Faculty Directions, Fall 2003 - Determining Where to Use Laptops in an Introductory Determinististic Operations Research Course
Mary Beth Kurz and S.A. LongDepartment of Industrial Engineering
Fall 2002, S. A. Long, a senior in industrial engineering, began an honors thesis focused on how to integrate laptop usage into a department course, IE 380, Introduction to Deterministic Operations Research, under the guidance of IE Prof. Mary Beth Kurz. (This course has since been renumbered as IE 280). As taught at Clemson University, the course has the following goals: To introduce basic deterministic mathematical models and common optimization procedures for resolving them and to provide experience in modeling such systems and in applying fundamental optimization algorithms. This course had already been structured into seven topical units that basically incorporated lectures, homework assignments and exams for each.
In teaching this course, Kurz wanted to incorporate the student use of computers, specifically laptops. This course will be offered as a laptop course for the first time in Spring 2004 (which is the next time it will be offered). Moreover, Kurz wanted to use a rational procedure to determine where in the course the laptops should be included. Long's thesis provides the basis for a methodology that can be used to help rationally decide when laptops may be effective.
There are two central tenets that inform the thesis. First, we believe that active learning and mastery learning are tied together and preferable to passive learning and an exposure approach to teaching. Second, the appropriate use of technology in the classroom can help students engage in active learning-the key word is appropriate; many students and instructors alike observe that the use of PowerPoint in the classroom can result in extremely passive learning on the part of the students. So, then, how can a course designer determine how to use technology in the classroom?
We look to Bloom's taxonomy (see for example, P.C. Wankat and F.S. Oreovicz, Teaching Engineering, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993 for a concise description) to provide guidance for the appropriate use of technology. Bloom's taxonomy deals with the cognitive domain of the student, with six major divisions that are hierarchical, from "knowledge" (recitation of facts) through "application" (applying known laws to specific problems) to "evaluation" (using criteria to determine the quality of a solution). Once the content of a course or smaller section, such as a unit, is known, a course designer determines the level of knowledge, framed in terms of Bloom's taxonomy, that is desired for each topic in the unit. We believe that the higher the level of knowledge desired, the more appropriate the use of technology in the classroom to enhance active, mastery learning.
Long's thesis contains the first attempt to align the course units and topical content with Bloom's taxonomy and then determine a set of topics that should utilize laptops in the course. For illustration, we consider one of the most important elements the students should learn in the course, solving linear programming (LP) models using optimization software. To formulate an LP, students need to interpret a situation, determine a good set of decision variables (the levels of activities that can be undertaken) and create equations to represent constraints and an objective to be optimized. Once an LP has been formulated, software is generally used to find the answer (the level of the activities that will result in the best value for the objective function). In IE 380, we have generally used mathematical programming language (MPL). Teaching the students to use MPL requires that they be able to apply (the 3rd Bloom's level) their knowledge of the syntax and the application itself. To provide more experience in using MPL, a classroom laptop activity can be structured.
Classroom Laptop Activity
Students should be positioned so that they can interact with their neighbors. The instructor presents a problem to the class and controls a class discussion to gather the decision variables, objective, constraints, and sign restrictions. The instructor then shows the students how to open MPL on their laptops. The instructor briefly explains how MPL works, that is, some of the basic logic behind working with the specific language. The instructor then inputs the linear program that was earlier discussed in class while explaining what each entry in the window means. Then, the students work on their own laptops, but with the help of peers, to input the same linear program that the teacher has shown with the projector. The teacher shows how the syntax can be checked, and the students respond by checking their own syntax. Many will not be correct. This is expected and a good thing so that the students can see what is wrong. The teacher responds to incorrect syntax in the following way: The laptop with the incorrect syntax is shown via NetMeeting using the class projector. The instructor asks the class what is wrong with the syntax and they discuss and fix the problem. If many problems still exist, the students can open a correct copy available online in a course management system. A later activity can focus on troubleshooting within the syntax of MPL. The instructor shows how to solve the problem that has been entered. At this point the instructor explains what the output means with respect to what they have already learned about solving linear programs and the problem at hand. A later activity can focus specifically on reading and understanding the output of a linear program in MPL. At the end of the activity, a copy of the class files is placed online.
The impact of the proposed alignment between course topics, knowledge level and laptop usage will be investigated in Spring 2004 in IE 280 (the renumbered 380). Moreover, research sponsored by NSF in the Department of Industrial Engineering is considering the alignment between course topics, knowledge level and educational delivery systems for the entire industrial engineering baccalaureate curriculum (EEC 0229093). Please contact Prof. Kurz for more information or to provide comments.