A Model for Collaborative Curriculum Design in Transportation Engineering Education

Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt; David S. Hurwitz; Rhonda K Young; Rod E. Turochy; Shane A. Brown; Joshua Swake; Andrea R. Bill; Kevin Heaslip; Michael Kyte

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Trends and Applications in Curricula and the Capstone Experience
Tagged Division: Civil Engineering
Page Count: 14
Page Numbers: 23.68.1 - 23.68.14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19082
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19082
Download Count: 508

Paper Authors

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Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt Lafayette College orcid.org/0000-0001-7115-0119

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Dr. Kristen Sanford Bernhardt is chair of the Engineering Studies program and associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lafayette College. Her expertise is in sustainable civil infrastructure management and transportation systems. She teaches a variety of courses including sustainability of built systems, transportation systems, transportation planning, civil infrastructure management, and Lafayette’s introductory first year engineering course. Dr. Sanford Bernhardt serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Committees on Education and Faculty Development and the Transportation Research Board Committee on Education and Training. She previously has served as vice-chair of the ASCE Infrastructure Systems Committee, chair of the ASEE’s Civil Engineering Division, and a member of the Transportation Research Board committees on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing, Asset Management, and Emerging Technology for Design and Construction. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, and her B.S.E. from Duke University.

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David S. Hurwitz Oregon State University orcid.org/0000-0001-8450-6516

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Dr. David S. Hurwitz is an assistant professor of transportation engineering in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University. Dr. Hurwitz conducts research in the areas of traffic control, transportation user behavior, driving and bicycling simulation, transportation safety, and engineering education. In particular Dr. Hurwitz is interested in the consideration of user behavior in the design and innovation of transportation infrastructure. Dr. Hurwitz teaches graduate and undergraduate classes covering topics such as: Highway Engineering, Traffic Operations, Isolated Signalized Intersections, and Driving Simulation. Additionally, Dr. Hurwitz serves as an executive committee member of the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Traffic Engineering Council and Education Council, and as a member of the Transportation Research Board's Simulation and Measurement of Vehicle and Operator Performance committee (AND30), and Traffic Control Devices Committee (AHB50).

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Rhonda K Young University of Wyoming

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Dr. Rhonda Young is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Wyoming since 2002 and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in Traffic Operations, Transportation Planning, Transportation Design and Traffic Safety. She completed her master's and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering at the University of Washington and her undergraduate degree from Oregon State University. Prior to joining the academic field, she worked as a consultant for ten years in the transportation profession. She is a registered professional engineer in the states of Washington and Wyoming. Dr. Young is involved in transportation education serving terms as chair, vice chair, and executive committee member for the Institute of Transportation Engineer’s Education Council.

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Rod E. Turochy Auburn University

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Dr. Rod E. Turochy has been an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University since 2001. He earned bachelor's and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, all in civil engineering. He teaches courses in transportation engineering, roadway design, traffic engineering, and intelligent transportation systems. His current research activities are in the areas of traffic engineering,
highway safety, and engineering education.

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Dr. Kevin Heaslip, P.E., is an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering specializing in Transportation Engineering and the associate director of the Utah Transportation Center. He received his Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2007. Prior to that, he received his master of science degree in Civil Engineering (Transportation) in 2003 and a bachelor of science in Civil Engineering in 2001 from Virginia Tech. His research interests include vehicle electrification and automation, alternative fuels for transportation, sustainable and resilient transportation infrastructures, and traffic operations.

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Michael Kyte University of Idaho, Moscow

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Dr. Michael Kyte is a professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Idaho, and teaches courses in transportation engineering. His primary areas of research are in intersection operations, traffic signal control systems, highway capacity, and transportation engineering education.

