October 6, 2022 • 22 mins
Dr. Andy Aldrin, Associate Professor in the College of Aviation, joins us to discuss the importance of showing ownership of course content and making content relevant for students. Dr. Aldrin addresses ways faculty members can insert their expertise into the course template and what they can do to help students make meaningful connections with the content. Dr. Aldrin also talks about the power of storytelling and gives us some insight into ERAU Worldwide’s Master of Space Operations (MSO) program.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello and welcome to the Rothwell Center for
Teaching and Learning Excellence podcast. Our
mission here at RCTLE is to empower faculty
members in their pursuits of professional growth
through diverse offerings for the universal goal
of student success. Each episode will offer
insight into best teaching practices, new
resources and interesting people here at Embry
(00:25):
Riddle worldwide. We hope you will find our show
to be helpful and enlightening. Happy listening.
Today, we are joined by Dr. Andy Aldrin, an
associate professor in the College of Aviation.
Dr. Aldrin has a background in government research,
aerospace industry and academia, focusing on the
intersection of, policy, business and academia. Dr.
(00:48):
Aldrin founded the ISU Center for Space
Entrepreneurship at Florida Tech and served as the
director of the Aldrin Space Institute. In
addition, he served as the president of Moon
Express and was the director of Business
Development and advanced programs for Boeing, NASA
programs, Boeing Launch Programs and United Launch
Alliance. He has also served as a resident
(01:08):
consultant at the RAND Corporation and
professional research staff member at the
Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Aldrin is
currently the program coordinator for the Masters
of Space Operations Degree Program at Embry
Riddle Worldwide and serves as the president of
the Aldrin Family Foundation. Without further ado,
please enjoy Dr. Andy Aldrin. I wanted you to tell
(01:30):
us a little bit about yourself and how you ended
up with Embry Riddle worldwide. Yeah, my career
path. My career path is you can describe it as
Don't try this at home, folks, because it's not
normal. When I started, I was passionate about and
really because of teachers and professors that I
had, I developed a passion for trying the
(01:52):
Soviet Union. So because I was growing up on stage,
I had an interest in space as well. And so I
studied to be a Sovietologist. I got to UCLA where
I got my PhD program that was a combined US, UCLA
and the Rand Corporation, which I had been working
at a think tank called the Institute for Defense
(02:13):
Analysis in Washington, D.C.. So it was a natural
transition for me to go to RAND, which is the two
are very similar in lots of ways. And so I was
going to be a Sovietologist and I was flying back
and forth to California and Moscow, Leningrad or
five times a year. And this is great because
literally this is the wall was coming down, the
(02:33):
curtain was coming up. And the kind of access that
I had was just astonishing because I could see the
things that people were openly talking with me
about, showing me the things that were
unbelievably secret three or four years earlier.
So that was really cool. But then the Soviet Union
went away, which I thought was rather impolite.
And with the kind of what my career path and my
(02:54):
research agenda, I did some work for aerospace
companies, mostly got going there, the Soviet
Union, now Russia. And so I got a job offer at TRW.
And so I got an aerospace industry. And so here
you got a guy who's going to be a political
science of another guy to a degree of space policy,
a master's degree. And I ended up I ended up
getting an MBA along the way, too. But I ended up
(03:17):
running advanced programs, strategy and business
development for both civil space business. And I
had responsibility for a lot of advanced
development work in the commercial space business
and then for their launch business. I was a
political science and it seems really weird, but
are a lot of ways what I learned is what really
matters isn't so much the technology. What matters
(03:40):
is the market. So I learned about that. And then I
got spun off into a joint venture with Boeing and
watching launch business kind did the same things
there. And then I bailed out to go run a small
company that was building spacecraft to go to did
that for a while. I was going to kind of retire
and just do consulting things. And my dad asked me
(04:00):
to come in and help them set up a space research
institute at Florida Tech. And so we did that and
along the way created the Center for Space
Entrepreneurship and sort of acquired a real
passion for space education. At the same time, I'm
running the Family Foundation, which is going
through 12 education stuff. And it really it kind
(04:21):
of hit me that this was a place where I could
learn, I could teach it someplace where it's
really needed because we have a lot of engineers
who don't understand how to run a business. A lot
of the one of the interesting things is, you know,
engineers are just looking for answers. Give me
the numbers and I will tell you the answer. And
what's really important in today's environment
(04:43):
especially, is understanding the right question.
