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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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PRACTITIONERS' LEADING EDGE APRIL 23 12-1 AT MiRC 102A&B
C21U is hosting The Practitioners Leading Edge Talk Series to highlight some of the most innovative thinkers in the Higher Education space. This talk is given by Professor Amy Pritchett from Aerospace Engineering on “Problem-based learning in a content-intensive large engineering class”. Register online here.
Abstract
This semester, we've experimented with shifting AE3515 "System Dynamics and Automatic Control" to a problem-based learning format. Students were grouped randomly into 10 teams of 12-13 and assigned 4 large problems. "Just-in-time" instruction is used to lecture on topics that students requested and could cogently justify relative to the problem, roughly 1 hour per week. The remaining 3 hours per week are group-meeting times, facilitated by graduate students.
This talk will discuss both the logistical details faced in using such a pedagogy (e.g. the need for multiple facilitators for 4 hours per week versus the assignment of a single 20 hour-per-week TA to the course) and the learning experience of the students. Students in the midst of the course will join in the presentation.
