Learning engineering: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:01, 23 July 2025

Revision as of 14:25, 9 August 2025

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== History ==

=== Early History ===

[[Herbert A. Simon|Herbert Simon]], a [[Cognitive psychology|cognitive psychologist]] and [[economist]], first coined the term ''learning engineering'' in 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Simon|first=Herbert A.|date=Winter 1967|title=The Job of a College President|url=http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=33692|website=Carnegie Mellon University University Libraries - Digital Collections}}</ref> However, associations between the two terms ''learning'' and ''engineering'' began emerging earlier, in the 1940s<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Watters|first=Audrey|date=2019-07-12|title=The History of the Future of the 'Learning Engineer'|url=http://hackeducation.com/2019/07/12/learning-engineers|access-date=2020-07-21|website=Hack Education|language=en-US}}</ref> and as early as the 1920s.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Wilcox|first1=Karen E.|last2=Sarma|first2=Sanjay|last3=Lippel|first3=Philip|date=April 2016|title=Online Education: A Catalyst for Higher Education Reforms|url=https://oepi.mit.edu/files/2016/09/MIT-Online-Education-Policy-Initiative-April-2016.pdf|website=MIT Online Education Policy Initiative}}</ref> Simon argued that the social sciences, including the field of education, should be approached with the same kind of mathematical principles as other fields like physics and engineering.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1978|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1978/simon/biographical/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Formal Recognition as a Process and Practice ===

Simon’s ideas about learning engineering continued to reverberate at Carnegie Mellon University, but the term did not catch on until businessman Bror Saxberg began marketingpromoting it in 2014 after visiting Carnegie Mellon University and the [[Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center]], or LearnLab for short. Bror Saxberg brought his team from the for-profit education company, [[Kaplan, Inc.|Kaplan]], to visit CMU. The team went back to Kaplan with what we now call learning engineering to enhance, optimize, test, and sell their educational products. BrorWhile Saxbergstill wouldat later co-write with [[Frederick M. Hess|Frederick Hess]]Kaplan, founderhe ofwas thean [[Americanadvisor Enterpriseto Institute]]'s [https://www.aei.org/conservative-education-reform-network/focussed Conservativephilanthropic Educationinitiatives Reformand Network],later the 2014 book usingjoined the term ''learning engineering''.

[[Chan Zuckerberg Initiative|Chan_Zuckerberg_Initiative]] (CZI) as Vice President, Learning Science

Vice President, Learning Science. While at Kaplan Bror Saxberg co-write with [[Frederick M. Hess|Frederick Hess]], founder of the [[American Enterprise Institute]]'s [https://www.aei.org/conservative-education-reform-network/ Conservative Education Reform Network], the 2014 book using the term ''learning engineering''. Then while at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Bror Saxberg co-wrote with [[Chris Dede|Christopher_Dede]] the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at the [[Harvard Graduate School of Education]] and John Richards the 2019 book ''Learning Engineering for Online Education''.

=== International Consortium for Innovation and Collaboration in Learning Engineering ===

In 2017, the [[IEEE Standards Association]] formformed the [https://sagroups.ieee.org/icicle/about/ IC Industry Consortium on Learning Engineering] as a part of its [https://web.archive.org/web/20191001052508/https://standards.ieee.org/industry-connections/ Industry Connections] program. [[File:Learning Engineering Process with Iterative Design-Build.png|thumb|Learning engineering is an iterative process, informed by data, that starts with a challenge in context. The Creation stage may use iterative human-centered design-build cycles.]] Between 2017 and 2019, ICICLE formed eight Special Interest Groups (SIGs) as a collaborative resource to support the growth of Learning Engineering. The Curriculum, and Credentials SIG chaired by [[Kenneth Koedinger]] pioneered the work on a formal definition of learning engineering. Later work by the Design SIG led by Aaron Kessler led to the development of a learning engineering process model. In 2024 ICICLE changed its name to International Consortium for Innovation and Collaboration in Learning Engineering and became part of the [https://sagroups.ieee.org/ltsc/ IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee].

=== Enterprise Learning Engineering Center of Excellence ===

In 2017, the [[IEEE Standards Association]] form the [https://sagroups.ieee.org/icicle/about/ IC Industry Consortium on Learning Engineering] as a part of its [https://web.archive.org/web/20191001052508/https://standards.ieee.org/industry-connections/ Industry Connections] program. [[File:Learning Engineering Process with Iterative Design-Build.png|thumb|Learning engineering is an iterative process, informed by data, that starts with a challenge in context. The Creation stage may use iterative human-centered design-build cycles.]] Between 2017 and 2019, ICICLE formed eight Special Interest Groups (SIGs) as a collaborative resource to support the growth of Learning Engineering. The Curriculum, and Credentials SIG chaired by [[Kenneth Koedinger]] pioneered the work on a formal definition of learning engineering. Later work by the Design SIG led by Aaron Kessler led to the development of a learning engineering process model. In 2024 ICICLE changed its name to International Consortium for Innovation and Collaboration in Learning Engineering and became part of the [https://sagroups.ieee.org/ltsc/ IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee].

On 1 December 2024 the [[U.S. Air Force|United_States_Air_Force]] [[Air Education and Training Command|Air_Education_and_Training_Command]] (AETC) established the [[Enterprise Learning Engineering Center of Excellence|Enterprise_Learning_Engineering_Center_of_Excellence]] (ELE CoE) "to directly support development and

delivery of Mission Ready Airmen and Guardians to Joint Force Commanders with the competencies needed to deter or defeat great power competitors."

The ELE CoE is dedicated to the systematic application of evidence-based principles, scientific methods and practices from the learning sciences, education research, and systems-thinking to produce effective, Airmen-centered learning outcomes and competency acquisition.<ref>{{Cite ["Fact sheet"]|publisher=United States Air Force|date=December 2024|title=Fact Sheet – Enterprise Learning Engineering Center

of Excellence|language=EN|url=https://www.aetc.af.mil/Portals/88/ADC%20Fact%20Sheets/ADC%20Fact%20Sheet_Enterprise%20Learning%20Engineering_6Nov24.pdf||access-date=2025-08-09}}</ref>

== Overview ==