And so I was really happy with the program we
started at Florida Tech, but I wanted to take it
further and I just got the opportunity to connect
up with every little worldwide. And in particular,
I was attracted to the notion of doing online
programs because while I was at Florida Tech, I
was teaching online during the college years and I
(05:05):
realized you can make it work. We at Florida Tech
were just pretty much amateurs. And as we were
making it up and then to come into every little
where you are really trained professionals and
realize how much work goes into it, but how
effective it can be, it kind of blows my mind. I
(05:25):
do think there are ways of doing a lot of
interaction that might be synchronous, but still
my favorite time every week is Thursday afternoon
when I hold open office hours. But I have become
convinced mostly as a result of the quality of the
work. I say to students that this is a fantastic
medium and I'm just I'm excited about exploring
(05:45):
all of the different things that we can put
together. You know, we're just kind of putting
together kind of the skeleton of the master space
operations program. But I envision layering on
more and more material as we can bring in videos
from experts and things that that are really hard
to do synchronously, that they're easy to do. And
(06:07):
so I'm really, really excited about this, although
sometimes I feel like online education can get a
bad rap and some people don't like it and they
don't think of education as is when it's delivered
online. But online education especially I've
learned since being here, there's so much
opportunity for all of that stuff that you had
listed, I actually think. The opportunity to be
(06:31):
the superior form of education, not just because
of the convenience, but I think you can convey
more information, more than you can in a purely
seagrass environment that's just there, just
tremendous opportunities with it is that every is
so well positioned in this area, particularly in
areas. For me, it's perfect for all of your
(06:52):
experience leading up to this point, really does
make you super qualified to then take on this role
as the developer of the MSC program. So could you
first tell us a little bit about the MSC program?
The embryo program is its masters of space
operation. The goal of the program is to provide
(07:14):
an education that will enable people to make
transitions. So in some cases, people are
transitioning from another industry into space. In
some cases they're transitioning from maybe
they're doing operations based operations or
something like that, and they want to get more
involved in the design, development or operations
at a management level or executive level. Some
(07:35):
people are want to understand the industry because
they wanted to start their own business. So it's
it's kind of about enabling transitions. Another
way of thinking about it is and I think this is a
really important career framework, is when you
start out as an undergraduate, it's really
important that you develop these skills. And what
we are doing is taking people that have a set,
(07:57):
maybe it's an engineering, maybe it's in business,
maybe it's policy, maybe it's legal and giving.
Crossing the T is a way of thinking about it and
giving them a broad based interdisciplinary look
at an industry, a very dynamic industry. So what
we try and do is sort of the long term objective
(08:20):
is to set a set of core courses that that everyone
needs to take. And then instead of organizing our
courses by disciplines, disciplines like avionics
or some operations, we actually organize it by
industry and we take a very multidisciplinary
approach to it. So that what you really start out
with are, as I mentioned a little bit before, the
(08:41):
real question. So inevitably it starts out with
technology is meaningless unless you have somebody
that's fine. I don't care if it's a government. I
don't care if it's commercial. It's absolutely
meaningless unless someone will buy it. And so we
start out with it, with the notion of what is the
industry, a little bit of the history. And then
(09:01):
fundamentally, how do you make money in this
industry? What are the industry segments? Who are
the customers? And then you start looking at what
are the market dynamics? Is it a high growth
industry? Is an industry where entry is easy? Is
it an industry where it's attractive and
profitable? And then you start on your project. I
mean, you do everyone has a core project which is
(09:25):
typically for the industry based policies. It's
design a business. And so you have to think about
the market, how you're going to make money and
then start thinking about the technology and then
you design your rocket. And then finally, how
what's your strategy for market entry? And so
that's the way the program is focused. It's very
interdisciplinary. It's intended to put people in
(09:48):
an industry and to show that industry. I think
that's such an exciting approach. And there's a
few things that you said that really stuck with me.
The first one being that this program is built to
enable transitions, which I think is a
quintessential Embry riddle. No, we have such a
huge military population. Students who are trying
(10:08):
to transition out and continue on their skills are
people who are just coming from different
industries. So I think that this program is going
to serve that population really, really well. And
that's very exciting. I also love I kept thinking
of the word holistic, like the holistic nature of
this program and how it's not just for the people
(10:30):
who are really, really great at the technology
part, because you're right that technology doesn't
mean anything if there's no one there to buy it.
