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Engineering students learn what we teach them, but often do not become what we intend them to. The behaviors that let students succeed in classes do not always correlate with the behaviour required to succeed in engineering. Engineering Students for the 21st Century is a reform program for undergraduate engineering that is trying to align the behaviors that are taught in our program with those that help students succeed. To accomplish this we plan to transition from emphasizing acquisition of knowledge to emphasizing student development.
At the heart of Engineering Students for the 21st Century is a recognition that the current degree program we offer is knowledge-based. In a knowledge-based program an engineering degree is defined by a specific set of concepts students must learn. A knowledge-based program tells students that “If you learn these things you will get a degree that certifies you are an engineer.” One inherent assumption to our program is that by learning these concepts students will be able to function as engineers; experience indicates otherwise. A second assumption inherent to a knowledge-based program is that specialized information can only be found and learned at universities. In a world where the internet makes knowledge widely available, the value of this type of program is questionable.
As Eli Noam noted more than a decade ago: "Today's production and distribution of information are undermining the university structure, making it ready to collapse in slow motion once alternatives to its function become possible." What does a university become when knowledge is demphasized?
The engineering program envisioned by Engineering Students for the 21st Century is one that explicitly develops the skills students need to understand a problem in depth. In-depth research or design projects become key experiences in a diverse curriculum. One of the hypotheses of Engineering Students for the 21st Century is that, it is of greater importance to develop the skills needed to solve in-depth problems than having a program that covers the breadth of electrical engineering. Classes in a development-based program teach students the process of solving the problems in addition to the concepts needed to understand the problem. Concepts that are not germane to the problem at hand are simply not taught.
Engineering Students for the 21st Century not only changes what and how students learn, but also how faculty facilitate learning and the learning environment. The role of faculty changes from lecturers to mentors and scholars, guiding academic development towards complex problem solving tied to real world problems. Changing the way faculty teach will likely be the biggest challenge. Engineering Students for the 21st Century will try to create an environment that facilitates in-depth learning focused in the context of important problems. Unlike traditional classrooms, faculty will need to help student teams support each other in utilizing state-of-the-art equipment to develop the skills needed to solve open-ended problems. These changes can be summarized in the Venn diagram below. Efficient, effective, and engaged learning occurs when there is overlap between what engineers need to learn (Practice of Engineering), what students are motivated by (Perception of Engineering), and creating an environment that facilitates learning (Teaching Engineering).
The goals of Engineering Students for the 21st Century are bold. To meet these goals a small subset of the courses in the electrical engineering program will be modified to focus on student development. The goal is to have one course each semester address the intellectual, social, and technical development of engineers. Courses that emphasize student development share the same strategic approach that is designed to make course material relevant, build teamwork and communication skills, and teach concepts in context. Within the strategic approach each faculty member is free to choose topics and teaching techniques appropriate to their course and their own beliefs about learning and teaching.
Engineering Students for the 21st Century involves faculty in engineering, physical science, education, and library science. Students help guide project development, Graduate students, tomorrow’s faculty members, will take part in the program transformation by apprenticing under faculty, developing course material from their research, and teaching. Undergraduate students provide valuable insight into the curriculum reform process by engaging in education research projects that seek to improve courses they have taken.
In summary, Engineering Students for the 21st Century seeks to catalyze a fundamental shift in the focus of an engineering degree by creating, assessing, and disseminating methods that let students develop as engineers. The overall goal is that this reform effort will contribute and guide the sweeping realignment of engineering programs in U.S. universities called for by the National Academy of Engineering, National Science Foundation, and National Research Council.
In depth descriptions of Engineering Students for the 21st Century and links to resources are provided at “The Project”.
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