National Academies Press: OpenBook

Engineering Education: Designing an Adaptive System (1995)

Chapter: APPENDIX D: TOWARD A PROGRESSIVE NEW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

« Previous: APPENDIX C: CONTRIBUTORS TO THE STUDY
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX D: TOWARD A PROGRESSIVE NEW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM." National Research Council. 1995. Engineering Education: Designing an Adaptive System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4907.
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Page 77
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX D: TOWARD A PROGRESSIVE NEW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM." National Research Council. 1995. Engineering Education: Designing an Adaptive System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4907.
×
Page 78
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX D: TOWARD A PROGRESSIVE NEW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM." National Research Council. 1995. Engineering Education: Designing an Adaptive System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4907.
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Page 79

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Appendix D Toward A Progressive New Engineering Curriculum The following outline, prepared by the Board on Engineering Education (BEEd), represents a description of the purpose and prin- ciples of a new curriculum, as well as the means and mechanisms required to advance it on a nationwide basis. It is presented as an example of the type of curriculum that is suitable for contemporary engineering education. Each institution is urged to develop its own curriculum tailored to its strengths, its student population, and its own vision of future needs. It is important, however, for each institution to maintain an awareness of curriculum development activities that are ongoing nationwide and to adopt those developments that are appli- cable to its circumstances. PURPOSE The purpose of undergraduate engineering education is threefold. First, it provides a course of study that prepares students to enter the practice of engineering in a selected professional field. Second, it must be broad enough to provide a strong basis not only for a career in engineering but also for careers in other professions, in business, or in public service. (This broad purpose makes engineering education a prime vehicle for encouraging wider participation by women and minority students in engineering, and it broadens the opportunities for employment of graduates during periods of limited hiring of engi- neers.) Third, it must make students aware of the relationships between engineering and industrialized society, encouraging and preparing them to assume a stronger and more visible leadership position as engineers in society and as productive citizens. 77

78 ENGINEERING EDUCATION: DESIGNING AN ADAPTIVE SYSTEM PRINCIPLES To accomplish this purpose, the new undergraduate engineering curricula and culture should: 1. Provide broad, solid knowledge of key fundamental concepts in science and engineering. These concepts should not be taught only in the abstract but also with constant reference to engineering practice. 2. Provide in-depth engineering study in at least one field. Part of this study should address business and management aspects in that field of engineering and encompass a focus on global practice—some of which may be captured in a capstone design project. 3. Incorporate the study of engineering practice within the curricu- lum. This includes opportunities for “apprenticeship,” possibly through co-op or summer internship programs. It also implies that some faculty will make studies of practice a part of their scholarship. 4. Provide an ability to understand the major societal issues and to lead in addressing them through technology. 5. Provide greater flexibility to pursue other careers outside engi- neering. 6. Impart an ability to learn independently. 7. Establish a new culture and a new image for engineering edu- cation and practice that is humane and that will attract and retain students, with a particular focus on women and underrepresented minorities. MEANS Suggested means to achieve these principles of the new under- graduate engineering curriculum are 1. Integrate new material and different perspectives into the under- graduate engineering curriculum using approaches such as: • offering a first-year course on the transformation of society by engineering, giving concrete examples; • introducing engineering illustrations into the mathematics and science courses taken by engineering students; • introducing case studies into the engineering science courses to illustrate how the principles of the subject, including their math and science roots, have developed; • encouraging a better integration of liberal arts into the curricu- lum; • increasing the emphasis, especially in upper-division courses, on engineering practice through the study of contemporary innova- tions and problems; and

APPENDIX D 79 • introducing a senior thesis/project in which students research an idea and defend it in a detailed written text or design and build a prototype for a novel engineered system. 2. Integrate into the curriculum a number of important concepts, such as: • enjoyment and fun in the learning process; • design experience; • team research/design experience, with oral reporting by teams; • academic study of engineering practice; • globalization of technology, understanding other cultures, and appreciation of the liberal arts; • exposure to the concepts of business, economics, marketing, and manufacturing, and risk; • sustainable development of the environment; and • engineering management, including effective interaction with shop-floor and technical support personnel. 3. Develop activities that help broaden the student’s outlook and experience and that are synergistic with the curriculum (e.g., activities that involve technology and politics, technology and religion, or technology and art). 4. Remove some material and some courses from the current curriculum. If the curriculum is to remain manageable and able to be completed within the current timeframe of four years, it is important that the curriculum emphasize subjects of a fundamental nature and those that are more difficult for students to learn on their own, such as engineering design. Remove redundancies, for example, the repeti- tious teaching of the same principles of chemistry, physics, and thermodynamics in different courses. Incorporate some math and science “base” courses into engineering courses. Emphasize in-depth one area of engineering practice in a discipline and provide a broad overview of other areas—for example, in manufacturing engineering emphasize robotics and provide an overview of process simulation, materials handling, etc. Ensure that students in a given discipline have at least some familiarity with other engineering disciplines; multidisciplinary capstone design projects can help. 5. Go to a five-year curriculum, with the first four years providing a broad bachelor of science degree and the fifth year leading to an in- depth professional specialization degree. (Obviously, such a curricu- lum adds considerably to the cost of an engineering degree and the time required to complete it. For that reason, past experiments with a five-year program have not been highly successful.)

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Traditionally, engineering education books describe and reinforce unchanging principles that are basic to the field. However, the dramatic changes in the engineering environment during the last decade demand a paradigm shift from the engineering education community. This revolutionary volume addresses the development of long-term strategies for an engineering education system that will reflect the needs and realities of the United States and the world in the 21st century. The authors discuss the critical challenges facing U.S. engineering education and present a plan addressing these challenges in the context of rapidly changing circumstances, technologies, and demands.

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