So we really do need to set these students up for
success, tend to feel about this market and be
successful with that at every angle, the business
angle and not just the know. We didn't really lose
(10:50):
you. Dr. Campbell did a study for yet another
degree, which is getting on space education. So we
went out and talked to industry government leaders
about what's needed in space education. And they
all talked about this kind of you call it a
holistic notion, but it needs to be
interdisciplinary. We need to be more than just
(11:11):
good businessmen. We need to be more than just
good engineers. We need to understand why if a
student is interested in one of the courses within
the program, can they just take that as an
elective or is it very specific to the people who
are interested in that degree? I think the. Right
now, because we haven't established a really
(11:31):
formal sequence of things, anybody takes anything
and and it works out. I mean, I think it's better
if you understand the broad market ecosystem, if
you understand the technologies, if you understand
policy over management, you are better equipped to
take the classes. But I think you'll get a lot out
of it anyway. I actually think there are numerous
(11:52):
ways we can do things that can kind of tied the
core courses and then you got industry courses and
watch communications, remote sensing, etc. If
people have interest from other programs and they
want to take just one of the industry courses, I
think that makes a lot of sense. I mean, it may
make sense for some people, maybe people and
(12:14):
corporations, to actually put together a a
customized set of courses that they could do
because we can do this any time. And I think
that's another interesting direction in education,
is that increasingly corporations, governments are
looking for opportunities to create tailored
educational programs. I think we can do this
without a whole lot of modification to the courses
(12:37):
were already developing. So as a subject matter
expert, as the course developer, what are some
steps that you take as the first developer to
ensure that students are able to connect and find
relevance with the course material? What I take a
lot from the courses I've taught in the past, but
I think what I'm trying to find is a framework
(13:00):
that works for all of the courses. And so we are
using a similar framework for communications, for
launch processing, what have you, and that it
seems to work. But I really believe one of the
things that's really important to me is refining
it as you go along. And and so that's something
that I think is important, that you're constantly
(13:22):
you can't be providing all material in the space
of the next 12 months. There are things that are
going to happen in this industry, good or bad,
that are fundamentally going to change the space.
It's going to launch this massive starship rocket
is the NASA. There's going to be a successful
program. There are a whole lot of things that have
(13:42):
to do with communications and all of these things.
I think the my my industry space is more unique
than anything, but it's not. So it's I think it's
important to figure out ways of keeping that fresh.
OK, well, I know I think that this is a really
good approach. So you're developing it with this
framework in mind, but also keeping in mind that
(14:02):
the industry is changing constantly. So leaving
room for those things to be updated, which I do
think that that makes the course content relevant
to the students because you're constantly pulling
material from current events, things that are
happening right now. So I think that the core
(14:23):
written material, if you will, and the syllabi
hopefully doesn't change that much, not even so
much. The reading is one of the things that I do
is for almost every module I'll put together a 15,
maybe at most 30 minute video that does talk about
things that you're not going to find in the
reading anyway. And so my one of the things that I
(14:44):
think is important is to keep that part of it
fresh. And that's easy relatively, for it's easy
for me. It doesn't. I may shuffle a few charge,
but I literally can tell you something. I've got a
nice studio that I've built and I can do that very
easily. And that seems like something we could do
that we keep horses fresh and students, they seem
(15:06):
to like the videos. And because it does things
that you not you're not going to find the stuff
that I do in lectures and readings anyway. And
it's certainly nothing that is as fresh. Yeah, I
like that. And I think it really segues nicely
into the next part of our questions, which is what
can faculty members do to help students make those
(15:28):
meaningful connections? On that one is the
development of the developer I think has to
provide to and it's all about storytelling, all of
the storytelling. One of the things that I know I
need to do better is connecting with the
instructors that are out there that get this pile
of videos and material and they have to make it
their own. And I think we need to find more ways
(15:50):
systematically having the time to get together
with the other instructors. And Groberg was what
we're doing. That's something we can do better
with. What's happening already that I'm amazed by
is how much interaction the students will have
with each other, the tremendous conversations. And
I think one of the things we really need to do is
encourage the students to reach out to the faculty
(16:13):
and help us become much more of a part of the
discussion. And I know it's an objective. I think
you call it teaching from the front of the class.
And it's it's a challenge. It's a challenge. I
feel I'm always trying to catch up with things and
stay just a little. The head of it, but it's hard
to do. I think that strategy of encouraging the
faculty members to make the course content their
(16:35):
on there is this core information that you put
together in the course. But of course, they have
their own perspective. They have their own
experiences that they can bring to the table. So
constantly encouraging them to make it their own.
