13 September 2007
Bagley College of Engineering
Through the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM); the College of Art Architecture and Design; the Bageley College of Engineering; and the College of Forest Resources, Studio Students will participate in Research internships. Dr. Bill Elmore provided the following example of the kind of case based engineering work in which Studio Students will engage.
A group Studio School students might be given an assignment to work as a team of engineers for evaluating a manufacturing process. A sample of “AA” batteries obtained from a “manufacturing line” will be provided with instructions for evaluating their voltage level using the Vernier LabPro system. The student “engineering” team, will measure the voltage of each battery, record data, plot appropriately and calculate several statistical values from which they will make an assessment of the production goals of the battery manufacturing process. Learning objectives in work like this would include students 1) functioning effectively in a team (e.g. all members participating, shared duties, efficient accomplishment of the task), 2) using a “new” technology (i.e. becoming oriented to an unfamiliar piece of equipment when given verbal and visual instructions for its use), 3) taking measurements, recording and plotting data, 4) performing basic statistical calculations, 5) evaluating a manufacturing process on the basis of a sample measurement (e.g. comprehending how the battery sample provided represents a larger process
and how statistical measures can be used to assess whether or not manufacturing goals are being met).
Because of the shared learning environment of SBL and the expectation for learning to occur in the real time and space, a research internship would provide authenticity and purpose to academic work. More ideas and opportunities rich with STEM studies from the Bagley College of Engineering will be developed.