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“Organizational culture is an emergent result of continuing
negotiations about values, meanings and properties between the members
of that organization and with its environment. In other words, culture
is the result of all the daily conversations and negotiations between
the members of an organization. …If you want to change a culture
you have to change all these conversations—or at least the
majority of them.”
[Richard
Seel]
The Foundation Coalition (FC) is an agent of systemic change in
the engineering education community. Systemic change requires systemic
learning, so the FC is facilitating many opportunities for engineering
educators to learn new assessment instruments and processes, alternative
pedagogical approaches, and new conceptual models of engineering
education. Learning opportunities are being offered in numerous
venues: conferences, interactive workshops, and materials that may
be downloaded from the FC
Web site.
- Developing and field testing
concept inventory and other assessment instruments
Since the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored the first
large curriculum innovation projects in 1998, engineering curricula
have undergone many different changes, but the area has changed
the least are the engineering science courses. To catalyze new
learning about what students are learning in these courses, faculty
members across the FC and beyond are developing concept inventory
assessment instruments. Currently, twelve concept inventories
are in various stages of development across the FC. Development,
field testing, and presentations on these instruments is stimulating
faculty members to revisit the conceptual understanding that students
have when they complete their engineering science courses.
- Growing list of resources to
encourage adoption of alternative pedagogies and curricula
These resources include one-page introductions, mini-documents,
EC 2000 modules, course modules for various engineering courses,
and workshops. All these resources are designed to help faculty
members become more informed about alternative pedagogies and
curricula.
- Face-to-face interactions
The FC worked with the SUCCEED, Greenfield, and Gateway Coalitions
to offer the Share the Future IV Conference in which over 170
faculty members participated. In addition, FC partners are hosting
focused mini-conferences to explore specific issues in greater
depth.
- Curricular change
The FC qualitative research project on curricular change has published
its first conference paper on the processes through which coalition
partners have initiated and attempted to sustain curricular change.
A meeting in July 2003 will extract guidelines and themes from
the case reports that have been generated from over 200 interviews
and analysis of documents on curricular change. The goal is to
provide knowledge about curricular change processes that will
aid other institutions undertaking significant curricular change.
In addition to codifying our learning about change across the
FC, two departments have volunteered to apply knowledge about
change to alter processes and conceptions of curricular change.
Developing and field
testing concept inventory assessment instruments
Within the engineering education community, one of the more powerful
mechanisms known to stimulate conversations about improvements
in engineering education is to ask hard questions about (1) what
students should be learning and (2) how well are they performing.
Recognizing that the Force
Concept Inventory (FCI) developed by Hestenes and Halloun
has encouraged physicists to re-examine what students are learning
in their introductory physics courses and how these courses might
be restructured and taught differently, faculty members across
the FC have been developing and sharing assessment instruments
targeted at areas of interest to engineering educators. In October
2000, FC faculty members began developing four concept inventory
assessment instruments. Work on three additional instruments began
in October 2001 while testing and refinement of the four original
instruments continued. In October 2002, faculty members initiated
construction of five more instruments while refining, testing,
and dissemination of the first seven instruments was underway.
Report on the two concept inventory workshops held at FIE 2002
and Share the Future IV.
- Signals
and Systems Concept Inventory (SSCI), development
started in October 2000,
- Thermodynamics
Concept Inventory (TCI), development started in October
2000,
- Electromagnetics
Concept Inventory (EMCI), development started in October
2000,
- Strength
of Materials Concept Inventory (SoMCI), development started
in October 2000,
- Materials
Concept Inventory (MCI), development started in October
2001,
- Fluid
Mechanics Concept Inventory (FMCI), development started
in October 2001,
- Circuits
Concept Inventory (CCI), development started in October
2001,
-
Chemistry Concept Inventory (ChemCI), development started
in October 2002,
- Dynamics
Concept Inventory (DCI), development started October 2002,
- Heat
Transfer Concept Inventory (HTCI), development started in
October 2002,
- Electronics
Concept Inventory (ECI), development started in October
2002,
- Computer
Engineering Concept Inventory (CPECI), development started
in October 2002
Each of these field testing instruments is now examined in greater
detail.
Signals and Systems Concept
Inventory
Linear signals and systems is a core subject in the undergraduate
electrical and computer engineering curriculum. The Signals and
Systems Concept Inventory (SSCI) is a twenty-five–question,
multiple-choice exam designed to assess students' understanding
of fundamental concepts in this subject. There are separate versions
of the SSCI exam for continuous-time and discrete-time material.
John Buck [University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD)] and Kathleen
Wage [George Mason University (GMU)] are the principal developers
of the SSCI. More information is available on the SSCI
Web site, which includes password-protected versions
of the instruments that are available for distribution, as well
as publications about the SSCI.
During the past year, both the CT-SSCI and DT-SSCI were revised
in response to field testing, bringing them to versions 2.2 and
2.1 respectively. Our pool of schools using the exam expanded
to six. We continued our four-campus study administering the exams
in a pre/post test protocol at the UMD, GMU, the U.S. Air Force
Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy. To date, the four-campus
study includes over 300 students. In addition to this study, Old
Dominion University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology adopted
the SSCI for their own internal assessments. MIT also participated
in the testing of the DT-SSCI. Kathleen Wage held interviews with
GMU students to gather data on their alternate conceptions as
revealed by their DT-SSCI answers. The SSCI website was updated
to include the new exams and new publications of the past year.
We presented the SSCI and our study results at the Second IEEE
Signal Processing Education Workshop and also as part of a Concept
Inventory Panel at Frontiers in Education 2002. The publication
citations from these conferences are listed below. The IEEE workshop
is the primary conference for our target audience of SSCI users:
signal processing faculty interested in pedagogical research and
reform. We actively recruited several new faculty members to use
the SSCI at this workshop.
Statistical analyses of the data from the 174 students who took
the CT-SSCI during the 2001–02 academic year found no evidence
of gender or racial bias in this pool, as reported in [1].
Motivated by Hake's 1998 survey of the Force Concept Inventory
(FCI), the normalized gain was computed for each student, as well
as normalized gains for each course (based on the average pre-test
and post-test scores for each course). Normalized gain represents
the fraction of the available improvement in score that was obtained
during the course. In analyzing the FCI, Hake showed that normalized
gain is a stable performance measure for courses that have similar
pedagogical formats, regardless of variations in student background
or instructor experience. Analysis of the 174 CT-SSCI exams revealed
a normalized gain between pre- and post-test scores of 0.22 +/–
0.07, which is consistent with the results Hake reported for other
concept inventory studies of traditional lecture courses. We also
analyzed the correlation between CT-SSCI performance and other
academic indicators of performance. Only the correlation of normalized
gain with GPA was significant on all four campuses. These results
are presented in more detail in [1]. During June
2003, we plan to extend these analyses using our expanded pool
of students from the 02–03 academic year and prepare a paper
for journal publication on our study.
