Overview of Concepts
Technological challenges facing society are complex and require innovative, interdisciplinary approaches. The RFM represents a novel pedagogical framework that can be used to guide student learning towards the development of creative solutions to complex problems. The RFM is inspired by the work of Seymour Papert and also based on a variety of other educational scholarship on innovation-driven learning. Efforts to assess the impact of the approach have demonstrated improved critical thinking skills that also incorporate aspects of communication, problem solving, and creativity as well as increased ability of students to function in teams. The RFM team is comprised of individuals from social sciences and engineering education who collectively bring decades of experience in higher education teaching and educational/technical scholarship.