش پژوهشي، پايدارسازي دغدغه توسعه حرفه­ اي استاد با گشودن يک جبهه پژوهشي ديگر پيش روي اوست. در اين جبهه تدابير ناظر به بهبود کيفيت ياددهي/يادگيري از حيث آثار و نتايج مورد کاوش قرار مي­گيرد. به بيان ديگر استاد يا گروهي از استادان با زير ذره­ بين قرار دادن فعل و انفعالات کلاس درس، دانش فرمال در زمينه آموزش را به خدمت گرفته و آن را به دانش لوکال تبديل مي­کنند. با به اشتراک گذاشتن نتايج حاصله با جامعه علمي، دانش لوکال به دانش پابليک آموزش در رشته تخصصي خود تبديل مي­شود.

بيوگرافي

محمود مهرمحمدي انديشمند و دست‌اندر‌کار آموزش و پرورش در ايران است. او سرپرست پيشين دانشگاه فرهنگيان و عضو شوراي سازمان پژوهش و برنامه‌ريزي آموزشي است. در سال ۱۳۳۷ در يک خانواده مذهبي در جنوب شهر تهران متولد شد. دوران تحصيل ابتدايي را در دبستان علوي گذراند. همچنين بخشي از دوره دبيرستان را نيز در همين مجموعه پشت سر گذاشت. در سال ۱۳۵۵ ديپلم رياضي خود را از دبيرستان جاويدان تهران اخذ کرد و براي ادامه تحصيل عازم آمريکا شد .در کنار تحصيلات، به دليل سوابق و علايق شخصي و خانوادگي جذب انجمن اسلامي دانشجويان ايران و آمريکا شد و بويژه تحت تاثير فضاي انقلابي کشور در فعاليت هاي سياسي انجمن در حمايت از نهضت اسلامي مشارکت داشت. مدرک کارشناسي در سال ۱۳۵۸ و کارشناسي ارشد را در سال ۱۳۶۰ دريافت کرد. با هدف تدارک امکان خدمت بيشتر رشته تحصيلي‌اش از تکنولوژي صنعتي در دوره ليسانس به تکنولوژي آموزشي در کارشناسي ارشد تغيير کرد. چون امکان ادامه تحصيل بي وقفه فراهم نبود به ايران بازگشت و در وزارت علوم به عنوان عضو هيات علمي استخدام شد. در سال ۱۳۶۴ با استفاده از بورس تحصيلي به آمريکا بازگشت تا تحصيلاتش در علوم تربيتي، برنامه ريزي درسي، را در سطح دکتري دنبال نمايد. در سال ۱۳۶۷ موفق شد مدرک دکتري خود را از دانشگاه کاليفرنياي جنوبي دريافت نمايد و به وطن مراجعت کند. در مراجعت همزمان با تدريس در دانشگاه ها به سمت رئيس مرکز برنامه ريزي آموزشي در وزارت علوم منصوب شد. او در سال ۱۳۶۸ به دعوت وزير وقت آموزش و پرورش به اين وزارتخانه مامور شد و امور پژوهشي در دستگاه تعليم و تربيت کشور را سامان تازه اي بخشيد. در سال ۱۳۷۶ به دانشگاه تربيت مدرس منتقل شد و تا سال ۱۳۹۶ به مدت ۲۰ سال در گروه تعليم و تربيت به تربيت دانشجو در دوره دکتري پرداخت. در فاصله سال هاي ۱۳۹۲ تا ۱۳۹۶ نيز همزمان مسئوليت دانشگاه تازه تاسيس فرهنگيان را بر عهده داشت. دکتر مهرمحمدي پس از اتمام دوره مديريت در دانشگاه فرهنگيان تصميم گرفت با درجه استاد تمام پايه ۳۸ درخواست بازنشستگي نمايد.

Dr. Cecilia Ka Yuk Chan

Founding President of The Asian Society for Engineering Education (AsiaSEE)

Head of Professional Development, The University of Hong Kong

Title: Assessing the “hidden” learning outcomes (generic competencies) in Engineering Education

Abstract - Knowledge economy highlighted the need to incorporate both academic knowledge and generic competencies in education and society. With academic knowledge, the intended learning outcomes are written out at large and are easily recognizable, but with generic competencies, the problem of “which outcomes to measure and how to measure them?” (Male and Chapman, 2005) arise. For example, in a capstone project, apart from the theory to applied knowledge, what are the generic competencies develop and do we actually assess them separately? Most countries have adopted an outcomes-based system across all levels of their education system, in a system where only one set of outcomes (the academic knowledge outcomes) is known, and the outcomes from the generic competencies set are not clear, it becomes very difficult to assess given that “constructive alignment” and “clear criteria and grade descriptors” are expected. This challenge in assessment can be a major barrier in education especially in engineering where students and teachers are both more receptive to traditional academic learning and assessment approaches.

