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The Role of Pairing Sustainability with Innovation Driven Learning: Observation on the Application of the Engineering-for-One-Planet Framework Guided by the Renaissance Foundry Model

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Conference

2024 South East Section Meeting

Location

Marietta, Georgia

Publication Date

March 10, 2024

Start Date

March 10, 2024

End Date

March 12, 2024

Page Count

6

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45574

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45574

Download Count

15

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Paper Authors

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Dipendra Wagle Tennessee Technological University

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Dipendra Wagle is currently a doctoral student in Chemical Engineering at the Tennessee Technological University (TNTech). He holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering at TNTech and his dissertation integrates the impact of the Engineering for One Planet Framework on guiding students to incorporate sustainability concepts in the engineering design process using the Renaissance Foundry Model.

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Pedro E. Arce Tennessee Technological University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-9869-9942

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Dr. P. E. Arce is University Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Professor and Past Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at TTU, Cookeville, TN-Currently, he is a co-coordinator of the Grad Engineering Education Task Force of the TTU College of Engineering and the PI of an interdisciplinary NSF-NRT Grant for the transformation of graduate education in STEM.

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Andrea Arce-Trigatti Tallahassee Community College

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Dr. Andrea Arce-Trigatti holds a PhD in Education with a Learning Environments and Educational Studies concentration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research centers on program evaluation, education policy, and critical thinking and collaborative learning strategies. As a founding member of the award-winning Renaissance Foundry Research Group, she has helped to develop and investigate the pedagogical techniques utilized to enhance critical and creative thinking at interdisciplinary interfaces.

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Robby Sanders Tennessee Technological University

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Dr. Robby Sanders is an Associate Professor at Tennessee Technological University (TTU) in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He obtained his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from TTU, and his Master's and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

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Abstract

This contribution investigates how the role of an educational intervention that couples sustainability principles with an innovation-driven learning platform guides students through the development of a Prototype of Innovative Technology (PIT). Specifically, the intervention includes the purposeful pairing of the Engineering-for-One-Planet (EOP) framework with the Renaissance Foundry model (i.e., the Foundry) in an undergraduate chemical engineering course that requires student teams to address societal challenges as learning outcomes. We argue that pairing the EOP framework with the Foundry results in an increase in students' sustainability efforts in the design of their PIT that addresses their identified challenges. The integration of the EOP framework as a structured approach to sustainable design helped student-teams develop prototypes that address societal challenges as part of their formation as a holistically trained professional. In particular, the intentional activities that asked student-teams to leverage the EOP framework as a way of integrating approaches to systems thinking, knowledge and understanding, skills, experiences, and behavior as part of the design processes within Foundry-guided learning experiences were pivotal to enhance this learning environment.

To investigate these pedagogical claims, this study provides a statistical analysis and comparison of the data collected in efforts to magnify the focus on sustainability in this undergraduate chemical engineering coursework. This study’s research design adopts a quantitative approach that leverages a non-parametric test to analyze differences in data collected from the PIT evaluations reflecting two semesters: one prior to, and the other during the EOP framework integration into a Foundry-guided coursework. An overview of this analysis, the efforts of the EOP framework integration, and connections to the Foundry will be provided. Preliminary implications related to holistic engineering education efforts and socially relevant learning will also be presented.

Wagle, D., & Arce, P. E., & Arce-Trigatti, A., & Sanders, R. (2024, March), The Role of Pairing Sustainability with Innovation Driven Learning: Observation on the Application of the Engineering-for-One-Planet Framework Guided by the Renaissance Foundry Model Paper presented at 2024 South East Section Meeting, Marietta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--45574

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