And I like what you also said about encouraging
students to reach out to the instructors and
making them a part of the conversation, which is
really, really important for adult learners to
(16:57):
begin with. That's really how they learn. Is their
instructors recognizing that they have something
to bring to the table? I have to tell you, I have
been incredibly impressed with the quality of
material coming out of the students. I think as we
were running the space entrepreneurship program.
It wasn't my M.I.T., but we got kind of a Halo
program. We were bringing students from around the
(17:19):
world and I thought we had some great students.
But I have to tell you that the good students in
the classes are fantastic and really, really
motivated, really motivated and do incredible work.
Sometimes it just I kind of want to say I don't
really need it, but I did. I got first course I
(17:40):
thought I got a 90 days. And you want to know what
it was. Beautiful, phenomenal. It was well
organized. You get all of the detail. Any time I'm
looking for something, I got to go on it. It was
fantastic. Of course, someone else had developed
and I got pretty strict limits on things. But the
amount of work and the quality of the work that
(18:01):
the student put in it, every course I've got five
or ten employees that are going in that level of
work. They're great. That's really impressive. And
I think it also speaks to the quality of the
materials. But in the course, too, because that is
sparking something and then they are excited to
learn about it and they want your feedback on
their thoughts and their process. So that's really
(18:23):
cool. A lot of people in the program around space
entrepreneurship, everyone was in that program
because it was basic. It's not necessarily the
case here. You've got people that think, well,
maybe that's cool, but at least for the class or I
think much more so than other courses like
engineering management, where it was hard to pull
the students into it. These students jump into
(18:45):
space because space is exciting. Yeah, and it's
exciting. And I think that will really go hand in
hand with your idea. It's all about storytelling.
I really love that. I think that that is a really
cool teaching strategy that this subject in
particular will really benefit from, but also
present some challenges. And what I'm telling a
(19:06):
story which I do it every course are great, but
that's my story. And I hope that the instructors
are really grasping to understand what story I'm
told. Embry Riddle worldwide develops or courses
as templated courses as you know. So using that
existing template model, what are areas of the
course that faculty should insert their expertise
(19:29):
in show ownership over that course? Content, where
are your favorite areas? And of course, to kind of
put your own spin on things, let's see. I don't
know, first of all, and of course, development,
it's still kind of a canvas. But if you're an
instructor and you are handed a storybook from a
developer, I think the most important thing that
(19:49):
you can do is the instructors corner. And I will
tell you that I'm not as good about this as I
should be, but in part the story much my story. So
it's already in there. But talk about what the
story is for that week from your perspective. So
if you're talking about launch markets or
something like that, tell them what the story of a
small launch is. And it's a really it's an
(20:10):
interesting story for them. And so I think that's
the opportunity the faculty presented with
templates need to be working also. Yeah, I think
that that's a great idea to see a way specifically
has the instructors corners, and I love that idea
story of the week from your own perspective. And I
think that if you're teaching even outside of the
(20:30):
college, you think that there are areas in the
course template where you can do that, whether
that be the announcements or editing the module
overview. Yes, the same goes for anybody in any
subject. But I love I just love your emphasis on
the storytelling. I think that we could do more of
that. And open officers are a great thing. But I
(20:53):
get eight students at most participating in that.
And it really is. I mean, I'm sure for a lot of
things you just can't do it. But it really is an
opportunity to exchange ideas and where did you
just don't get otherwise? So I think that's an
opportunity. I wish we could find ways of
encouraging more students to participate in it.
But I also understand it's sort of fundamental to
(21:15):
our business model that you can't require someone
to be something specific to get them. Well, it is
a good cow. I've heard some people that I always
open office hours and on shows up, so. I've always
got a core of at least four people that always.
That's all that's going to hear. That's awesome.
Or you want to know what? I'll tell you what
really warms my heart. I won't get too specific,
(21:38):
but I have a student in the last course that I
didn't really know anything about coming. And he
was not in the program. It was an elective or
something that he was taking, but he was pretty
clueless to begin book. By the end of the course.
He was producing phenomenal material at that. Yes.
You know, that warm my heart. All I have left of
(21:59):
this, that is always the best, the most rewarding
thing about teaching and seeing the grow and the
passion kind of develop. That's. I really, really
appreciate you taking the time. It's my pleasure.
My pleasure.
