Each semester students in Robert Wicklein’s technological
studies class in UGA’s College of Education are assigned
four real-world problems for which they must create real-world
solutions. And not just solutions on paper. They must research,
design and create real, working technological devices that solve
the problems.
The problem? People in several small communities in the Central
American country of Honduras are experiencing illnesses related
to drinking polluted water. These communities are in a remote
mountainous region where centralized water treatment facilities
and distribution are non-existent. The effects of these illnesses
are cyclical and relate to all types of poverty (mental, monetary,
physical and spiritual).
The solution? If inhabitants of these communities used a small,
portable and sustainable water purification device they could
eliminate many of their problems.
“We researched Honduras and the problems they face in
relation to drinking water and found out there was an epidemic
of cholera there. But with 53 percent of the population below
the poverty line, any solution will have to be inexpensive,”
Mary Lewis told her classmates.
The project is one of four engineering-focused activities that
students must complete in Wicklein’s class titled "Research
and Experimentation in Technological Studies” (ETES 5070/7070),
a course that addresses cognitive and applied approaches to
designing and solving technological problems.
Wicklein’s students not only research their topic, they
use engineering design techniques, laboratory experimentation
and the construction of prototypes or working models of technological
artifacts.
“Students in this class are learning how to solve technological
problems using an engineering design process,” says Wicklein,
an affiliate member of the Faculty of Engineering, a cross-disciplinary
collaboration of faculties from several different disciplines
and departments who work on engineering-related projects. “This
is very different from the experienced-based or trial-and-error
approaches that students normally use when solving problems.
Building the New Learning Environment
The new learning environment is an academic and intellectual
community on the campus of the University of Georgia humming
with the vibrancy of the true college experience—bright
and talented students working with brilliant faculty formally
in the classroom and informally over a cup of coffee or lounging
in the greenspace which stretches from one end of campus to
the other. It is a place which recognizes that new information
technologies are transforming traditional academic disciplines
and embraces those opportunities. |
