Research Foci:
Our major educational research foci are explained as follows: The pace of engineering change provides a constant learning challenge for organizations in today’s competitive environment. The Boeing Company is no stranger to either competition or change, the new 787 Dreamliner has provided opportunities for emerging global engineering competencies. The primary purpose of our research is to help the Boeing Company rethink ways to deal with continued learning and to revisit the traditional paradigm, a “command and control” classroom model designed for sequential learning (learn, then do). Our strategy is to harnesses the latest thinking from the learning sciences goes beyond the traditional limitations of classroom captive audiences. This approach provides a rich pedagogical content knowledge that enlivens the learning environment and very often enhances deeper understanding of complex subject matter.
Our current research is focused on interventions that advance the way we think about continued learning in the evolving workplace. The research is conducted - implemented within the conceptual framework and relevant literature pertaining to adaptive expertise including expert/novice practices within learning. Engineers are randomly assigned to research areas, a demographic questionnaire, an affective survey relating to preferences in methodologies and a pre- and post-test are administered. In addition, data is captured via audio- and video-recordings; results are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and with the aid of an ethnographic lens. Additional work in this sphere is needed to elaborate what impact this new learning methodology will bear on individuals and their social networks within and across a global engineering community.
Contact Information:
Michael C. Richey
Associate Technical Fellow
The Boeing Company
M/S OR-CH
P.O. Box 3707
Seattle WA, USA 98124
Voice: 425-750-4635
Email: michael.c.richey@boeing.com