Conference Proceedings Papers
1. Wage, K.E., Buck, J.R., Welch, T.B., and Wright, C.H.G., "Testing
and Validation of the Signals and Systems Concept Inventory,"
Proceedings of the Second IEEE Signal Processing Education
Workshop, Pine Mountain GA, October 2002.
Conference Panels
1. Evans, D.L., Midkiff, C., Miller, R., Morgan, J., Krause, S.,
Martin, J., Notaros, B.M., Rancour, D., Wage, K., "Tools
for Assessing Conceptual Understanding in the Engineering Sciences,"
Frontiers in Education Conference, Boston MA, November 2002.
Thermodynamics Concept
Inventory
Thermodynamics is a core discipline for several engineering and
science disciplines. The focus of the Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
(TCI) activity has been the development of an instrument suitable
for pre- and post-course assessment of students taking a first-semester
course taught in mechanical engineering (ME). Components of thermodynamics
are included in freshman physics and chemistry courses normally
required of engineering undergraduates. Additionally, many concepts
of thermodynamics, e.g., energy, heat and temperature, are familiar
through K-12 schooling and life experiences. Thus, it is important
to note that the first engineering course in thermodynamics is
not a student’s first exposure to this material. Dealing
with this issue has strongly influenced the development of the
TCI. K. Clark Midkiff of the University of Alabama is the principal
developer of the TCI and additional information is available from
him at cmidkiff@coe.eng.ua.edu.
The TCI is in its third year of development and the instrument
is in its fifth version. Noting the preexisting knowledge and
experience of thermodynamics mentioned above, and following the
lead of the Force Concepts Inventory, the first four versions
of the TCI attempted to test concepts with minimal use of the
formal language of thermodynamic that is taught in a first ME
course. The third and fourth versions of the instrument were tested
on five different campuses in spring and fall 2002. The results
of the testing were that the TCI correct response rates were significantly
higher—averaging higher than 60 percent, for pre-course
testing—than those of most other concept inventories under
development in this FC program. The extent of knowledge gained
as indicated by comparing pre- and post-test scores of the TCI,
i.e., the normalized gain, was similar to that of other concept
inventories. Nevertheless, it was decided to drastically revise
the TCI to increase its capacity to assess learning of all primary
course material, rather than just assess the entering conceptual
understanding. This necessitated inclusion of questions using
technical terms such as “specific entropy” that a
student entering the course would not recognize. The revision
also reduces the capacity of the instrument to identify misconceptions
from common life experiences, as there are fewer questions of
this type. This revision was accomplished in late fall 2002 and
tested on a single class in spring 2003. The revision did result
in lowering the pre-test score substantially, in line with the
other concept inventories developed in this program. In summer
2003, a detailed analysis of the current TCI will be made to identify
wording flaws and improve reliability and validity. Further testing
will resume in fall 2003.
Conference Panels
1. Evans, D.L., Midkiff, C., Miller, R., Morgan, J., Krause, S.,
Martin, J., Notaros, B.M., Rancour, D., and Wage, K.,"Tools
for Assessing Conceptual Understanding in the Engineering Sciences,"
Frontiers in Education, Boston MA, November 2002.
2. Evans, D.L., Gray, D., Krause, S., Martin, J., Midkiff, C.,
Notaros, B.M., Pavelich, M., Rancour, D., Reed-Rhoads, T., Steif,
P., Streveler, R., and Wage, K., “Progress on Concept Inventory
Assessment Tools” panel, to be presented at the 33d ASEE/IEEE
Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE 2003, 5–8 November
2003, Boulder CO.
Electromagnetics Concept Inventory
Electromagnetics Concept Inventory (EMCI) is an assessment tool
designed to measure students’ understanding of fundamental
concepts in electromagnetics. Although primarily intended for
junior-level electromagnetics courses in electrical engineering
departments, the EMCI can also be used in a variety of undergraduate
and graduate electromagnetics-related courses in engineering and
physics departments. EMCI Version 1.0 is composed of three exams:
- EMCI-Fields
(electro and magnetostatic, and time-varying EM fields),
- EMCI-Waves (uniform plane waves, transmission lines, waveguides,
and antennas), and
- EMCI-Fields & Waves (a combination of the first two exams).
These tests have been broadly disseminated to instructors and
electromagnetics and physics education researchers worldwide and
are currently being used at more than ten universities and colleges.
Branislav Notaros at the Colorado State University,
the principal developer of the EMCI, chaired the session on electromagnetics
education at the 2002 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International
Symposium, held 16–21 June, 2002, in San Antonio, Texas.
Since FIE 2002 in Boston, based on discussions at the CI Developer's
meeting and at the CI Panel session, as well as on the feedback
from instructors using the first version of the tests, development
of a new version of the EMCI has been conducted. In addition to
improving several parts of the tests, the primary goal is to include
many more prerequisite concepts in the EMCI, so that the portion
of the instrument devoted to these concepts will be around 40%,
while the rest of the questions will test concepts covered in
the course.
Future work will include completion of the new version of the
EMCI, further dissemination and field testing of the instrument,
and validity/reliability evaluation.
Conference Papers
1. Evans, D.L., Midkiff, C., Miller, R., Morgan, J., Krause, S.,
Martin, J., Notaros, B.M., Rancour, D., and Wage, K., “Tools
for Assessing Conceptual Understanding in the Engineering Sciences”,
panel, Proceedings of the 32d ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education
Conference—FIE 2002, 6–9 November 2002, Boston MA,
Session.F2B-1.
2. Evans, D.L., Gray, D., Krause, S., Martin, J., Midkiff, C.,
Notaros, B.M., Pavelich, M., Rancour, D., Reed-Rhoads, T., Steif,
P., Streveler, R., and Wage, K., “Progress on Concept Inventory
Assessment Tools” panel, to be presented at the 33d ASEE/IEEE
Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE 2003, 5–8 November
2003, Boulder CO.
Strength of Materials Concept
Inventory
Strength of Materials (SoM) Concept Inventory (SoMCI) developers
Jim Morgan and Jim Richardson reformed the project team with volunteers
attending an engineering mechanics workshop in San Antonio organized
by Don Evans in September 2002. The team met again in Boston at
the 2002 Frontiers in Education Conference where it picked up
two additional members, bringing the total to eight engineering
faculty from the following schools:
- Carnegie Mellon
University
- Clarkson University
- Colorado School of Mines
- Purdue University
- Rowan University
- Texas A&M University
- United States Military Academy
- University of Alabama
The new team first solicited input from colleagues regarding important
SoM concepts students frequently misunderstand. The team met to
compile the long list of concepts into a master list and established
criteria for writing good concept questions. Next, team members
tried drafting example concept questions. It proved surprising
difficult--most questions involved more than one concept.