That's all we have for today, and thank you so
much for listening. If you liked what you heard,
(22:22):
hit the subscribe button. So you never miss an
episode. If you have any questions or even
suggestions for topics you'd like to hear in the
future. Feel free to leave a comment below or send
an email to RCTLE@erau.edu.
Hello and welcome to the Rothwell Center for
Teaching and Learning Excellence podcast. Our
mission here at RCTLE is to empower faculty
members in their pursuits of professional growth
through diverse offerings for the universal goal
of student success. Each episode will offer
insight into best teaching practices, new
resources and interesting people here at Embry
(00:25):
Riddle worldwide. We hope you will find our show
to be helpful and enlightening. Happy listening.
Today, we are joined by Dr. Andy Aldrin, an
associate professor in the College of Aviation.
Dr. Aldrin has a background in government research,
aerospace industry and academia, focusing on the
intersection of, policy, business and academia. Dr.
(00:48):
Aldrin founded the ISU Center for Space
Entrepreneurship at Florida Tech and served as the
director of the Aldrin Space Institute. In
addition, he served as the president of Moon
Express and was the director of Business
Development and advanced programs for Boeing, NASA
programs, Boeing Launch Programs and United Launch
Alliance. He has also served as a resident
(01:08):
consultant at the RAND Corporation and
professional research staff member at the
Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Aldrin is
currently the program coordinator for the Masters
of Space Operations Degree Program at Embry
Riddle Worldwide and serves as the president of
the Aldrin Family Foundation. Without further ado,
please enjoy Dr. Andy Aldrin. I wanted you to tell
(01:30):
us a little bit about yourself and how you ended
up with Embry Riddle worldwide. Yeah, my career
path. My career path is you can describe it as
Don't try this at home, folks, because it's not
normal. When I started, I was passionate about and
really because of teachers and professors that I
had, I developed a passion for trying the
(01:52):
Soviet Union. So because I was growing up on stage,
I had an interest in space as well. And so I
studied to be a Sovietologist. I got to UCLA where
I got my PhD program that was a combined US, UCLA
and the Rand Corporation, which I had been working
at a think tank called the Institute for Defense
(02:13):
Analysis in Washington, D.C.. So it was a natural
transition for me to go to RAND, which is the two
are very similar in lots of ways. And so I was
going to be a Sovietologist and I was flying back
and forth to California and Moscow, Leningrad or
five times a year. And this is great because
literally this is the wall was coming down, the
(02:33):
curtain was coming up. And the kind of access that
I had was just astonishing because I could see the
things that people were openly talking with me
about, showing me the things that were
unbelievably secret three or four years earlier.
So that was really cool. But then the Soviet Union
went away, which I thought was rather impolite.
And with the kind of what my career path and my
(02:54):
research agenda, I did some work for aerospace
companies, mostly got going there, the Soviet
Union, now Russia. And so I got a job offer at TRW.
And so I got an aerospace industry. And so here
you got a guy who's going to be a political
science of another guy to a degree of space policy,
a master's degree. And I ended up I ended up
getting an MBA along the way, too. But I ended up
(03:17):
running advanced programs, strategy and business
development for both civil space business. And I
had responsibility for a lot of advanced
development work in the commercial space business
and then for their launch business. I was a
political science and it seems really weird, but
are a lot of ways what I learned is what really
matters isn't so much the technology. What matters
(03:40):
is the market. So I learned about that. And then I
got spun off into a joint venture with Boeing and
watching launch business kind did the same things
there. And then I bailed out to go run a small
company that was building spacecraft to go to did
that for a while. I was going to kind of retire
and just do consulting things. And my dad asked me
(04:00):
to come in and help them set up a space research
institute at Florida Tech. And so we did that and
along the way created the Center for Space
Entrepreneurship and sort of acquired a real
passion for space education. At the same time, I'm
running the Family Foundation, which is going
through 12 education stuff. And it really it kind
(04:21):
of hit me that this was a place where I could
learn, I could teach it someplace where it's
really needed because we have a lot of engineers
who don't understand how to run a business. A lot
of the one of the interesting things is, you know,
engineers are just looking for answers. Give me
the numbers and I will tell you the answer. And
what's really important in today's environment
(04:43):
especially, is understanding the right question.
