Developing Student Collaborations across Disciplines,Distances, and Institutions

Because quantitative biology requires skills and concepts from a disparate collection of different disciplines, the scientists of the near future will increasingly need to rely on collaborations to produce results. Correspondingly, students in disciplines impacted by quantitative biology will need to be taught how to create and engage in such collaborations. In response to this important curricular need, East Tennessee State University and Georgia Technological University/Emory University cooperated in an unprecedented curricular experiment in which theoretically oriented students at East Tennessee State designed biophysical models that were implemented and tested experimentally by biomedical engineers at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Technological University and Emory University. Implementing the collaborations between two institutions allowed an assessment of the student collaborations from before the groups of students had met for the first time until after they had finished their projects, thus providing insight about the formation and conduct of such collaborations that could not have been obtained otherwise.     

The Role of Student Mentors in a Precollege Engineering Program

Precollege Initiative for Minorities in Engineering (PRIME) is a precollege program designed to encourage African American college-bound high school graduates to pursue engineering as a career. The Tennessee Technological University program serves as a transition from high school to college life. Components of the program involve academic courses in mathematics and introductory engineering, seminars, tours, and tutorial periods. The key component of the PRIME program involves the use of undergraduate engineering students as mentors and role models for the participating students. The impact of these individuals on their younger peers plays a significant role in the success of the PRIME program.     

Curriculum assessment as a direct tool in ABET outcomes assessment in a chemical engineering programme

The chemical engineering programme at the United Arab Emirates University is designed to fulfil the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (A–K) EC2000 criteria. The Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering has established a well-defined process for outcomes assessment for the chemical engineering programme in order to ensure that its graduates achieve the programme educational objectives. Different direct and indirect tools are implemented in the assessment process. Among these tools, the greatest weight in the assessment process has been given to the curriculum (30%). The course and curriculum assessment usually plays an important role in improving the course content and quality; as it should provide considerable information on the effectiveness of an academic programme. This paper aims to discuss the methods used to assess the courses/curriculum of the chemical engineering programme as an important direct tool in the assessment process for ABET accreditation. Application of the curriculum assessment results in the continuous improvement of chemical engineering programmes is also addressed.     

多措并举提高电气工程学科研究生培养质量

我国研究生招生规模以每年两位数的增长率逐年递增,全国在校研究生已超过100万人,研究生的培养成为高校教学的重点。为实现建设世界一流电气工程学科的目标,清华大学电机系从完善课程建设、加强学术交流、注重实践培养和严格规范学位评审等环节进行了多项改革尝试。文章在讨论这些改革措施的同时,总结其对提高研究生培养质量起到的积极效果,以及对促进学生就业于能源电力企业和教育科研事业单位发挥的推动作用。     

The Design of the Mathematics Curriculum for Engineers: A Joint Venture of the Mathematics Department and the Engineering Faculty

The Mathematics Department at Monash University, Caulfield Campus, has the responsibility of designing and implementing the mathematics curriculum for the Bachelor of Engineering (Applied) course. In an attempt to answer the question of what mathematical skills are most needed by the engineering students and at what point in their course, a survey to all coordinators of engineering subjects was conducted. Findings indicate that to achieve cohesion and to make the course more meaningful to students, the design of the mathematics curriculum must be done in close collaboration between the mathematics department and the engineering faculty.     

A Problem-based Learning Approach to Civil Engineering Drawing

Civil engineering drawing courses need to relate to the students expectations, and discipline and maintain their interest. The main objectives of the drawing course in the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University are: to teach students the main drawing techniques; to enable students to read and transmit the details on these drawings into understandable information and instructions; to develop the visualization skills of students; and to teach them to present their ideas using drawings. These aims are not uncommon, the main innovation in teaching this material was the introduction of a problem-based learning approach in the progressive assessment. A problem was set and the students asked to solve it progressively. The course was built around a particular civil engineering structure; a house. This allowed many of the students to relate the drawing to their experience and expectations. The house was used as a basis for the development of ideas and the presentation of these ideas using a large number of drawing types. Students' reaction to the course was positive. Statements like “This course is real engineering” were common. Areas for further improvement in the approach are highlighted.     