Recognizing the importance of identifying student misconceptions
associated with SoM concepts, the team constructed a short "survey"
of five open-ended concept questions to give to SoM students at
the end of spring semester. We are currently reviewing the results
of the survey. We plan to meet again the day before the 2003 ASEE
Conference to critique our second round of concept questions.
Materials Concepts Inventory
The goal of the Materials Concept Inventory (MCI) is to measure
deep understanding and conceptual knowledge of principles of introductory
materials engineering classes. The results of the MCI can then
be compared to the student’s performance in classes with
different teaching methods to determine teaching effectiveness.
The thirty-question MCI test that was created had three general
categories of questions; background chemistry questions (8), background
geometry questions (2), and various materials course questions
(20). The topical areas on the materials questions were broken
down into the categories of: atomic bonding; electronic structure;
atomic arrangement and crystal structure; atomic arrangement and
crystal structure; defects and microstructure; phase diagrams
and solubility; and macroscopic mechanical properties. Preliminary
testing of the MCI indicated that the normalized gain (as defined
by Hake) was 15% to 20% in lecture-based courses. This is considered
by Hake to be in the lower gain region of knowledge gains, which
is typical of lecture-based courses. Details of the MCI development
and preliminary testing were reported in 2002 at a materials-oriented
National Educators Workshop [1] and at a FIE conference
panel [2].
During Year 10 of the Foundation Coalition Project, field testing
of the MCI began. Analysis of data sets from two early classes
showed some interesting trends. One was the fact that average
pretest scores ranged between 34% and 39% whereas average posttest
scores varied between 55% and 60%. Another was the fact that knowledge
gains of 30% to 40% were found in these classes where some active
learning strategies were employed. This is considered by Hake
to be moderate knowledge gain, typical of teaching found when
active learning strategies are employed. Another result showed
that there were marked differences in gains in the three general
categories. In the 8 chemistry background questions there was
only a gain of 13%, indicating that there were misconceptions
that persisted from the beginning to the end of the classes. In
the 2 geometry background questions there was a gain of 67%, a
high knowledge gain, indicating that visualization skills had
improved during the classes. It should be noted here that pretest
scores on geometry for ASU varied between 60% and 68% whereas
those for an earlier TAMU MCI test varied between 79% and 85%.
This may be due to the fact that TAMU had CAD activity in the
freshman course whereas ASU did not. Finally, a last interesting
result was that, for the 20 materials-related questions, there
was a gain of 37%. This indicates that medium knowledge gain was
achieved with a significant reduction of prior and spontaneous
misconceptions related to materials concepts. Details of these
and other results are being reported at the 2003 ASEE [3]
and FIE [4,5] conferences. These conference papers
will be developed into journal articles.
Currently, the MCI beta version is available through the web
site at ASU at the Center for Research on Science, math, Engineering
and Technology (CRESMET) at http://www.eas.asu.edu/~cresmet/
with a solution available through CRESMET by e-mailing cresmet@asu.edu.
Current and future work is going forward to create an improved
version of the MCI with the replacement and/or upgrading of 3
or 4 questions under consideration by the end of summer 2003.
Field testing will continue to build a strong base of results.
Work will also continue exploring and elucidating student misconceptions
and approaches to address them.
Conference Papers
1. Krause, S.J., Decker, J.C., Niska, J., Alford, T., and Griffin,
R.B., “Materials Concept Inventory for Introductory Materials
Engineering Courses,” Proceedings, National Educators
Workshop Update 2002: Standard Experiments in Engineering Materials,
Science, and Technology, 13–16 October 2002, San Jose CA.
2. Evans, D.L., Midkiff, C., Miller, R., Morgan, J., Krause,
S., Martin, J., Notaros, B.M., Rancour, D., and Wage, K., “Tools
for Assessing Conceptual Understanding in the Engineering Sciences”
panel, Proceedings of the 32d ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education
Conference—FIE 2002, 6–9 November 2002, Boston MA,
Session.F2B-1.
3. Krause, S.J., Decker, J.C., Niska, J., Alford, T., and Griffin,
R., “Identifying Student Misconceptions in Introductory
Materials Engineering Classes,” Proceedings, Am.
Soc. Engr. Ed. Annual Conf., Nashville TN, June 2003.
4. Krause, S.J., Decker, J.C., and Griffin, R.B., “Using
a Materials Concept Inventory to Assess Conceptual Gain in Introductory
Materials Engineering Courses,” 33d ASEE/IEEE Frontiers
in Education Conference—FIE 2003, 5–8 November 2003,
Boulder CO.
5. Evans, D.L., Gray, D., Krause, S., Martin, J., Midkiff, C.,
Notaros, B.M., Pavelich, M., Rancour, D., Reed-Rhoads, T., Steif,
P., Streveler, R., and Wage, K., “Progress on Concept Inventory
Assessment Tools” panel, to be presented at the 33d ASEE/IEEE
Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE 2003, 5–8 November
2003, Boulder CO.
Fluid Mechanics Concept Inventory
Faculty members at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are developing has been
aimed at development of a concept inventory in fluid mechanics
[1]. The Fluid Mechanics Concept Inventory (FMCI)
is intended for use in assessment of Mechanical Engineering students
who have or will be taking a course in fluid mechanics. The first
step in development of the FMCI was identification of the fluid
mechanics concepts that were considered to be essential for mechanical
engineering students after completing an undergraduate fluid mechanics
course in mechanical engineering. The experienced faculty team
identified the essential concepts prior to constructing individual
questions. Once the concepts were identified, the team wrote multiple
questions for each of the concepts to support validation.
Conference Papers
1. Martin, J.K., Mitchell, J., Newell, T., “Development
of a Concept Inventory for Fluid Mechanics,” to be presented
at the 33d ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE
2003, 5–8 November 2003, Boulder CO.
Circuits Concept Inventory
Circuits is the initial subject in most electrical and computer
engineering curricula. Version 1.0 of the Circuits Concept Inventory
(CCI) is a thirty-four-question, multiple-choice exam created
by Bob Helgeland and Dave Rancour at the University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth. As of January 2003 the concepts addressed by the CCI
exams include
• Basic switch connections (1 question)
• Series/parallel equivalent components (6 questions)
• Current and voltage conservation laws (4 questions)
• Voltage and current dividers (4 questions)
• Response of first-order circuits (8 questions)
• Characteristic parameters of ac signals (10 questions)
• Dependent sources (2 questions)
• Impulse response (1 question)
• Time domain and s-domain signals (1 question)
• Frequency response (2 questions)
• Resonance (2 questions)
• Fourier series. (2 questions)
(43 questions total)
Thirty-four questions were selected for version 1.0 that was
given to 101 students enrolled in circuit theory classes at UMD
during the summer and fall 2002 terms. CCI test data was presented
at FIE 2002. Sample data [coming soon] is shown below.
