Drexel's E⁴ Program: A Different Professional Experience for Engineering Students and Faculty

Abstract

In 1988, Drexel began a project which involves a comprehensive restructuring of the lower division engineering curriculum. The program provides an early introduction to the central body of knowledge forming the fabric of engineering, the unifying rather than parochial aspects of engineering, experimental methods, the computer as a flexible, powerful professional and intellectual tool, the importance of personal communications skills, and the imperative for continuous, vigorous, life‐long learning. The subject matter is organized in four major components replacing and/or integrating material in thirty‐seven existing courses in the traditional curriculum. The theme of all activities is a central focus on the students as emerging professional engineers and the faculty as their mentors from the very beginning of their education. To date, 500 students and 50 faculty have participated in the project. Preliminary results of evaluations are encouraging. Retention rates and achievement levels are high. Performance tests indicate that most students develop excellent levels of computer and laboratory skills. Their written and oral presentations demonstrate achievement of superior levels of communication skills. Personal interviews and evaluations indicate that student response is quite positive and they place a high value on faculty participation in a team effort. Both faculty and students indicate that this different experience has given them an insight into the importance and scope of the engineering profession and a sense that its practice can be exciting, rewarding and enjoyable.

What brings women to the table? Female and male students' perceptions of ways of thinking in engineering study and practice

“…Equally important, we might reexamine introductory engineering curricula and the extent to which they reinforce the narrow view of engineering reflected in our findings. (Drexel University's tDEC curriculum [15] aligns well with our recommendations but is atypical.) Ensuring that we recruit in good faith will ensure that we not only attract but also graduate a more diverse pool of talent.…”

Integrating Writing Instruction into Engineering Courses: A Writing Center Model

“…A review of the Journal of Engineering Education over the past five years reveals that some universities have chosen a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) or Writing in the Disciplines (WID) emphasis, 4,[6][7][8][9]11,12,16 which sometimes includes cross-disciplinary team teaching. This writing program differs from some of those cited above [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] in that participation at some level is required (as opposed to voluntary participation), and the writing instruction focuses specifically on current laboratory assignments. 3,10,12,14,15 Still others have developed partnerships with a university-wide writing cen-ter or with a writing consultant who interacts specifically with engineering students outside of their courses.…”

Integrating Design into the Sophomore and Junior Level Mechanics Courses

“…A notable example is the curriculum at Drexel as reported by Quinn. 7 But even small changes such as adding or deleting a course from a degree plan are painfully difficult at most universities. For many schools the most reasonable approach is to make small changes in the content of existing courses, as was concluded by Koen.…”