The Future of Engineering Education: Part 1. A Vision for a New Century, by A. Rugarcia, R. M. Felder, D. R. Woods, J. E. Stice, Chemical Engineering Education, Winter 2000, pp. 16-25. To read the complete paper click here:

http://www2.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching/)

Summarized by J. T. P. Yao, 6/25/00

"… Starting in 2001, Engineering Criteria 2000 will be implemented as the standard for accreditation. Thereafter, all U.S. engineering programs will have to demonstrate that besides having a firm grasp of science, mathematics, and engineering fundamentals, their graduates possess communication, multidisciplinary teamwork, and lifelong learning skills and awareness of social and ethical considerations associated with the engineering profession. …"

"Our goal in this paper and in the five that follow it is to offer some tools to engineering professors who wish to become better teachers and university administrators who wish to improve the quality of teaching in their institutions. This paper attempts to define in some detail the challenges currently facing engineering education. The second article will survey teaching methods that have repeatedly been shown to improve learning; the third will elaborate on methods that help students develop critical skills; the fourth will examine effective ways to prepare the professoriate to learn and implement the new methods; the fifth will propose methods of assessing and evaluating teaching effectiveness; and the sixth will explore possible modifications in the university incentive-and-reward structure that will enable the desired changes to occur on a systemic level."

" The Technological Personality of the 21^st Century

• Information: Proliferating - In 1989, 10,000 volumes were required just to list the titles of all the books that had been published, and roughly 6,000 scientific articles were published every day. The number of documents available has since tripled, and there is every indication that the rate of growth will be sustained, if not increased. …
• Technical Development: Multidisciplinary - … The situation now is much more complex: for example, engineers of all types are finding themselves faced with a need to know electronics and/or biochemistry. …
• Markets: Globalized - … Succeeding internationally requires cultural and economic understanding no less than technological expertise.
• The Environment: Endangered - … 1. Substances extracted from the earth's crust (…) must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere. … 2. Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in the ecosphere. … 3. The physical conditions for productivity and assimilation within the ecosystem cannot be systematically diminished. … 4. Since resources are limited, basic human needs must be met with the most resource-efficient methods available. …
• Social Responsibility: Emerging - … We have obligations to inform ourselves and the rest of the population about the potential social consequences of the decisions that are made, to judge whether the implementation of decisions is consistent with the objective of technology to improve our well-being for citizens of the world (…) , and to take appropriate action or choose inaction, depending on the outcome of the judgment.
• Corporate Structures: Participatory - Companies in different societies are moving toward structures that allow for greater participation of individuals in the decision-making process. …
• Change: Rapid - … The education that succeeds will be the one that facilitates lifelong learning, equipping students with the skills they will need to adapt to change."

"Components of Engineering Education - …

Knowledge - … No matter how many parallel tracks and elective courses are offered, however, it will never be possible to teach engineering students everything they will be required to know when they go to work. A better solution may be to shift our emphasis away from providing training in an ever-increasing number of specialty areas to providing a core set of science and engineering fundamentals, helping students integrate knowledge across courses and disciplines, and equipping them with lifelong learning skills. …

Skills - The skills required to address the challenges to future engineers raised in the first section may be divided into seven categories: (1) independent, interdependent, and life-long learning skills; (2) problem solving, critical thinking, and creative thinking skills; (3) interpersonal and teamwork skills; (4) communication skills; (5) self-assessment skills; (6) integrative and global thinking skills; and (7) change management skills. …

Attitudes and Values - … Engineers often make decision without feeling a need to take into account any of the social, ethical, and moral consequences of these decisions, believing that those considerations are in someone else's purview. By default, the decisions have consequently become the exclusive province of economists and politicians, who lack the ability to predict or evaluate their consequences. …"

"Obstacles to Change

… A substantial number of engineering professors are still unaware of alternative educational methods, and many who are aware of them choose not to incorporate them into their approach to teaching. … Modern universities have … become totally dependent on research funds to support most of their functions, including educational and administrative functions only marginally related to research. … In consequence, many young faculty members either have little interest in doing high-quality teaching or would like to do it but feel that they cannot afford to invest the necessary time. … Another obstacle to change is the fear of loss of control. … Unless some training is provided and feedback given on initial efforts, however, professors courageous enough to try the new teaching methods are likely to become discouraged, give up, and revert to straight lecturing. … The university administration must take steps to establish a suitable climate for change before any significant change can take place."

"Factors Supporting Change

… In the United States, the new ABET criteria were developed in response to these stimuli, and the knowledge that in a short time they will be used to evaluate all engineering programs is substantially increasing the pressure to change. Moreover, major support for educational reform has come from the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education and the NSF-sponsored Engineering Coalitions. …"

"The Critical Questions …

Engineering Curricula and Courses

• What is the appropriate balance between 'fundamentals' and 'applications'? …
• What steps can be taken to integrate class material across courses and disciplines, so that engineering students become accustomed to thinking along interdisciplinary lines in the approach to problem solving? …
• How should the development of critical skills … be facilitated in the curriculum? …

Teaching Methods

• What forms of in-class activities … have been found most effective at increasing knowledge and critical skills and at promoting and reinforcing positive professional attitudes?
• What is an appropriate balance between teacher-centered and student-centered instruction? Between cooperative and individual learning? …
• How can students be motivated to be self-directed learners? …
• How might we overcome faculty resistance to try something new in the classroom?

Instructional Development

• What material should instructional development … programs cover? …
• Should the programs be mandatory or optional for faculty members? …
• What do instructional development programs cost? …
• How do the different types of programs (seminars, workshops, courses) compare in effectiveness at improving teaching? …

Faculty Hiring, Advancement, and Rewards

• Does the requirement that every engineering professor be a disciplinary researcher to enjoy full departmental citizenship have a logical basis? …
• Who will teach engineering practice in the coming years as the number of engineering professors with industrial experience continues to shrink? …
• Who will develop innovative and effective teaching methods in the future, do the research to validate them, and help other faculty members implement them?
• Is it possible to assure that every engineering department has at least a few individuals who can perform the preceding tasks with dedication and skills? …"

Return to the Lohman homepage