Upon analyzing the results we discovered some flaws in version
1.0. Four different authors wrote the questions, so the format
varied. Some questions contained multiple correct answers and
the total number of choices per question ranged from 3 to 6. This
made statistical analysis of the data more challenging because
of the large assortment of partially correct responses. Furthermore,
a 25% score could not be interpreted as being equivalent to random
guessing, which would be the case if all questions had exactly
four choices. Revised versions of the CCI, to be given at UMD
in the spring and summer 2003 terms, will have exactly four choices
per question with only one of the choices being correct.
The original pool of 43 questions will be increased to over
90, largely by including topics that were not covered in the prototype
exams. New topics will include
• Thevenin/Norton equivalents
• Superposition
• Node and Mesh analysis
• Complex numbers
• Coupled inductors
• Phasors
• Poles and zeros
• Response of second-order circuits
• Convolution
• Three-phase power
Some new questions will use reverse reasoning, e.g., find the
correct input given a system and an output. The prototype exams
were given once per term whereas the revised exams are administered
at the beginning and end of the term, as pre-test and post-test,
in order to measure student gains. Construct validity and possible
gender and race bias will be examined using ANOVA tests to verify
construct validity. Peer review will be used to determine content
validity.
Chemistry Concept Inventory
A Chemistry Concept Inventory (ChCI) was created utilizing an
expansive literature review of chemistry related misconceptions
and utilizing the general principles of the Force
Concept Inventory. The incorrect choices (distracters)
for the multiple choice questions were generated from open-ended
quizzes administered during general chemistry classes at ASU.
Sixty questions were developed of which thirty are suitable for
the first semester of a two-semester chemistry course while the
other thirty are suitable for the second semester of the two-semester
course. A fraction of the questions are tied to questions on the
MCI to allow comparison of results of knowledge gain between a
basic science course and an introductory engineering science course.
The two thirty -question sets will begin field testing this summer
at chemistry classes at ASU and at a local community college to
compare results from different sites. The questions will be improved
based upon the results obtained during this summer and new tests
will be administered to large chemistry sections this fall. Progress
on the ChCI has been reported at a panel session at the Share
the Future Conference IV panel in March 2003 and will also be
reported at a FIE conference panel [1] this fall.
Conference Papers
1. Evans, D.L., Gray, D., Krause, S., Martin, J., Midkiff, C.,
Notaros, B.M., Pavelich, M., Rancour, D., Reed-Rhoads, T., Steif,
P., Streveler, R., and Wage, K., “Progress on Concept Inventory
Assessment Tools” panel, to be presented at the 33d ASEE/IEEE
Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE 2003, 5–8 November
2003, Boulder CO.
Dynamics Concept Inventory
The Dynamics Concept Inventory (DCI) team is developing a CI for
sophomore-level dynamics. Dynamics is generally taken by mechanics,
aerospace, civil, and industrial engineers and the prerequisite
is usually statics and two semesters of calculus. The efforts
of this team are focused on the second half of the dynamics course,
that is, rigid body dynamics, since the Force
Concept Inventory (FCI) sufficiently covers particle
dynamics. The DCI team grew out a meeting held in San Antonio,
Texas, in September of 2002. This meeting, attended by 14 mechanics
faculty from an equal number of universities, was instrumental
in encouraging work on a Dynamics CI and on reinvigorating the
work on the Strength of Materials CI. For more information on
the development of the DCI, please contact D.
L. Evans, Arizona State University, leader; Gary
Gray, Pennsylvania State University; Phillip
Cornwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Francesco
Costanzo, Pennsylvania State University and Brian
Self, U.S. Air Force Academy. This team has worked closely
together since the San Antonio meeting to begin to assemble a
CI that addresses the commonly held alternate conceptions in rigid
body mechanics.
At the Concept Developers Meeting held at FIE 2002 in Boston,
the DCI team agreed to use the Delphi process, patterned after
that used for the Colorado School of Mines-led CI team[1,2,3]
to determine a list of the important concepts, as well as misconceptions,
in dynamics. We began the process by recruiting 25 seasoned faculty
members from a diversity of institutional types ranging from community
colleges to research universities, and including minority and
women faculty. We asked them to describe those concepts in rigid
body dynamics that their students have difficulty understanding.
The team told the Delphi participants to focus on areas in which
students often display insufficient conceptual understanding rather
than focusing on student difficulties with analysis skills. Once
the raw data was collected from the Delphi participants, it was
categorized, summarized, and final statements for each of the
24 important concepts (and alternate misconceptions) were developed.
In Round 2 of the Delphi process, we asked each of the participants
to estimate the proportion of their students who understand the
issue or concept at an acceptable level at the end of dynamics,
and to describe how important they believe it is for students
to understand the concept. From the collected data, the team has
identified eleven concepts from rigid body dynamics that should
be covered on the DCI. Student focus groups have also been used
to address alternate conceptions that involve the concepts identified
by the Delphi process. More information will be presented at the
2003 Frontiers in Education Conference.[4]
The DCI team has created concept questions for each of the 11
concepts and refined those questions for inclusion on the first
draft of the DCI, which we plan to have completed by the end of
2003. The DCI will then be tested at several institutions during
the spring 2004 semester.
Heat Transfer Concept Inventory
In contrast to the approach followed for the FMCI, and following
the lead of Krause and other faculty members working on various
concept inventories, development of a Heat Transfer Concept Inventory
(HTCI) began with students. Faculty members at the University
of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
worked with students to identify essential concepts and alternate
conceptions. Faculty members also worked with students in the
development and evaluation of questions used on the HTCI, and
in the answers to the questions as students assisted in the identification
of key false positive answers. This is being done through focus
group activities including videotaping of student discussion of
concepts and questions, and guided reflection on concepts led
by faculty. The HTCI is not yet complete; but the completed inventory
is expected to be available for testing and validation by the
end of summer 2003.
1. Linstone, H.A., and Turoff, M. (1975), The Delphi Method:
Techniques and Applications, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
2. Clayton, M.J. (1997), "Delphi: a technique to harness
expert opinion for critical decision-making tasks in education,"
Ed. Psych., 17:4, 373–386.
3. Miller, R., Olds, B., Streveler, R., "Developing an Outcomes
Assessment Instrument for Identifying Engineering Student Misconceptions
in Thermal and Transport Sciences" (NSF ASA grant DUE 0127806).
