Building dispositions towards models and model-based reasoning in engineering education

This panel will address the challenge of promoting dispositions towards and mastery of model-based reasoning and modeling practices. Free-body, circuit, and multi-unit process diagrams are fundamental engineering tools for transforming poorly articulated and ill-constrained problems into manageable, solvable problems. For engineers in industry or research, free-form sketches commonly inform back-of-the-envelope estimations and calculations, while more formal diagrams and computational models are essential to design decision-making. This panel will explore the cognitive dimensions and learning challenges associated with modeling as a way of engaging and understanding the world. The panel will start with unpacking the cognitive demands/loads associated with transforming a text to a diagram. We will then present research on student modeling across a spectrum of first year courses to capstone design and across three sub-disciplines — biomedicai, chemical and aerospace engineering.