英国“热力学”课程教学模式探索及启示——以英国兰卡斯特大学为例

以英国兰卡斯特大学工程系的"热力学"课程为例,从课程研发、教学形式、课程实践、成绩评估等方面阐述了英国典型的工程学科教学模式,并结合我国工程学科高等教育的现状,进一步提出了改善与发展我国工程学科相关课程的教学方法,以期培养学生的科学思维素养、科学探索精神和自主创新学习意识,同时为国家培养高素质高标准的国际复合型专业人才。     

国外大学光电工程专业课程教学模式的调查与分析

近年来,浙江大学光电系通过本系出国深造的学生,开展了国外大学教育教学模式的调研。内容涵盖了课程教学、实践教学、科学研究、诚信和学术道德规范教育等方面的22个问题。重点总结了"课程教学"相关的10个问题,分析了在课程的授课方式、考核模式、课程资源等方面国内外存在的差异,提出了有益建议;最后简单介绍了浙大光电系针对性地开展的课程内容、教学方法、考核方式、教学资源建设、实践教学环节等全方位的专业综合改革,以及取得的初步成效。     

Students’ assessment of interactive distance experimentation in nuclear reactor physics laboratory education

Laboratory experiments develop students’ skills in dealing with laboratory instruments and physical processes with the objective of reinforcing the understanding of the investigated subject. In nuclear engineering, where research reactors play a vital role in the practical education of students, the high cost and long construction time of research reactors limit their accessibility to few educational programmes around the world. The concept of the Internet Reactor Laboratory (IRL) was introduced earlier as a new approach that utilises distance education in nuclear reactor physics laboratory education. This paper presents an initial assessment of the implementation of the IRL between the PULSTAR research reactor at North Carolina State University in the USA and the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Jordan. The IRL was implemented in teaching the Nuclear Reactor laboratory course for two semesters. Feedback from surveyed students verifies that the outcomes attained from using IRL in experimentation are comparable to that attainable from other on-campus laboratories performed by the students.     

Challenge-based instruction promotes students’ development of transferable frameworks and confidence for engineering problem solving

ABSTRACT

Challenge-based teaching facilitates students’ simultaneous development of content mastery and strategies for applying technical knowledge innovatively. The University of Texas at Austin Department of Biomedical Engineering has offered a challenge-based course on biotransport as an accelerated study-abroad learning experience in Cambridge, England. We used a mixed methods approach to characterize students’ learning trajectory, to include technical prowess, problem-solving self-efficacy, and engineering identity throughout the entirety of this course. Students developed problem solving strategies and confidence over the semester and readily transferred their acquired solution framework to technical domains outside of the course subject of biotransport. Students identified challenge-based pedagogies as their preferred methods of classroom instruction, became familiar with corresponding assessments, and identified strongly as practitioners within the engineering field. We believe this illustrative case study provides significant evidence for the effectiveness of challenge-based instruction and can serve as a model for pedagogy-sensitive classroom assessment in engineering.     

Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering Education in Hungary

Engineering education has more than 200 years of tradition in Hungary. Chemical engineers are trained at the Technical University of Budapest (TUB) and at the University of Veszprém. The curriculum of the TUB chemical engineering education is given. Undergraduate environmental engineering education is offered at the University of Miskolc, at the Janus Pannonius University in Pécs and at the University of Veszprém. Curricula of the latter two are given. The TUB has several environmental specialization opportunities for engineering students, but at present no separate undergraduate environmental engineering education is offered. Such a curriculum is now under preparation and will be introduced in 1998. Several technical colleges also offer environmental engineering education, where the duration of the training is 3 years. Postgraduate education is a very suitable form to add environmental knowledge to the existing engineering knowledge of graduate engineers. The TUB and the universities in Miskolc and Veszprém are all very active in this field.     

现代化"微波电路设计实验"的开发

该文着重介绍清华大学电子工程系“微波电路实验”的课程特色和内容。该实验属于设计研究性课程,目标是训练学生完成一个采用先进科研手段进行微波电路设计研究的全过程。该实验克服了在学校开设微波电路硬件实验的困难,配置了先进的仿真软件和测试仪器,内容包括微波电路的设计、制作与调试等,分为软件仿真和硬件测试两个阶段,符合工程的实际要求,取得了很好的教学效果,有助于学生尽快适应微波领域的科研工作,对该领域高层次人才的培养非常有益。     

高分子材料与工程专业《工程伦理》课程教学内容与教学方法探讨

高等院校高分子材料与工程专业开展《工程伦理》课程教学是新工科背景下高等教育改革的必然趋势,有助于工程背景专业学生树立高素质工程伦理观。工程伦理课程教师除了精通本学科专业知识外,还需具备丰富的工程实践经验及相关案例的积累。根据常州大学高分子材料与工程专业的特点,应筛选合适的教材,并针对本专业《工程伦理》课程教学内容与教学方法进行了初步探讨。     