4. Gray, G., Evans, D., Cornwell, P., Costanzo, M., and Self,
B. (2003), "Toward a nationwide dynamics concept inventory
assessment test," Proceedings, 2003 ASEE Annual
Conference, Nashville TN.
Conference Papers
1. Jacobi, T., Martin, J.K., Mitchell, J., Newell, T., “A
Concept Inventory for Heat Transfer,” to be presented at
the 33d ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference—FIE
2003, 5–8 November 2003, Boulder CO.
Electronics Concept Inventory
Analog and digital electronics are core components of electrical
engineering curricula. The project goal is to develop assessment
instrument(s) that measure change in the conceptual understanding
of electronics by students. Development of the Electronics Concepts
Inventory (ECI) began in October 2002. As is the case for several
other concept inventories, the concept inventory consists of multiple
parts. For the ECI, there will be an ECI-Analog that will focus
on analog electronics and an ECI-Digital for digital electronics.
During the 2002–2003 academic year, developers at UMD developed
fifty multiple-choice questions in analog electronics. During
the summer of 2003, developers will develop a second set of multiple-choice
questions for digital electronics. Both digital and analog parts
will be ready for testing during the 2003–04 academic year.
Computer Engineering Concept
Inventory
Computer hardware and software concepts are core components in
computer engineering curricula throughout the country. The goal
is to develop assessment instruments to measure change in the
conceptual understanding of Computer Engineering by students who
have completed sophomore level courses such as digital logic and
computer design, data structures or introduction to computer organization.
The first version of the Computer Engineering Concept Inventory
(CPECI) is presently under development. For more information on
the development of the CPECI, please contact Paul
Fortier, Howard Miche,
or Hong Liu of the Electrical
Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
(UMD), or Jeff Jackson,
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University
of Alabama (UA).
Three areas listed below show the initial core concepts to be
covered by the first version. The initial CECI will be distributed
to other academic institutions in summer 2003 for review and comment.
Additional topics and questions will be developed and existing
questions refined or dropped during the summer based on these
reviews.
• Digital Logic
• Computer Architecture and Organization
• Programming Fundamentals
Developing resources to encourage
adoption of alternative pedagogies and curricula
- Facilitating
adoption of alternative pedagogies and curricula recognizes that
faculty members and institutions change their courses and curricula
in stages. Although there are a wide variety of staged change
models, the Foundation Coalition has tried to focus on the following
six-stage model.
- Preawareness
In preawareness, faculty members know little or nothing about
a pedagogical or curricular project or innovation. At this stage
they will invest only a small amount of time—say, at most,
twenty minutes—to become more familiar with the nature of
the project.
- Awareness At
this stage, a faculty member associates the name of an innovation
or project with a brief description of its nature. They may need
repeated exposures to information before they reach this stage.
Faculty members in the awareness stage may be willing to invest
more time to learn about the project, perhaps up to an hour.
- Interest Now,
faculty members may be willing to read articles about the project
or innovation. They will invest more time and may initiate scans
for additional information.
- Search In search,
faculty members will actively seek more information about the
project or innovation.
- Decision At this
stage, faculty members are actively seeking information that will
help them make a decision on whether to adopt the innovation or
use the results of the project.
- Action Now, a
faculty member has decided to adopt the innovation or use the
results of a project in her/his own courses.
- Using the above model, the Foundation Coalition has prepared
resources that will assist faculty members in the transition at
each stage of the change process.
One-page introductions
One-page introductions have been prepared to raise the level of
awareness of FC core
competencies and curricular innovations. Topics for the one-page
introductions include active/cooperative learning, student teams
in engineering, technology-enabled learning, FC first-year curricula,
and assessment and evaluation. Here is a listing of the one-page
introductions and mini-documents that have been developed to date:
- Introduction to the Foundation Coalition
- Foundation Coalition Partners
- Active/Cooperative Learning
- Assessment and Evaluation
- Assessment Tools for Attitudes and Skills
- Concept Inventory Assessment Tools
- Technology-enabled Learning
- Electronic Response Systems
- Technology Usage Patterns in First-year Engineering
- EC 2000 a–k Instructional Modules
- Conservation and Accounting Framework
- Sophomore Engineering Science Curriculum at Rose-Hulman Institute
of Technology
- First-year Engineering at the University of Alabama
- First-year Engineering at Texas A&M University
- First-year Engineering at Arizona State University
- First-year Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- Student Teams in Engineering
- Curriculum Integration
Copies of the one-page introductions are available at http://fc1.tamu.edu/publications/brochures/.
Minidocuments Once
faculty members become aware of a specific innovation, they have
additional questions about the innovation. Based on experience in
offering workshops on several different innovations, FC faculty
members have identified questions that are asked repeatedly and
prepared targeted summaries to address these questions and help
catalyze the transition from awareness to interest. For teams, these
minidocuments address questions such as “How do I form teams?”,
“How do I assign individual grades for team assignments?”,
“How do I facilitate dysfunctional teams?” For active/cooperative
learning, these minidocuments address the five elements of cooperative
learning: positive interdependence, individual accountability, group
processing, social skills, and face-to-face interaction.
Minidocuments on Student Teams in Engineering
• Forming Teams
• Getting Student Engineering Teams Off to a Good Start
• Peer Assessment and Peer Evaluation
• Facilitating Dysfunctional Teams
• Monitoring Progress of Student
• Improving Conflict Management Skills in Student Teams
• Improving Intrateam/Interteam Communication Skills
• Improving Decision Making Skills in Student Teams (expected
completion date: 31 July 2003)
Minidocuments on Active/Cooperative Learning
• Positive Interdependence, Promotive Interaction, and Individual
Accountability (expected completion date: 30 September 2003)
• Interactive Lectures and Class Sessions (expected completion
date: 30 September 2003)
• Building Team Skills for Active/Cooperative Learning (expected
completion date: 30 September 2003)
• Problem-Based Learning (expected completion date: 30 September
2003)
• Virtual Teams or Computer Supported Cooperative Learning
(expected completion date: 30 September 2003)
• Using Active/Cooperative Learning in a Digital Design Course
(expected completion date: 30 September 2003)
Web site and publications
As interested faculty members begin to search for materials, the
FC has expanded its Web site (http://www.foundationcoalition.org)
to include the one-page introductions, the targeted summaries, success
stories, copies of FC papers, and additional material to help faculty
members find more information about the innovations in which they
are interested. In addition, the FC has constructed a web site focused
on active/cooperative learning (ACL, http://clte.asu.edu/active/main.htm).
It includes interviews with 21 engineering faculty on 8 different
campuses faculty members who have incorporated ACL into their classes
and course modules that illustrate the application of ACL in engineering
classes. . Through the interviews, our faculty offer suggestions
for preparing students for teamwork, developing instructional materials,
and implementing and assessing cooperative learning lessons and
activities. The site also contains content-specific engineering
lessons, activities, and projects.