And so I was really happy with the program we
started at Florida Tech, but I wanted to take it
further and I just got the opportunity to connect
up with every little worldwide. And in particular,
I was attracted to the notion of doing online
programs because while I was at Florida Tech, I
was teaching online during the college years and I
(05:05):
realized you can make it work. We at Florida Tech
were just pretty much amateurs. And as we were
making it up and then to come into every little
where you are really trained professionals and
realize how much work goes into it, but how
effective it can be, it kind of blows my mind. I
(05:25):
do think there are ways of doing a lot of
interaction that might be synchronous, but still
my favorite time every week is Thursday afternoon
when I hold open office hours. But I have become
convinced mostly as a result of the quality of the
work. I say to students that this is a fantastic
medium and I'm just I'm excited about exploring
(05:45):
all of the different things that we can put
together. You know, we're just kind of putting
together kind of the skeleton of the master space
operations program. But I envision layering on
more and more material as we can bring in videos
from experts and things that that are really hard
to do synchronously, that they're easy to do. And
(06:07):
so I'm really, really excited about this, although
sometimes I feel like online education can get a
bad rap and some people don't like it and they
don't think of education as is when it's delivered
online. But online education especially I've
learned since being here, there's so much
opportunity for all of that stuff that you had
listed, I actually think. The opportunity to be
(06:31):
the superior form of education, not just because
of the convenience, but I think you can convey
more information, more than you can in a purely
seagrass environment that's just there, just
tremendous opportunities with it is that every is
so well positioned in this area, particularly in
areas. For me, it's perfect for all of your
(06:52):
experience leading up to this point, really does
make you super qualified to then take on this role
as the developer of the MSC program. So could you
first tell us a little bit about the MSC program?
The embryo program is its masters of space
operation. The goal of the program is to provide
(07:14):
an education that will enable people to make
transitions. So in some cases, people are
transitioning from another industry into space. In
some cases they're transitioning from maybe
they're doing operations based operations or
something like that, and they want to get more
involved in the design, development or operations
at a management level or executive level. Some
(07:35):
people are want to understand the industry because
they wanted to start their own business. So it's
it's kind of about enabling transitions. Another
way of thinking about it is and I think this is a
really important career framework, is when you
start out as an undergraduate, it's really
important that you develop these skills. And what
we are doing is taking people that have a set,
(07:57):
maybe it's an engineering, maybe it's in business,
maybe it's policy, maybe it's legal and giving.
Crossing the T is a way of thinking about it and
giving them a broad based interdisciplinary look
at an industry, a very dynamic industry. So what
we try and do is sort of the long term objective
(08:20):
is to set a set of core courses that that everyone
needs to take. And then instead of organizing our
courses by disciplines, disciplines like avionics
or some operations, we actually organize it by
industry and we take a very multidisciplinary
approach to it. So that what you really start out
with are, as I mentioned a little bit before, the
(08:41):
real question. So inevitably it starts out with
technology is meaningless unless you have somebody
that's fine. I don't care if it's a government. I
don't care if it's commercial. It's absolutely
meaningless unless someone will buy it. And so we
start out with it, with the notion of what is the
industry, a little bit of the history. And then
(09:01):
fundamentally, how do you make money in this
industry? What are the industry segments? Who are
the customers? And then you start looking at what
are the market dynamics? Is it a high growth
industry? Is an industry where entry is easy? Is
it an industry where it's attractive and
profitable? And then you start on your project. I
mean, you do everyone has a core project which is
(09:25):
typically for the industry based policies. It's
design a business. And so you have to think about
the market, how you're going to make money and
then start thinking about the technology and then
you design your rocket. And then finally, how
what's your strategy for market entry? And so
that's the way the program is focused. It's very
interdisciplinary. It's intended to put people in
(09:48):
an industry and to show that industry. I think
that's such an exciting approach. And there's a
few things that you said that really stuck with me.
The first one being that this program is built to
enable transitions, which I think is a
quintessential Embry riddle. No, we have such a
huge military population. Students who are trying
(10:08):
to transition out and continue on their skills are
people who are just coming from different
industries. So I think that this program is going
to serve that population really, really well. And
that's very exciting. I also love I kept thinking
of the word holistic, like the holistic nature of
this program and how it's not just for the people
(10:30):
who are really, really great at the technology
part, because you're right that technology doesn't
mean anything if there's no one there to buy it.