化工原理课程中的工程研究方法

《化工原理》是化工类及相近专业的一门重要的技术基础课。本文主要介绍了化工原理课程中常用的几种工程研究方法,这些方法对学生工程观念的培养具有重要的指导作用。     

案例教学法在《化工技术经济》课程中的实践与探索

案例教学法是现代教学方法的必然要求《,化工技术经济》是一门涉及多学科领域的综合性边缘学科,将案例教学运用到化工技术经济中可以显著提高教学效果,使学生的综合能力得到明显提高。     

Practical Object‐Oriented Software Engineering Education

This article describes the effort undertaken at the University of Iowa to institute a software engineering curriculum at the graduate level. Specifically, the article presents the experiences over 2 years in developing a pilot 2‐semester course in object‐oriented software engineering. This pilot course had the goal of introducing practical and realistic object‐oriented software engineering to students, and developed several innovative techniques to achieve this goal on a very limited budget. Students were exposed to realistic software engineering phases, processes and methodologies in developing real‐world software. This pilot course has culminated in a Master of Science subtrack in Software Engineering offered cooperatively by the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Iowa, which made its debut in the Fall of the 1992/1993 academic year.     

A paperless course on structural engineering programming: investing in educational technology in the times of the Greek financial recession

This paper presents the structure of an undergraduate course entitled ‘programming techniques and the use of specialised software in structural engineering’ which is offered to the fifth (final) year students of the Civil Engineering Department of Aristotle University Thessaloniki in Greece. The aim of this course is to demonstrate the use of new information technologies in the field of structural engineering and to teach modern programming and finite element simulation techniques that the students can in turn apply in both research and everyday design of structures. The course also focuses on the physical interpretation of structural engineering problems, in a way that the students become familiar with the concept of computational tools without losing perspective from the engineering problem studied. For this purpose, a wide variety of structural engineering problems are studied in class, involving structural statics, dynamics, earthquake engineering, design of reinforced concrete and steel structures as well as data and information management. The main novelty of the course is that it is taught and examined solely in the computer laboratory ensuring that each student can accomplish the prescribed ‘hands-on’ training on a dedicated computer, strictly on a 1:1 student over hardware ratio. Significant effort has also been put so that modern educational techniques and tools are utilised to offer the course in an essentially paperless mode. This involves electronic educational material, video tutorials, student information in real time and exams given and assessed electronically through an ad hoc developed, personalised, electronic system. The positive feedback received from the students reveals that the concept of a paperless course is not only applicable in real academic conditions but is also a promising approach that significantly increases student productivity and engagement. The question, however, is whether such an investment in educational technology is indeed timely during economic recession, where the academic priorities are rapidly changing. In the light of this unfavourable and unstable financial environment, a critical overview of the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats of this effort is presented herein, hopefully contributing to the discussion on the future of higher education in the time of crisis.     

Case study on community-based learning: toy design project for children in Egyptian squatter community

Introduction to Engineering is the first engineering course American University in Cairo students take upon admission to the engineering program. It is required of students in all disciplines of engineering. It is a one-credit-hour course that covers topics including history of engineering, engineering fields of specializations, the engineering profession, engineering communications, engineering ethics, and societal obligations. Community-based learning (CBL) was introduced into the course via the required course project. The project was to design toys for children at a school in a disadvantaged squatter community in Old Cairo, Egypt, where infrastructure is poor and education and social mobility can be very limited. The project was carried out in partnership with a non-governmental organization based in Old Cairo. This paper shows how the introductory engineering course was redesigned to integrate CBL while meeting the stated ABET course outcomes. Included are detailed instructions on the tools and structure of the project to provide an example for others wishing to adapt some of these tools to other courses. The paper presents the outcome assessments and survey results to evaluate the project’s success at meeting the stated outcomes and includes a discussion on the benefits to the students and the community partner.     

化工原理课程教学与应用型创新人才的培养

化工原理课程是重要技术基础课,在工科学生的培养计划中起着由理及工的"桥梁"作用;优化化工原理课程体系对于培养面向基层和生产的应用型高级专门人才具有重要意义。本文探讨了应用型创新人才的培养,改革理论教学和加强实践性教学是培养应用型创新人才培养的有效途径。     

药物分析实验教学改革初探

介绍成贤学院化工与制药工程系对药物分析实验课的教学方法、考核模式和教学内容进行的改革和探索。实施改革后学生对实验的学习兴趣、分析实验操作技能和综合素质得到提高。