Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future of the Field

Praise for Educating Engineers

"This book describes the need for a major transformation of engineering education to increase the emphasis on developing the skills needed for professional practice. I particularly appreciated the chapters on design courses and ethics. The book makes a compelling case for the need for engineering faculty and administrators to pay much more attention to integrating ethics learning throughout the engineering curriculum." Maria M. Klawe, president, Harvey Mudd College

"This is a very important book that utilizes solid work in pedagogical development and assessment methods to both analyze engineering education today and provide important recommendations about how it should evolve to address the rapidly changing nature of engineering practice." James J. Duderstadt, president emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

"Anyone concerned about the sustainability of America′s global leadership in engineering and the preparation of tomorrow′s engineers should read this report. Approaching their assessment of engineering education today as essentially a design problem, Sheri Sheppard and her colleagues provide a detailed analysis of the historical but still dominant linear, ′building–blocks′ model that focuses single–mindedly on technical competence. In the process, they identify major misalignments between that model and one implied by the expanding needs of a rapidly evolving engineering world and by the substantial body of theory and research on how students learn. The authors identify alternative models and practices, providing numerous, concrete examples of redesigned curricula and practices designed to promote not only technical competence, but also a broad array of other skills that are also needed in the radically changing world of professional practice. The report is a superb blueprint to guide reflection, discussion, debate, and action by all parties with a stake in redesigning undergraduate engineering education in the U.S. And when you think about it, that′s all of us."
Patrick T. Terenzini, Distinguished Professor and Senior Scientist, Center for the Study of Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University

Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

About the Authors.

Introduction.

PART ONE Preparing the New–Century Engineer.

Chapter 1: The New–Century Engineer.

Chapter 2: Technical Knowledge and Linear Components.

Chapter 3: A Historical Curriculum in a New Era.

PART TWO A Foundation to Build On.

Chapter 4: Knowing That and Knowing How .

Chapter 5: Listening, Seeing, Doing.

Chapter 6: Learning for Problem Solving.

PART THREE A Place to Explore.

Chapter 7: Theory and Skills.

Chapter 8: Lab in the Curriculum.

Chapter 9: Learning in the Lab.

Chapter 10: Lab Reports.

Chapter 11: Making a Place to Explore Professional Practice.

PART FOUR A Way to Create.

Chapter 12: Knowing To .

Chapter 13: Project–Centered Learning.

Chapter 14: Assessing Design.

Chapter 15: Making a Place to Create.

PART FIVE Affecting the World.

Chapter 16: A Foundation for Professional Practice.

Chapter 17: Findings from the Study: An Uneven Base.

Chapter 18: Preparing for New–Century Professional Practice.

PART SIX Bringing Professional Practice Forward.

Chapter 19: A Design for Action.

Chapter 20: Usable Knowledge.

Chapter 21: Toward a New Model for Engineering Education.

Chapter 22: Getting from Here to There.

Appendix: About the Study.

References.

Index.

Sheri D. Sheppard is a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, directing the study of engineering education in the Preparation for the Professions Program. She is a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University.

Kelly Macatangay is management analyst at the Clark County District Attorney′s Office in Nevada, and research consultant for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Anne Colby joined the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a senior scholar in 1997. She is coauthor of Educating for Democracy.

William M. Sullivan is a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, working on the Preparation for the Professions Program. He is the coauthor of A New Agenda for Higher Education.

For administrators within engineering programs, this book provides a clear look into the curriculum outcomes needed for today s students. It offers strong direction regarding the components that should be included, and to learning and teaching styles that best serve student needs .It is detailed and is easy to read and understand. Those charged with making curriculum changes will find Educating Engineers a roadmap to the changes top programs are implementing.

Academic advisors who can impact the direction of curriculum, or those who are faculty and are interested in changing the outcomes of the class, will find this a good resource.
NACADA Journal, Issue 30(1) (Spring 2010)

The book presents an evaluation of how the education practices of certain engineering schools form future engineers, considering both the strengths and weaknesses of current curricular goals and teaching practices in light of the major changes in professional practice in this new global era.

The work is useful for academics considering the restructuring of undergraduate engineering curricula.
Choice magazine, Vol. 47, No. 01 (September 2009)

For administrators within engineering programs, this book provides a clear look into the curriculum outcomes needed for today s students. It offers strong direction regarding the components that should be included, and to learning and teaching styles that best serve student needs.
Abby Coffin (NACADA Journal)