So we really do need to set these students up for
success, tend to feel about this market and be
successful with that at every angle, the business
angle and not just the know. We didn't really lose
(10:50):
you. Dr. Campbell did a study for yet another
degree, which is getting on space education. So we
went out and talked to industry government leaders
about what's needed in space education. And they
all talked about this kind of you call it a
holistic notion, but it needs to be
interdisciplinary. We need to be more than just
(11:11):
good businessmen. We need to be more than just
good engineers. We need to understand why if a
student is interested in one of the courses within
the program, can they just take that as an
elective or is it very specific to the people who
are interested in that degree? I think the. Right
now, because we haven't established a really
(11:31):
formal sequence of things, anybody takes anything
and and it works out. I mean, I think it's better
if you understand the broad market ecosystem, if
you understand the technologies, if you understand
policy over management, you are better equipped to
take the classes. But I think you'll get a lot out
of it anyway. I actually think there are numerous
(11:52):
ways we can do things that can kind of tied the
core courses and then you got industry courses and
watch communications, remote sensing, etc. If
people have interest from other programs and they
want to take just one of the industry courses, I
think that makes a lot of sense. I mean, it may
make sense for some people, maybe people and
(12:14):
corporations, to actually put together a a
customized set of courses that they could do
because we can do this any time. And I think
that's another interesting direction in education,
is that increasingly corporations, governments are
looking for opportunities to create tailored
educational programs. I think we can do this
without a whole lot of modification to the courses
(12:37):
were already developing. So as a subject matter
expert, as the course developer, what are some
steps that you take as the first developer to
ensure that students are able to connect and find
relevance with the course material? What I take a
lot from the courses I've taught in the past, but
I think what I'm trying to find is a framework
(13:00):
that works for all of the courses. And so we are
using a similar framework for communications, for
launch processing, what have you, and that it
seems to work. But I really believe one of the
things that's really important to me is refining
it as you go along. And and so that's something
that I think is important, that you're constantly
(13:22):
you can't be providing all material in the space
of the next 12 months. There are things that are
going to happen in this industry, good or bad,
that are fundamentally going to change the space.
It's going to launch this massive starship rocket
is the NASA. There's going to be a successful
program. There are a whole lot of things that have
(13:42):
to do with communications and all of these things.
I think the my my industry space is more unique
than anything, but it's not. So it's I think it's
important to figure out ways of keeping that fresh.
OK, well, I know I think that this is a really
good approach. So you're developing it with this
framework in mind, but also keeping in mind that
(14:02):
the industry is changing constantly. So leaving
room for those things to be updated, which I do
think that that makes the course content relevant
to the students because you're constantly pulling
material from current events, things that are
happening right now. So I think that the core
(14:23):
written material, if you will, and the syllabi
hopefully doesn't change that much, not even so
much. The reading is one of the things that I do
is for almost every module I'll put together a 15,
maybe at most 30 minute video that does talk about
things that you're not going to find in the
reading anyway. And so my one of the things that I
(14:44):
think is important is to keep that part of it
fresh. And that's easy relatively, for it's easy
for me. It doesn't. I may shuffle a few charge,
but I literally can tell you something. I've got a
nice studio that I've built and I can do that very
easily. And that seems like something we could do
that we keep horses fresh and students, they seem
(15:06):
to like the videos. And because it does things
that you not you're not going to find the stuff
that I do in lectures and readings anyway. And
it's certainly nothing that is as fresh. Yeah, I
like that. And I think it really segues nicely
into the next part of our questions, which is what
can faculty members do to help students make those
(15:28):
meaningful connections? On that one is the
development of the developer I think has to
provide to and it's all about storytelling, all of
the storytelling. One of the things that I know I
need to do better is connecting with the
instructors that are out there that get this pile
of videos and material and they have to make it
their own. And I think we need to find more ways
(15:50):
systematically having the time to get together
with the other instructors. And Groberg was what
we're doing. That's something we can do better
with. What's happening already that I'm amazed by
is how much interaction the students will have
with each other, the tremendous conversations. And
I think one of the things we really need to do is
encourage the students to reach out to the faculty
(16:13):
and help us become much more of a part of the
discussion. And I know it's an objective. I think
you call it teaching from the front of the class.
And it's it's a challenge. It's a challenge. I
feel I'm always trying to catch up with things and
stay just a little. The head of it, but it's hard
to do. I think that strategy of encouraging the
faculty members to make the course content their
(16:35):
on there is this core information that you put
together in the course. But of course, they have
their own perspective. They have their own
experiences that they can bring to the table. So
constantly encouraging them to make it their own.