Workshops As faculty
members decide whether to adopt the innovations and act to apply
them in their courses or on their campuses, FC workshops provide
an effective tool to help faculty members acquire in-depth knowledge
and initial experience with using the innovation. The workshops
range in length from two hours to two days, depending on the objectives
of the campus that is hosting the workshop.
• Principles for Classroom and Curricular Innovation
• Active/Cooperative Learning: Introduction and Applications
• Active/Cooperative Learning: After the Basics
• Active/Cooperative Learning in Capstone Design Courses
• Student Teams in Engineering: Introduction and Applications
• Converting Group Projects into Team Projects
• Concept Inventory Assessment Instruments for Engineering
Science
• Developing an Assessment and Evaluation Plan
• Developing Measurable Objectives and Outcomes for Programs
and Courses
• Course Objectives and Classroom Assessment
• Technology-enabled Learning in Engineering: Taxonomy and
Applications
• Designing Innovative Classrooms for Education in Science,
Engineering, and Mathematics
• Curriculum Integration: Why and How
• Curricular Change, Resistance, and Leadership
• Process of Curricular Change: Case Studies Across the Foundation
Coalition
• How Do We Learn?
• Inclusive Learning Communities: Lessons from Foundation
Coalition Experiences
• Faculty Learning Communities
• Retention of Undergraduate Students in Engineering
• First-year Curricula and Programs across the Foundation
Coalition
• Conservation and Accounting Framework: A Unified Approach
to Engineering Science
• Teaching EC 2000: Integrating Student Outcomes "a–k"
into Engineering Courses
• Writing More Effective Engineering Education Proposals
The list of available FC workshops can be found at http://fc1.tamu.edu/events/workshops/index.html.
Information about FC workshops that have been offered can be found
at http://fc1.tamu.edu/events/workshops/pastworkshops.html.
EC 2000 Course Modules
Another tool to encourage faculty members to consider integrating
material on one or more of the non-technical EC 2000 “a–k”
student outcomes into their classes is a set of fifteen course modules.
Modules are designed to enhance students’ skills in four general
areas: technical skills, communication skills, professional skills,
and ethical-societal skills. They are designed to fit into any upper-level
engineering course that needs to deal explicitly with one or more
of the EC 2000 student outcomes. Each module contains material for
three fifty-minute lectures and makes use of active/cooperative
learning methods. Each contains a justification for the material,
learning objectives, an assessment process, multiple student assignments,
activities to build the skill and bridge it into the discipline-specific
course content, and an instructor's guide. More information about
the modules can be found at http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/FCVersion2/ec2000.html.
Journal Paper
1. Pimmel, R.L., “Student Learning of Criterion 3 (a)–(k)
Outcomes with Short Instructional Modules and the Relationship to
Bloom’s Taxonomy,” J. Engr. Ed. (accepted pending
revision), 2003.
Conference Paper
1. Stern, H.P.E., and Pimmel, R.L., “Instructional Module
for Engineering Ethics,” Proceedings, 2002 Frontiers
in Engineering Conference.
Surveys on EC 2000 Instructional
and Assessment Material A project team has completed
a systematic, comprehensive search for instructional and assessment
materials dealing with Criteria 3 (a)–(k) outcomes that are
available on the Web. We have characterized the content and availability
of each item. We are creating a Web-accessible database containing
this information and we are analyzing it patterns of availability.
In addition, we have initiated a survey to identify instructional
and assessment material dealing with these outcomes. In this survey,
we are contacting deans and program heads of each ABET-accredited
program to identify instructors who have responsibility for teaching
specific Criteria 3 (a)–(k) outcomes. We then survey these
instructors on the nature of their instructional material. We have
obtained some information and anticipate much more. We are in the
process of creating a searchable database that will be accessible
through the Internet.
Conference Papers
1. Haag, S., and Caso, R. (2003), "Assessment Materials Addressing
EC 2000 Program Outcomes," Internatl. Conf. Engr. Ed. (ICEE),
21–25 July 2003, Valencia, Spain.
2. Pimmel, R., Caso, R., Haag, S., and Fowler, E., (2003), "A
Structured Survey to Inventory EC 2000 Instructional Materials,"
2003 Frontiers in Education (Paper #1390), November 2003, Boulder,
CO.
3. Haag, S., Caso, R., Fowler, E., and Pimmel, R. (2003), "A
systematic Web and literature search for instructional and assessment
materials addressing EC 2000 Program Outcomes, " 2003 Frontiers
in Education (Paper #1418), November 2003, Boulder CO.
4. Caso, R., and Froyd, J. (2031), "Preliminary Results of
a Search for Assessment Materials Addressing EC 2000 Program Outcomes
from Secondary and First-hand Sources," Proceedings,
2003 Best Assessment Processes V Symposium, April 2003, session
33-O203.
5. Pimmel, R.l., Morley, P., Haag, S., Caso, R., and Fowler, E.,
“A Structured Survey to Inventory EC 2000 Instructional Materials,”
Proceedings, 2003 FIE (in press).
Face-to-face Interactions
Changing all or most of the conversations that occur across the
engineering education community requires face-to-face interactions
between faculty members who are interested in improving engineering
education. Face-to-face interactions during the past year have taken
two forms.
- Share the Future Conferences
The FC has worked with the other existing engineering education
coalitions—SUCCEED, Greenfield, and Gateway—to sponsor
an annual Share the Future Conference. The heart of each Share
the Future Conference is two-hour workshops during which participants
have opportunities to interact with the facilitators and each
other to acquire a more in-depth knowledge of the workshop topic.
Gateway and SUCCEED led the way and offered the first Share the
Future Conference in 2000. Foundation joined in offering the second
conference in 2001, and the third conference was presented by
all four coalitions as Greenfield contributed in 2002. Share the
Future IV was held on 16–18 March 2003 in Tempe, Arizona.
More information on the Share the Future Conferences can be found
at
http://fc1.tamu.edu/events/conferences/index.html.
- Focused dissemination
FC partner institutions have hosted small, focused conferences
(colloquially referred to as miniconferences) at which participants
interested in a narrow set of issues and innovations meet to describe
what they have done, what they would like to learn, and what they
plan to do before the next conference. These miniconferences offer
an excellent opportunity for participants to learn about the accomplishments
of the FC partners because the conversations occur in an environment
in which participants are trying to learn how they might improve
programs that are offered on their campuses. Specifics about past
miniconferences and planned mini-conferences are provided in the
following paragraphs.
