Summary Notes on "Schools Erase Chalk-and-Talk," by D. B. Rosenbaum, ENR, 2 September 1996, pp. 24-30.

Summarized by J. T. P. Yao, 9/10/01

"Faculty everywhere agree that the initial implementation of project-based learning entails enormous effort and expense. But more and more feel compelled to try. …"

"… The National Science Foundation reports that 'compared with nations such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany, the United States graduates significantly fewer persons with first degrees in natural sciences and engineering." … Engineering used to attract tinkerers fresh off the farms who aspired to a bachelor's in engineering as a guaranteed entre into the middle class. … Viewed in context, the U. S. university system still serves as the world's premier source of basic research. … But since the fall of the Berlin Wall, there have been fewer employment opportunities for research-oriented Ph.Ds. There has been less research emphasis on defense and space, and more on application-oriented economic growth and sustainable development. …"

"But the proposed educational reforms do not sit well with everyone, including some minorities. … Traditional methods fail those who view situations from divergent perspectives and weave relationships into a meaningful whole. They also fail risk-takers who like using trial-and-error to solve problems…"

"NSF began trying to broaden the appeal of engineering in 1990 by setting the first of what now total eight Engineering Education Coalitions among 60 universities, all experimenting with major changes in the curricula. … So far, NSF has contributed $66 million; industry and academia have matched that. … (www.needs.org).

"Project-based reforms might not take hold for another decade, until current students become faculty members. When they do, they might turn engineering into the degree of choice for the nation's future leaders. …"

"ABET, which represents virtually every engineering discipline from agricultural to aeronautical, from civil to ceramic, will leave it to each school to craft an assessment procedure - and a mission statement. …"

"In practice, engineering continues to become more interdisciplinary. Civil and chemical engineers work together on environmental restoration projects; structural and material engineers experiment with advanced composites and advanced concrete. But academia and practitioners disagree on how to provide interdisciplinary training."

"In traditional programs, most students lack hands-on experiences. … Other practitioners complain that new graduates generally lack a feel for what constitutes an appropriate engineering solution." …

"Students hunger for real-life examples… For those wanting to teach for just a few days, ASCE recently revised its Practitioner-in-Residence Program. Such programs do nothing to remove school rules requiring faculty to have Ph.Ds - a barrier to practitioners."

[Readers who are interested in this article are encouraged to read the original paper in its entirety. Other summary notes on faculty reward systems are available on the Internet at http://lohman.tamu.edu under the heading "Summaries of Papers ..."]