Strategies for Designing Engineering Courses*

Abstract

Some principles that have guided the development of engineering courses in the past are identified and applied to the development of strategies for contemporary circumstances. Implications of current changes in constraints are explored for class meetings and for student work outside of class. The realization that two‐thirds of a typical university academic course, and most of the learning, occurs outside the class meeting times compels careful focus by faculty on the design of interactive learning experiences to help students learn proficiently outside the class room. Designing courses of study in which the learning activities outside, as well as inside, the class room form a coherent and effective whole can improve courses dramatically.

Web‐Based Readiness Assessment Quizzes

“…In particular, Hagler and Marcy [1] noted that if two-thirds of the time spent by students on a university course is assumed to occur outside the classroom, emphasis on reforming engineering education inside the classroom ignores the optimal target for improvement. Additionally, they suggested that this historical emphasis on the classroom experience also jeopardizes our obligation to cultivate lifelong learners who feel responsible for their own learning experience.…”

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“…There have been several attempts to revise engineering curricula to improve understanding and foster independent thinking. 2,3,4 Torda discussed the fate of one program developed at the Illinois Institute of Technology. 2 Our approach has many of the same goals: to promote curiosity and enthusiasm through greater student participation.…”

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“…Some classes, if students are lucky, have accompanying laboratory practices where they can gain hands-on experience. There have been several attempts to revise engineering curriculum to improve understanding and foster creative thinking 3 .…”