Third Miniconference on First-year
Innovations
The third annual Miniconference on Innovations sponsored by NSF through
the Foundation Coalition was held May 13–14, 2003 on the Purdue
University campus. Invited participants came from large public Midwestern
universities: Universities of Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan, Ohio
State, Pennsylvania State, Purdue, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The focus
of the conference was on the innovations on campuses, in engineering
colleges, and in departments that help students adapt to university
life and learn about engineering. The intended outcomes of the conference
were
- To obtain a
greater understanding of what works well and not so well in the
freshman year
- To develop/revise plans for improving the freshman year program
on individual campuses
- To determine whether to continue the conference without NSF
support.
Each institution presented some aspects of their freshman year.
Schools that participated in previous years (Iowa State, Michigan,
Purdue, and Wisconsin) gave an update on their programs and the
progress that they are making. Schools new to the Mini-conference
(Illinois, Penn State, and Minnesota) made a summary of their freshman
year program. At the conclusion of the Mini-conference, participants
considered whether to continue to hold such a Miniconference without
FC funding. There was overwhelming support to continue holding a
Miniconference.
A number of issues were raised and discussed during the breakout
sessions and general discussions. None were “resolved”
in the traditional sense, but they served as points for further
discussion. Each school has taken a somewhat different approach
for the first year, and all of the programs work to some extent.
The issues raised will serve to stimulate further improvements in
the first year programs, and that they may be topics to discuss
in future conferences.
Common ideas that emerged from the discussions are
- The Freshman
Year doesn’t lead well into departmental curriculum.
- Faculty in departments don’t value the first-year programs.
- Faculty in departments don’t know how to teach freshmen.
- Integration of design throughout the curriculum is valuable.
- First-year engineering curricula have little real engineering
content. They are is mostly mathematics, chemistry, physics, and
social sciences.
- There are many different approaches to a first-year engineering
program.
Second Annual SEC Engineering Schools
Meeting
Schools in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which offer engineering,
met at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, on 19–20
May 2003. The conference focused on three issues (diversity, first-year
engineering curricula, and student outcomes in EC 200x) with the following
goals:
- Establish a
dialogue among SEC engineering schools
- Share experience and concerns regarding the three issues
- Identify important, common, unresolved questions
- Identify specific collaborative efforts for resolving these
questions and the “deliverables” resulting from these
efforts (perhaps involving proposals for external funding)
- Share conclusions with the deans
- Plan a follow-up meeting to report progress and to explore
additional issues
More information about the SEC Engineering Schools Meeting can
be found at http://fc1.tamu.edu/events/news/undergraded.html.
Miniconference on the Energy Stem
in Mechanical Engineering
The second miniconference on the energy stem in Mechanical Engineering,
sponsored by the Foundation Coalition, was held May 28 and 29, 2003
at the University of Wisconsin. There were 20 participants from
14 different universities. The focus of the conference was on the
role of concepts in learning and teaching.
Presentations were made by those involved with developing concept
inventories and concept-based teaching methods and materials. Small
groups were formed based on their interest in thermodynamics, fluid
mechanics, or heat transfer. At the end of the miniconference, several
action items were developed:
- Develop a concept
question data bank: Pool questions so that instructors have a
resource and develop a misconception data bank. A review process
for questions needs to be developed. The University of Wisconsin
and University of Illinois will serve to collect questions.
- Need to quantify the results of concept questions: Need to
increase the number of faculty who understand and use concept
questions. Several individual action items were accepted in connection
with this action item.
- Hold sessions at ASME, ASHRAE, and other professional technical
societies.
The participants overwhelmed agreed that this miniconference was
worthwhile. Networking provided by meeting others interested in
improving the quality of teaching is invaluable. The participants
agreed to support the development of a data base. There was general
agreement to hold the conference next year, even without Foundation
Coalition support.
Ways of Knowing and Ways of Practice
“Ways of Knowing and Ways of Practice” was an on-line,
distance learning experience for faculty and instructional staff
during Spring Semester, 2003. Enrollment was limited to twenty participants;
preference was for teams of two from participating institution such
that one faculty person was from engineering and one from another
science, math, or computer science discipline. Specifically, the
professional development opportunity explored ways of knowing,
including theories of learning, learning styles, disciplinary and
cultural perspectives and how they inform ways of practice,
including both teaching practice and engineering practice. The professional
development experience involved an orientation in Madison, Wisconsin,
weekly on-line discussions based on readings, a personalized curriculum
project, and approximately two to three hours per week commitment
on the part of each participant.
Participants represented the following institutions: Milwaukee
School of Engineering, Michigan State University, Southern Illinois
University Edwardsville, University of Wisconsin Platteville, North
Dakota State University, Tarleton State University, Dordt College,
Southeast Missouri State University, University of Minnesota Duluth,
and the University of Wisconsin Madison. Participants facilitated
weekly on-line discussions based on their specific projects. Topics
included problem solving with computers, visualization techniques,
simulations, situated learning, freshmen retention, on-line learning,
active classrooms, conceptual learning, time-effective lab report
grading, and evaluating and improving teaching.
Special features included a conversation with Ted Marchese from
Washington DC and John Heywood from University of Dublin, Ireland.
Marchese is former chair of AAHE and currently a consultant with
Academic Search. Participants had discussed his article, “New
Conversations about Learning Insights from Neuroscience and Anthropology,
Cognitive Science, and Workplace Studies.” Heywood is an engineering
education consultant who is completing a manuscript titled, “Curriculum
Leadership in Engineering Education.” Technology features
included a Web-based teleconference and WebCT.
Several participants plan to meet in Nashville at the ASEE Annual
Conference; one is presenting a paper based on their project. Formative
assessments indicate that the experience has played a significant
role in terms of reflection and space for individual professional
development. An overall evaluation is in progress. Sandra Courter,
project director, plans to submit a paper for 2004 ASEE Annual Conference
based on the experience. Details on the project can be found at
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/elc.
Curricular change
The culture of engineering education encompasses not only the structure
of an engineering curriculum and how students and faculty members
interact with it, but also the processes through which engineering
curricula grow and improve. Therefore, the FC is continuing a qualitative
research project that examines processes
through which coalition partners have initiated and attempted to
sustain curricular change. It is important to emphasize that the
focus of the study is the process of curricular change is the process
of curricular change, non content of new of curricula. The project
is organized as a series of qualitative case studies that examine
curricular change at each of the partner institutions. Data for
each case study has collected through interviews of approximately
twenty-five key faculty and administrators, as well as review of
relevant documents. Each case study identifies critical events and
salient issues involved in that process, as well as valuable lessons
learned by each institution from experience.
To date, several themes have emerged from analysis of the data.