In this keynote, I will present the challenges and provide solutions from evidence-based model and process on how Hong Kong and many countries around the world are assessing these “hidden” learning outcomes in engineering education.

Biography - Dr. Cecilia Chan is the Head of Professional Development and an Associate Professor in the Centre of the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Cecilia has a dual cultural background; she was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Ireland. In addition to her dual cultural background, she also has a dual discipline expertise in engineering and education; she has been playing a key role in enhancing engineering, and science education as well as teaching and learning in higher education. Her combined expertise in these fields and multi-cultural experience enabled her to lead and conduct research on topics such as assessment and feedback, experiential learning, technology enhanced learning and the development and assessment of 21st century skills spanning in education from east to west.

Dr. Chan also has substantial experience in holistic competency development and assessment in higher education and has been researching in this area for over ten years. She has developed a framework to assist teachers to integrate competency into the university curriculum and is also researching in approaches to assess these competencies.

Her work is being recognized in many parts of Asia. She has been invited as keynote speaker and panel speaker to many international educational conferences in Korea, Singapore, United States, Estonia, United Kingdom, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia and Switzerland on teaching, learning and the assessment of generic competency including the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Cecilia holds a PhD in Engineering from Trinity College, a postgraduate diploma and a MA in Higher Education. She also held a Fellowship from King’s College London. Dr. Chan is involved in over 40 research/projects worldwide and was awarded the University of Hong Kong’s Young Outstanding Researcher Award. She is the Chair for the Engineering Education Community in Hong Kong and the Founding President for the ASIA Engineering Education Network (AsiaSEE).

More information can be found in the Teaching and Learning Enhancement and Research Group (TLERG) website: http://tlerg.cetl.hku.hk/

دکتر علي حائريان

مهندسي متالورژي و مواد - دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد/دانشگاه صنعتي سجاد

عنوان سخنراني: گذار از کميت به کيفيت در آموزش عالي

چکيده سخنراني

· ارائه آمار دانشجويان شاغل به تحصيل در بازه زماني 40 ساله­ ي اخير؛

· ارائه آمار داوطلبان مايل به تحصيل در بازه­ زماني 40 ساله ­ي اخير و کاهش علاقه به تحصيل؛

· جابجايي تمايل دانشجويان از تحصيل در رشته­ هاي مهندسي به ساير رشته ­ها؛

· نياز به بازنگري محتواي دروس مهندسي براي بالا بردن گرايش داوطلبان به رشته ­هاي مهندسي؛

· بررسي جايگاه دانشکده­ هاي مهندسي در توليد ثروت ملي در دنيا و ايران و لزوم بازنگري محتواي دروس مهندسي براي ارتقاي اين جايگاه؛

· کمي ­گرايي وکيفي­ گرايي در انتشارات دانشگاهي در رشته­ هاي مهندسي؛ و بالاخره

· رسالت ملي ما.

بيوگرافي

تولد : ‌12 مهر 1325، اردكان

تحصيلات:

ليسانس : مهندسي پالايشگاه، دانشكده نفت، آبادان 1348

فوق ليسانس: مهندسي توليد، دانشگاه استرث‌كلايد، گلاسگو، انگلستان 1352

دكترا: مهندسي متالورژي، دانشگاه استرث‌كلايد، گلاسگو، انگلستان 1355

مرتبه‌ علمي:

استاد گروه مهندسي مواد و متالورژي، دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد 1372-1385

سابقه‌ آموزش:

تدريس دروس علم مواد، مقاومت مصالح، طراحي مهندسي، كنترل كيفيت در مهندسي، متالورژي پودر،‌ آزمون ‌هاي غير مخرب، انتخاب مواد مهندسي و مواد دنداني در سطوح كارشناسي، كارشناسي ارشد و دكترا

سابقه‌ پژوهش:

مقالات علمي: انتشار 26 مقاله در نشريات بين المللي و 25 مقاله در نشريات فارسي در زمينه­ هاي مديريت، متالورژي و مواد

كنفرانس‌ ها: شركت در 15 كنفرانس بين‌ المللي و 12 كنفرانس داخلي

کتاب: ترجمه 52 جلد کتاب در زمينه ­هاي مهندسي مواد و مکانيک (برنده 14 جايزه شامل: 3 جايزه کتاب سال جمهوري اسلامي ايران، 3 جايزه کتاب فني دانشگاه صنعتي اميرکبير، 8 جايزه کتاب جشنواره فردوسي

طرح هاي پژوهشي: طرح­ هاي ملي و صنعتي در دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد، سازمان صنايع خراسان و وزارت معادن و فلزات

سمت ‌هاي اجرايي:

مدير گروه مهندسي مكانيك دانشكده مهندسي دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد 56-1355 و 65-1364

رئيس دانشكده‌ مهندسي دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد 1359- 1356 و 1368- 1365

