Introduction and Objectives
Goal: Learn how to:
• introduce students to
multidisciplinary modeling of
systems of people, including
social and behavioral modeling
• improve teamwork and
collaboration among
interdisciplinary groups that
include engineering and nonengineering students
• teach students to integrate
engineering and non-engineering
concepts into system design and
analysis
• improve student communication
• increase in-class student
participation in discussions
• teach students to view the
material of a general set of tools
that can be applied to a vast array
of problems
Discipline: Engineering and social
and behavioral sciences
Specific Course: Market
Engineering and Applications
(advanced undergraduateintroductory graduate-level)
Engineering Markets for Sustainable and Efficient Resource
Allocation and Use
Ramteen Sioshansi
The Ohio State University
Development History of
Learning Activities and Materials
Innovation
• Projects and case studies with
• Course grew out of my research
interdisciplinary student teams to
interests and increasing use of
practice communication and
market-based mechanisms to
application of concepts
control and coordinate complex
• Use computer-based simulations
systems
and experiments to highlight
• Students can struggle with
importance of behavioral
bridging the interdisciplinary
modeling
divide
• Simulations of and data from real
markets
• Engineers have difficulty
understanding how to account for
human behavior in system design
Major Issues to Resolve
and analysis
• How to form stronger bonds
between interdisciplinary student
groups
• How to increase student
participation and active
engagement and discussion of
material
• How to not intimidate nonengineers with mathematical
models
• How to teach students to use ‘the
toolbox’ in settings not covered
in-class
Acknowledgments
Development of this course was supported by the
National Science Foundation through award
number 0224779 and by The Ohio State University
Honors and Scholars program. Experimental
platform was provided by the
University of
Virginia’s Vecon
Lab
Execution
• Students react positively to
computer simulations and
experiments
• Projects and case studies expose
students them to many
applications
• Forming interdisciplinary groups
for out-of-class assignments
helps bridge the disciplinary
divide
• Biggest challenge: active
participation in class discussions
Discussion
• Insights gained will be directly
applied to market engineering
course
• Will also be applied to other
courses with diverse student
bodies
2013 Frontiers of Engineering Education
Irvine, California
October 27-30
Sponsored by:
The National Academy of Engineering and
John McDonnell and the McDonnell Family Foundation