- The study shows that assessment data gathered during the piloting
of the new curriculum were necessary to engage and sustain conversations
about the possibilities of adopting the curriculum for all engineering
majors. However, at no FC partner institution were the assessment
data alone sufficient
to move the non-FC faculty to adopt a new curriculum. The initial
change model that the FC leaders were using, with its emphasis
on the pilot curriculum, was problematic.
- In the second-generation change model, the emphasis shifts
away from pilot curriculum development and assessment, and instead
the design of an institutional curriculum system that accommodates
all students is given more attention. So the project focus is
both on developing a pilot curriculum and carefully assessing
student performance as well as attributes that will be useful
in designing a curriculum structure for all students. Developers
can learn from pilot curricula to see how college-wide curriculum
might be designed, but they must use a process that involves all
faculty members as well as student advisors to craft a college-wide
curriculum.
- Curricular innovation projects will include developing, implementing,
and carefully assessing a pilot curriculum for student performance
and learning required to design college-wide curriculum. Next,
developers will use knowledge gained from pilot curriculum efforts
to design a college-wide curriculum system with high faculty and
administrative involvement. Finally, the innovation effort will
consider developing new administrative structures within the college
that will support the new curriculum.
Conference
Paper
1. Clark, M.C., Froyd, J., Merton, P., and Richardson, J. (2003),
"Evolving Models of Curricular Change: The Experience of the
Foundation Coalition,” Proceedings, Am. Soc. Engr.
Ed. Annual Conf., Nashville TN.
Department Change Project at UWM
The focus of the department change project at UWM is the Department
of Mechanical Engineering, which has worked on developing and implementing
a process for regular and systematic curricular review and revision.
In Year 10, there were two parts to the activities. The first part
involved activities designed to move the department towards becoming
a learning community, an organization in which continuous review
and reflection on curricular content became a regular part of department
activities. The key component of this was an off-campus gathering
of the faculty and their families. On a Friday in the fall, faculty
and teaching staff cancelled classes (with the approval of the Dean
and the Department Chair) to travel to a nearby spot for a day-and-a-half
gathering. Spouses and families were included to begin to foster
the kind of learning community we know makes for an environment
where members are free to discuss, disagree and find common ground
on their beliefs about teaching and learning. The time was structured
with time for readings, time for reflection, and group work in summarizing
readings. The process used was based on the work of Cooperrider
and Hammond, called Appreciative Inquiry.© Building on the
memories of positive and collegial experiences in the history of
the department set the tone for further successes. The group left
with a list of statements in answer to the question “What
are our responsibilities teaching undergraduates at a Research I
institution?”
The second part of the effort was the establishment of a model
that the department could follow in developing a process for continuous
improvement of the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum. For example,
at a winter gathering, the faculty revisited the belief statements
from the fall work and integrated them with the department’s
1999-2000 ABET review documents. From this, the curriculum committee
consolidated the belief statements from the fall with the materials
from the ABET review into a ten-point philosophy for the department.
Currently, groups of faculty are working on aligning course outcomes
and objectives with the philosophy statements. When completed, these,
along with the process instruments will be available for other departments
wishing to embark on significant, long-lasting and on-going change
at the departmental level.
Conference Proceedings and Workshops
1. Haglund, D., Kushner, J., and Martin, J., “Developing a
Philosophy of Practice: A New Approach to Curricular Evolution in
Engineering Education at the University of Wisconsin,” Proceedings,
Am. Soc. Engr. Ed. Annual Conf., Nashville TN, June 2003.
2. Haglund, D., Martin, J., and Mitchell, J., “An Approach
to curricular Evolution at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,”
Share the Future IV Conference: Tempe, AZ, March 2003.
Department Change Project at UMD
The focus of the department change project at UMD is the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, which is restructuring its
computer engineering curricula using knowledge about computer engineering
curricula across the nation and the practices gained from FC participation.
In year 10, department pursued several activities to engage department
faculty in reflection on and discussion about their curriculum.
One important activity was to gather information from faculty regarding
the department’s history, current perspectives on the curriculum
and change as well as past assessment and evaluation activities.
From this information, the department discovered many misconceptions
that existed within our own faculty regarding what should be in
a computer engineering curriculum. To illuminate and clarify some
of these misconceptions and to foster more faculty engagement in
the process, the department surveyed curricula at small, medium
and large institutions in an effort to determine national norms
and how the UMD curriculum compared with these norms. The output
of this effort of year 10 is a draft technical paper entitled “A
Survey of US Computer Engineering Curriculums in 2003.” This
draft paper served as a focal point of discussion in a series of
faculty workshops held in October and November 2002. Of particular
interest was in how departmental faculty felt their curriculum compared
to those of other similar and dissimilar institutions. These discussions
led to the initiation of a another workshop held in January 2003
which focused on development of department strengths and weaknesses
as well as a request to delve deeper into the curriculum of other
institutions defined in our draft paper of October. The focus shifted
to more detailed analysis of course contents to see what was different
and similar in each of the surveyed curricula. As the project continues,
course pedagogy, teacher and teaching methods, and assessment will
be discussed. The project deliverables will be the paper defined
above and another detailing the processes used in facilitating department
change. Both papers will be submitted to national conferences in
the coming year.
Foundation Coalition Contacts
DR. JEFF FROYD
Director, Foundation Coalition
Texas A&M University
204 Zachry Engineering Center, MS 3127
College Station TX 77843-3127
E-mail: froyd@tamu.edu
Tel: 979.845.7574 Fax: 979.862.1940
DR. DON EVANS
Center for Research in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology
Arizona State University
Box 876106
Tempe AZ 85287-6106
E-mail: devans@asu.edu
Tel: 480.965.5350 Fax: 480.965.5993
DR. DAN MOORE
Associate Dean
Department of Electrical Engineering
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
5500 Wabash Avenue Box 160
Terre Haute IN 47803-3999
E-mail: daniel.j.moore@rose-hulman.edu
Tel: 812.877.8110 Fax: 812.877.8025
DR. CÉSAR MALAVÉ
Department of Industrial Engineering
Zachry Engineering Center
Texas A&M University
College Station TX 77843-3131
E-mail: malave@tamu.edu
Tel: 979.845.5531 Fax: 979.847.9005
DR. RUSS PIMMEL
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Alabama
Box 870286
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0286
E-mail: rpimmel@coe.eng.ua.edu
Tel: 205.348.1753 Fax: 205.348.6959
DR. PAUL FORTIER
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Group II Room 214-D
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
North Dartmouth MA 02747-2300
E-mail: pfortier@umassd.edu
Tel: 508.999.8544 Fax: 508.999.8489
DR. JAY MARTIN
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Wisconsin
1500 Engineering Drive
Engineering Research Building 111
Madison WI 53706
E-mail: martin@engr.wisc.edu
Tel: 608.262.9460 Fax: 608.262.8464
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor
the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~Charles Darwin
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