بنيان­ گذار و مدير مسئول نشريه دانشکده مهندسي دانشگاه فردوسي از سال 1363

عضو هيأت تحريريه مجله Scientia Iranica از سال 1370 تا 1384

مدير صنايع متالورژي منطقه‌ي آزاد قشم 1372- 1370

مدير استاندارد و تحقيقات منطقه‌ي آزاد قشم 1377- 1372

عضو هيأت امنا و هيأت موسس دانشگاه صنعتي سجاد از 1376 تاکنون

معاون پژوهشي دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد 1382- 1377

عضو وابسته‌ ي گروه معدن و مواد فرهنگستان علوم جمهوري اسلامي ايران از 1382 تاکنون

عضو هيأت داوران جشنواره‌ي خوارزمي 1383 - 1381

عضو هيأت امناي دانشگاه‌ هاي شمال شرق كشور 1384- 1378

عضو هيأت مميزه ‌ي دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد 1385 – 1372 و 1394 تاکنون

رئيس دانشگاه صنعتي سجاد از 1385 تاکنون

عضو شوراي فناوري مرکز رشد جامع پارک علم و فناوري خراسان از سال 1387 تاکنون

بنيان­گذار و عضو هيات تحريريه مجله بين­ المللي مهندسي از سال 1388 تاکنون

دبير اجرايي مجله بين ­المللي مهندسي ايران از سال 1390 تاکنون

عضو شوراي پژوهشي شرکت گاز استان خراسان رضوي از سال 1391 تاکنون

مدير مسئول نشريه مهندسي متالورژي و مواد دانشگاه فردوسي مشهد از سال 1392 تاکنون

عضو هيأت تحريريه نشريه مهندسي متالورژي و مواد دانشگاه فردوسي از سال 1392 تا کنون

عضو شوراي مرکزي آثار مفاخر و اسناد دانشگاه فردوسي از سال 1393 تا کنون

عضو هيأت امناي دانشگاه خيام از سال 1393 تا کنون

عضو شوراي عالي برنامه ريزي وزارت علوم، تحقيقات و فناوري از سال 1393 تاکنون

عضو کميته نظارت بر طرح ­هاي پژوهشي استان از سال 1393 تاکنون (استانداري خراسان رضوي)

رئيس دوازدهمين دوره همايش علمي دانشجويي مهندسي مواد سال 1394

عضو هيأت امناي موسسه آموزش عالي حکيم طوس از سال 1394 تا کنون

رئيس سومين کنفرانس بهينه ­سازي مصرف انرژي 1395 دانشگاه صنعتي سجاد

عضو هيأت نظارت بر عملکرد هيأت مميزه موسسات از ابتداي سال 1396 تا کنون

عضو انجمن انرژي بادي ايران از سال 1396 تاکنون

رئيس دهمين کنفرانس مهندسي مواد و متالورژي ايران، 1385

عضو کميسيون شوراي گسترش و برنامه­ ريزي آموزش عالي از سال 1397 تاکنون

عضو کميته مشورتي ساماندهي موسسات آموزش عالي غيردولتي- غيرانتفاعي از سال 1397 تاکنون

Dr. Asad Azemi

Engineering, Penn State University Electrical

Tilte: Benefits of Teaching Systems Thinking and Engineering Systems Design as part of an Engineering Curriculum

Abstract - The call to include systems thinking (ST) and systems engineering (SE) courses as part of general engineering curriculum has received an increased amount of attention during the past few years.  The need to improve the skills of all engineering students to help them deal with realistic, unbounded and complex problems, in a multidisciplinary environment that would produce viable and robust solutions, along with new ABET criteria has also helped this call.   In this talk, I will present the role and importance of systems thinking and its relation to innovation and engineering design and the supporting arguments to include one or more courses in systems thinking and engineering design as part of an engineering curriculum.  This is done by identifying key common requirements between innovation and systems thinking.  Including these courses will also enhance professional skills and directly impact several "student outcomes" requirement under ABET.

Biography - Asad Azemi is an associate professor of engineering at Penn State University with more than twenty-five years of experience and significant involvement and interest in undergraduate and graduate engineering education. His professional interests include dynamical systems and signal modeling, estimation, and computational analysis, and use of computers and related technologies in undergraduate and graduate education to improve and enhance teaching and learning. His teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate-level courses in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, information sciences and technology, robotics, mathematics, and systems engineering. He has extensive pedagogical knowledge, with emphasis on teaching and learning, and experience with supporting each via next-generation technology, such as flexible delivery and synchronous online education. He has been involved in the course and curriculum design for two new undergraduate programs at Penn State, and a graduate engineering program with several online and hybrid courses. He has broad experience in program evaluation and learning outcomes assessment, and as an advocate for continuous improvement considers assessment as a vehicle for improving education. His current pedagogical research is focused on the relationship between systems thinking, innovation, and engineering design.