|
Items in cart [4] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
PAPERBACK + PDF PAPERBACK PDF BOOK PDF CHAPTERS Free Resources |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 77
Appendix i)
Toword a Progressive ~QW EnginQQrin9
Curriculum
The following outline, prepared by the Board on Engineering
Education (BEE(1), represents a description of the purpose anti prin-
ciples of a new curriculum, as well as the means and mechanisms
requires] to advance it on a nationwide basis. It is presenter] as an
example of the type of curriculum that is suitable for contemporary
engineering education. Each institution is urged to develop its own
curriculum tailored to its strengths, its student population, and its own
vision of future needs. It is important, however, for each institution to
maintain an awareness of curriculum development activities that are
ongoing nationwide and to adopt those clevelopments that are appli-
cable to its circumstances.
USE
The purpose of unciergra(luate engineering education is threefolcl.
First, it provides a course of study that prepares students to enter the
practice of engineering in a selectecl professional field. Seconcl, it must
be broad enough to provide a strong basis not only for a career in
engineering but also for careers in other professions, in business, or in
public service. (This broad purpose makes engineering education a
prime vehicle for encouraging wider participation by women and
minority students in engineering, and it broadens the opportunities for
employment of graduates during periods of limited hiring of engi-
neers.) Third, it must make students aware of the relationships
between engineering and industrialized society, encouraging and
preparing them to assume a stronger and more visible lea(lership
position as engineers in society and as productive citizens.
77
OCR for page 78
78
ENGINEERING EDUCATION: DESIGNING AN ADAPTIVE SYSTEM
PRINCIP~S
To accomplish this purpose, the new undergraduate engineering
curricula and culture should:
~ . Provide broad, solid knowledge of key fundamental concepts in
science and engineering. These concepts should not be taught only in
the abstract but also with constant reference to engineering practice.
2. Provide in-depth engineering study in at least one field. Part of
this study should address business and management aspects in that
field of engineering and encompass a focus on global practice some
of which may be captured in a capstone design project.
3. Incorporate the study of engineering practice within the curricu-
lum. This includes opportunities for "apprenticeship," possibly
through co-op or summer internship programs. It also implies that
some faculty will make studies of practice a part of their scholarship.
4. Provide an ability to understand the major societal issues and to
lead in addressing them through technology.
5. Provide greater flexibility to pursue other careers outside engi-
neer~ng.
6. Impart an ability to learn independently.
7. Establish a new culture and a new image for engineering edu-
cation and practice that is humane and that will attract and retain
students, with a particular focus on women and underrepresented
. . .
minorities.
MENNS
Suggested means to achieve these principles of the new under-
graduate engineering curriculum are
~ . Integrate new material and different perspectives into the under-
graduate engineering curriculum using approaches such as:
· offering a first-year course on the transformation of society by
engineering, giving concrete examples;
· introducing engineering illustrations into the mathematics and
science courses taken by engineering students;
· introducing case studies into the engineering science courses to
illustrate how the principles of the subject, including their math and
science roots, have developed;
· encouraging a better integration of liberal arts into the curricu
lum;
· increasing the emphasis, especially in upper-division courses,
on engineering practice through the study of contemporary innova-
tions and problems; and
OCR for page 79
APPENDIX D
79
· Introducing a senior thesis/project in which students research an
idea and clefend it in a detailed! written text or design and build a
prototype for a novel engineered system.
2. Integrate into the curriculum a number of important concepts,
such as:
· enjoyment and fun in the learning process;
· design experience;
· team research/clesign experience, with oral reporting by teams;
· academic study of engineering practice;
~ r ~
· globalization of technology, understanding other cultures, and
appreciation of the liberal arts;
· exposure to the concepts of business, economics, marketing, anti
manufacturing, and risk;
· sustainable clevelopment of the environment; and
· engineering management, inclu(ling effective interaction with
shop-floor and technical support personnel.
3. Develop activities that help broaden the student's outlook and
experience ant} that are synergistic with the curriculum (e.g., activities
that involve technology and politics, technology and religion, or
technology and art).
4. Remove some material and some courses from the current
curriculum. If the curriculum is to remain manageable ant! able to be
completed within the current timeframe of four years, it is important
that the curriculum emphasize subjects of a fundamental nature and
those that are more difficult for students to learn on their own, such as
engineering design. Remove redundancies, for example, the repeti-
tious teaching of the same principles of chemistry, physics, and
thermodynamics in different courses. Incorporate some math and
science "base" courses into engineering courses. Emphasize in-clepth
one area of engineering practice in a discipline and provide a broac!
overview of other areas for example, in manufacturing engineering
emphasize robotics and provide an overview of process simulation,
materials handling, etc. Ensure that students in a given discipline have
at least some familiarity with other engineering disciplines;
multi(lisciplinary capstone design projects can help.
5. Go to a five-year curriculum, with the first four years providing
a broa(1 bachelor of science (1egree and the fifth year leading to an in-
depth professional specialization degree. (Obviously, such a curricu-
lum adds considerably to the cost of an engineering degree and the
time required to complete it. For that reason, past experiments with a
five-year program have not been highly successful.)
Representative terms from entire chapter:
undergraduate engineering
