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Session 2132

ABET and Standards for Technological Literacy

Douglas Gorham The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Pam B. Newberry Project Lead The Way Theodore A. Bickart Colorado School of Mines

Abstract Pre-college students must be educated to make informed decisions in our technological world. Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology's Engineering Criteria 2000’s Criterion 3 Program Outcomes and Assessment focus on producing secondary school and engineering graduates with an enhanced level of technological literacy and competency. These documents provide a perspective on pre-college through undergraduate education, with the intention being to promote improvement in the quality and quantity of engineering students and to enhance the level of technological literacy of pre-college teachers and their students.

Background The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is widely recognized as the sole agency in the United States responsible for accrediting educational programs leading to degrees in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied science (formerly, related engineering) areas. The ABET list of accredited programs is widely accepted by employers, academic institutions, professional engineering societies, and the professional engineer licensure boards. Furthermore, ABET criteria and processes for accreditation are highly regarded internationally by academic institutions and agencies for accreditation.

ABET recently completed the transition phase to new engineering criteria for accreditation of engineering educational programs, initially and still popularly called Engineering Criteria 2000 [1]. These program objectives and outcomes were nurtured from the early 1990’s and adopted in 1995. The criteria are embedded in a framework that invokes continues improvement. Criterion 3 Program Outcomes and Assessment is evidence of the new focus on what college students are expected to know and be able to do upon graduation from engineering educational programs (see Horizontal listing in Table 1).

In April 2000, Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology [2] (STL) was published by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA). The overall focus of STL is to promote the study of technology and to encourage the development of technological literacy by all pre-college students. The document provides a rationale for the need for students to develop technological literacy. It details twenty standards for technological literacy (see Vertical listing in Table 1); concludes with recommendations of what might be done to advance the cause of

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Bickart, T., & Newberry, P., & Gorham, D. (2003, June), Abet And Standards For Technological Literacy Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12344