|
Integrating Engineering Design Courses
with Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Mathematics
Devdas Shetty and H. Alnajjar
University of Hartford
PowerPoint Presentation
Abstract
Globalization has redefined the requirements set forth by the industry for a graduating engineer. As a result, engineering education is undergoing a major transformation in which the students are exposed to engineering and nonengineering skills (computer, communication, and management). As a part of the National Science Foundation program on action agenda for curricular reform, the University of Hartford developed and tested a model for innovative undergraduate curriculum. We redesigned the freshman engineering courses by incorporating Integrative Learning Blocks, involving faculty members from engineering, mathematics, physics, humanities, and social sciences. We created an engineering design course with industry-sponsored projects involving professional ethics. We redesigned junior-year design course with integrated learning with civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. We developed a strong partnership with the industry and created real-life capstone engineering projects. These reforms are aimed at helping the students get the feel of their profession and create a passion for engineering.
The workshop agenda will be as follows:
- How to set up an integrated learning block (ILB)
- How to create ILB between freshman fundamental engineering courses and the reading and writing courses offered by the Department of the Rhetoric, Language, and Culture
- How to create ILB with physics, math, and engineering courses
- How to integrate ethics in profession to engineering design courses
- How to link design courses from freshman year to senior year and assess for continuous improvement
- How to evaluate integrated curriculum efforts
Learning Objectives
- Understanding how to connect engineering courses with (a) reading and writing, (b) physics, and (c) math coursesat freshman level
- Develop and integrate ethical components into the engineering curriculum
- Establish design linkages from freshman to senior year
- Understand the need for creation of integrated course outcomes
|
