Search

Your search keyword '"Rehmat, Abeera P."' showing total 4 results
Start Over Author "Rehmat, Abeera P." Topic engineering design
4 results on '"Rehmat, Abeera P."'

1. Examining an Evolving Biologically Inspired Design Professional Learning Environment through Conjecture Mapping and Design-Based Research.

Author

Rehmat, Abeera P., Towner, Alexandra A., Alemdar, Meltem, Helms, Michael E., Rosen, Jeffrey H., Moore, Roxanne A., and Weissburg, Marc J.

Subjects
*PROFESSIONAL employee training, *TEACHER development, *CLASSROOM environment, *ENGINEERING teachers, *ENGINEERING design
Abstract

Biologically inspired design (BID) in engineering is a convergent, systematic approach that uses analogies from biological organisms to develop solutions for human engineering and design problems. Based on outcomes from prior studies of integrating BID in higher education, incorporating BID into pre-college education is a logical evolution. For effective BID instruction of these convergent concepts in pre-college education, teachers need to be well-equipped with biological, engineering, and pedagogical knowledge, both in general and those unique to the convergent, still evolving discipline. In this paper, we investigate the Professional Learning (professional learning) environment designed to foster engineering teachers' understanding of BID integration in engineering and to determine to what extent the evolving professional learning environment fostered engineering teachers' conceptual knowledge of BID across the three-year project. This design study applies conjecture mapping with design-based research (DBR) to examine a professional learning environment that changed over three summers and its impact on teachers' conceptual understanding of BID integration in engineering. The analysis indicates that a combination of experiential and informal learning experiences along with engagement in a formal design challenge promoted teacher enthusiasm and a conceptual understanding of BID across the three years. Professional learning fostered teachers' understanding of BID integration in engineering and enabled them to integrate BID into their engineering teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
Full Text
View/download PDF

3. Biologically Inspired Design for Engineering Education: A Multiple Year Evaluation of Teachers' Professional Learning Experiences (Evaluation).

Author

Rehmat, Abeera P., Towner, Alexandra A., Alemdar, Meltem, Moore, Roxanne, Helms, Michael, Rosen, Jeffrey H., and Varnedoe, Julia

Subjects
*ENGINEERING teachers, *ENGINEERING education, *PROFESSIONAL learning communities, *ENGINEERING design, *SCHOOL districts
Abstract

This evaluation paper focuses on how high school engineering teachers' professional learning experiences advance their understanding of bio-inspired design integration into engineering as a result of the professional learning environment. Participants included engineering teachers from local school districts, who participated in professional learning (PL) in the summer of 2020 and summer of 2021. Design-based research (DBR) methodology guided the development and refinement of the PL experiences across the two summers, and conjecture maps were developed to reflect our high-level conjectures (overall goals of the PL), the embodiment of the learning design (the PL experience), the mediating processes, and the outcomes associated with the PL. The findings illustrate that during the 2020 PL, teachers' overall experiential learning promoted exploration fostering conceptual understanding of BID integration into engineering. However, the specifics of drawing inspiration from nature, such as identifying structure, function, and mechanism (SFM) of biological entities were points of confusion. Challenges were potentially compounded by the virtual PL learning environment, which negatively impacted teachers due to lack of personal interaction and limited hands-on activities. Comparatively, the 2021 PL offered an experientially more enjoyable hybrid platform, through which teachers were able to master detailed SFM analysis. However, due to the emphasis on SFM and specific curriculum activities, the guiding theme that biology can serve as inspiration for engineering design was diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2022

Catalog

Books, media, physical & digital resources
See catalog results