The Arrows in Our Backs: Lessons Learned Trying to Change the Engineering Curriculum

Steven W. Villachica, Anthony Wayne Marker, Donald G. Plumlee, Linda Huglin, Amy Chegash

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Published research has provided a robust set of documented tools and techniques for transforming individual engineering courses in ways that use evidence-based instructional practices. Many engineering faculty are already aware of these practices and would like to use them. However, they still face significant implementation barriers. The E 2 R2P effort addresses the question: How can successes in engineering education research translate into widespread instructional practice?

This poster session will describe hard-won lessons the E 2 R2P team has learned as it begins its third year attempting such curricular change.

Lesson 1: “Wonder workshops” and visible course redesigns don’t produce curricular change.

Lesson 2: Focus on the larger engineering education system, rather than its isolated parts.

Lesson 3: Insurmountable time barriers prevent faculty from adopting RBIS.

Lesson 4: Universities, industry, and other stakeholders working in isolation can't do much more to help engineering faculty address these problems.

Lesson 5: Changing the curriculum requires a larger community of shared concern and practice.

Lesson 6: Bring in partners and expertise in cross-boundary, multidisciplinary way.

Lesson 7: Work together to address a shared concern: Decreasing ramp up time to competent workplace performance.

Lesson 8: Make the effort to grow the contact network to address this opportunity.

Lesson 9: Use a common engineering model to create a venue for collaborative problem identification and root cause analysis.

Lesson 10: Talk about what fresh out engineers are doing on the job, along with its monetary and nonmonetary consequences.

Lesson 11: Collaborate on interpreting the problem identification and root cause analysis data.

Lesson 12: Work together to specify corrective actions that remove barriers to RBIS adoption.

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publication2013 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia
Number of pages19
StatePublished - 23 Jun 2013
Event120th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition - Georgia, Atlanta, United States
Duration: 23 Jun 2013 → …

Conference

Conference120th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period23/06/13 → …

EGS Disciplines

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Engineering Education
  • Organizational Behavior and Theory

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