EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORKS

and how we work within (or around) them

LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON Identify criteria that are external to the classroom at the program, department, university and/or national levels that engineering instructors must consider before designing learning activities for their students.

Describe ways that these criteria can be applied to effectively teach engineering skills and concepts

EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORKS RELEVANT TO ENGINEERING Institutional: General Education Requirements and Competencies

Departmental and/or Disciplinary: ABET; FE exams

University-level accreditation (SACSCOC) – establishes faculty criteria

ABET CRITERIA 3 A - D Engineering programs must demonstrate that their students attain the following outcomes:

•(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

•(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data

•(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability

•(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams

ABET CRITERIA 3 E - K• (e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering

problems

• (f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility

• (g) an ability to communicate effectively

• (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context

• (i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning

• (j) a knowledge of contemporary issues

• (k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

GENERAL EDUCATION…SURE LOOKS LIKE LIBERAL ARTS!

Liberal = from Latin liberalis; “appropriate for free men”Ancient cultures: skills and general knowledge needed by the elite echelon of society

Contrast with the servile arts: specialized skills and knowledge needed by those employed by the elite

Liberal arts are an end in themselves; servile arts are means to an end beyond themselves, specifically a utilitarian, practical end

THE SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS •Trivium:–Grammar–Dialectic (Logic)–Rhetoric

•Quadrivium:–Arithmetic–Music–Geometry–Astronomy

Picture from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad von Landsberg (12th century)

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AT CLEMSON:

Written and Oral Communication Skills

Mathematical, Scientific, and Technological Literacy

Arts and Humanities

Social Sciences

Cross-Cultural Awareness

Science and Technology in Society

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AT CLEMSON:

Written and Oral Communication Skills

Mathematical, Scientific, and Technological Literacy

Arts and Humanities

Social Sciences

Cross-Cultural Awareness

Science and Technology in Society

•Trivium:

–Grammar–Dialectic (Logic)–Rhetoric

•Quadrivium:–Arithmetic–Music–Geometry–Astronomy

WHAT EFFECT(S) DO GEN ED REQUIREMENTS HAVE ON ENGINEERING/SCIENCE (AND VICE-VERSA)?

• Written and Oral Communication Skills

• Mathematical, Scientific, and Technological Literacy

• Arts and Humanities• Social Sciences• Cross-Cultural

Awareness• Science and

Technology in Society

RESOURCES FOR WRITTEN REFLECTION• Clemson University General Education Requirements:

http://www.clemson.edu/administration/ugs/ge/

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges: http://www.sacscoc.org/

• ABET: www.abet.org

• Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam (common exam for all engineering majors, and subject-specific exams for some majors): http://ncees.org/exams/fe-exam/

WRITTEN REFLECTION Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of General Education and accreditation requirements from the point of view of an engineering educator (2 page max, double-spaced).

Consider the following points: In what ways do (or do not) Gen Ed requirements match up with ABET criteria for your engineering discipline? Are there other criteria that students in your department must meet to graduate (i.e., set by your department itself)? For SACSCOC accreditation?

How do Gen Ed requirements serve our engineering students? Do they conflict with, or support, their development as future professionals in your discipline?

How do program, department, or university-level accreditation requirements serve our engineering students? Do they conflict with, or support, their development as future professionals in your discipline?