A Case Study of Productive Disciplinary Engagement in a Complex Virtual Engineering Task: Framing and Negotiating Accountability, Authority, and Access to the Discipline

• In Event: Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: STEM Education in K-12 and Higher Education

Abstract

In this study, senior undergraduate students are placed in the role of process development engineers and tasked with optimizing a virtual, industrial process while balancing real-world constraints. This task involves two “coaching sessions" between each student team and the instructor. We examine the role of expansive framing and positioning during coaching sessions on students productive disciplinary engagement, i.e., engagement that activates the use of discourse and practices of engineering while the team moves toward a reasonable solution. We present results from an investigation of the interaction before, during, and after the first coaching session with particular attention to how access to the discipline framed and negotiated during the coaching sessions and how accountability and authority are negotiated throughout the task.

Authors

• Debra May Gilbuena, Oregon State University

• Susan B. Nolen, University of Washington - Seattle

• Milo D Koretsky, Oregon State University