And I like what you also said about encouraging
students to reach out to the instructors and
making them a part of the conversation, which is
really, really important for adult learners to
(16:57):
begin with. That's really how they learn. Is their
instructors recognizing that they have something
to bring to the table? I have to tell you, I have
been incredibly impressed with the quality of
material coming out of the students. I think as we
were running the space entrepreneurship program.
It wasn't my M.I.T., but we got kind of a Halo
program. We were bringing students from around the
(17:19):
world and I thought we had some great students.
But I have to tell you that the good students in
the classes are fantastic and really, really
motivated, really motivated and do incredible work.
Sometimes it just I kind of want to say I don't
really need it, but I did. I got first course I
(17:40):
thought I got a 90 days. And you want to know what
it was. Beautiful, phenomenal. It was well
organized. You get all of the detail. Any time I'm
looking for something, I got to go on it. It was
fantastic. Of course, someone else had developed
and I got pretty strict limits on things. But the
amount of work and the quality of the work that
(18:01):
the student put in it, every course I've got five
or ten employees that are going in that level of
work. They're great. That's really impressive. And
I think it also speaks to the quality of the
materials. But in the course, too, because that is
sparking something and then they are excited to
learn about it and they want your feedback on
their thoughts and their process. So that's really
(18:23):
cool. A lot of people in the program around space
entrepreneurship, everyone was in that program
because it was basic. It's not necessarily the
case here. You've got people that think, well,
maybe that's cool, but at least for the class or I
think much more so than other courses like
engineering management, where it was hard to pull
the students into it. These students jump into
(18:45):
space because space is exciting. Yeah, and it's
exciting. And I think that will really go hand in
hand with your idea. It's all about storytelling.
I really love that. I think that that is a really
cool teaching strategy that this subject in
particular will really benefit from, but also
present some challenges. And what I'm telling a
(19:06):
story which I do it every course are great, but
that's my story. And I hope that the instructors
are really grasping to understand what story I'm
told. Embry Riddle worldwide develops or courses
as templated courses as you know. So using that
existing template model, what are areas of the
course that faculty should insert their expertise
(19:29):
in show ownership over that course? Content, where
are your favorite areas? And of course, to kind of
put your own spin on things, let's see. I don't
know, first of all, and of course, development,
it's still kind of a canvas. But if you're an
instructor and you are handed a storybook from a
developer, I think the most important thing that
(19:49):
you can do is the instructors corner. And I will
tell you that I'm not as good about this as I
should be, but in part the story much my story. So
it's already in there. But talk about what the
story is for that week from your perspective. So
if you're talking about launch markets or
something like that, tell them what the story of a
small launch is. And it's a really it's an
(20:10):
interesting story for them. And so I think that's
the opportunity the faculty presented with
templates need to be working also. Yeah, I think
that that's a great idea to see a way specifically
has the instructors corners, and I love that idea
story of the week from your own perspective. And I
think that if you're teaching even outside of the
(20:30):
college, you think that there are areas in the
course template where you can do that, whether
that be the announcements or editing the module
overview. Yes, the same goes for anybody in any
subject. But I love I just love your emphasis on
the storytelling. I think that we could do more of
that. And open officers are a great thing. But I
(20:53):
get eight students at most participating in that.
And it really is. I mean, I'm sure for a lot of
things you just can't do it. But it really is an
opportunity to exchange ideas and where did you
just don't get otherwise? So I think that's an
opportunity. I wish we could find ways of
encouraging more students to participate in it.
But I also understand it's sort of fundamental to
(21:15):
our business model that you can't require someone
to be something specific to get them. Well, it is
a good cow. I've heard some people that I always
open office hours and on shows up, so. I've always
got a core of at least four people that always.
That's all that's going to hear. That's awesome.
Or you want to know what? I'll tell you what
really warms my heart. I won't get too specific,
(21:38):
but I have a student in the last course that I
didn't really know anything about coming. And he
was not in the program. It was an elective or
something that he was taking, but he was pretty
clueless to begin book. By the end of the course.
He was producing phenomenal material at that. Yes.
You know, that warm my heart. All I have left of
(21:59):
this, that is always the best, the most rewarding
thing about teaching and seeing the grow and the
passion kind of develop. That's. I really, really
appreciate you taking the time. It's my pleasure.
My pleasure.
That's all we have for today, and thank you so
much for listening. If you liked what you heard,
(22:22):
hit the subscribe button. So you never miss an
episode. If you have any questions or even
suggestions for topics you'd like to hear in the
future. Feel free to leave a comment below or send
an email to RCTLE@erau.edu.
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com