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Abstract

A Model for Collaborative Curriculum Design in Transportation Engineering EducationThe National Transportation Curriculum Project (NTCP) began as an effort by a small group oftransportation engineering educators to continue the momentum generated by the 2009Transportation Education Conference. The 2009 conference focused on how to map the learningdomain for transportation engineering, how to create active learning environments forundergraduate transportation engineering student, and how to develop collaborative tools forsharing transportation engineering curricular materials(http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/transportation_education_conference-2009/index.htm). TheNTCP has focused on how to improve the typical introductory transportation course taught inmost civil engineering programs and how to effect changes at institutions across the U.S. Usingbackwards course design (beginning with desired outcomes and working “backwards” tolearning objectives and activities), NTCP members have collaboratively developed learningoutcomes and knowledge tables for the introductory transportation course. These products havebeen presented to and discussed by educators and practitioners at meetings of ASEE, the Instituteof Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and revised inresponse to this feedback. Figure 1 shows a working version of the NTCP mission.Figure 1. Project model.Most recently, project members convened a Transportation Engineering Educators Workshop,sponsored by the National Science Foundation, at which more than 50 transportation educatorsworked in teams to develop ranking tasks and learning activities based on the NTCP learningoutcomes and knowledge tables. Teams focused on planning, design, operations, and safety anddeveloped networks of educators with similar interests. Figure 2 shows the geographicdistribution of participants. Ongoing assessment of the workshop itself is examining perceptionsof participants with regard to the importance of and willingness to use such activities, as well asthe development of peer networks for developing and sharing resources and the workshop’s rolein the larger collaborative curriculum design effort.Figure 2. Geographic distribution of workshop participants.This paper describes a model for collaborative curriculum design that could be applied to anycivil engineering discipline. The paper begins with a review of the literature on collaborativecurriculum design. This is followed by a description of the goals of the National TransportationCurriculum Project and motivating factors specific to transportation education. Next, the paperexplains how the project has developed collaboratively and presents examples of the products todate. The subsequent section connects the NTCP experiences to the literature and presents amodel for collaborative curriculum design in any discipline. Finally, the paper assesses theresults of the NTCP to date, provides suggestions for others wanting to undertake such an effort,and describes the next steps for the NTCP.AcknowledgementsThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.DUE-1235896. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.

Citation
Format

Sanford Bernhardt, K. L., & Hurwitz, D. S., & Young, R. K., & Turochy, R. E., & Brown, S. A., & Swake, J., & Bill, A. R., & Heaslip, K., & Kyte, M. (2013, June), A Model for Collaborative Curriculum Design in Transportation Engineering Education Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19082

TY - CPAPER
AB - A Model for Collaborative Curriculum Design in Transportation Engineering EducationThe National Transportation Curriculum Project (NTCP) began as an effort by a small group oftransportation engineering educators to continue the momentum generated by the 2009Transportation Education Conference. The 2009 conference focused on how to map the learningdomain for transportation engineering, how to create active learning environments forundergraduate transportation engineering student, and how to develop collaborative tools forsharing transportation engineering curricular materials(http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/transportation_education_conference-2009/index.htm). TheNTCP has focused on how to improve the typical introductory transportation course taught inmost civil engineering programs and how to effect changes at institutions across the U.S. Usingbackwards course design (beginning with desired outcomes and working “backwards” tolearning objectives and activities), NTCP members have collaboratively developed learningoutcomes and knowledge tables for the introductory transportation course. These products havebeen presented to and discussed by educators and practitioners at meetings of ASEE, the Instituteof Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and revised inresponse to this feedback. Figure 1 shows a working version of the NTCP mission.Figure 1. Project model.Most recently, project members convened a Transportation Engineering Educators Workshop,sponsored by the National Science Foundation, at which more than 50 transportation educatorsworked in teams to develop ranking tasks and learning activities based on the NTCP learningoutcomes and knowledge tables. Teams focused on planning, design, operations, and safety anddeveloped networks of educators with similar interests. Figure 2 shows the geographicdistribution of participants. Ongoing assessment of the workshop itself is examining perceptionsof participants with regard to the importance of and willingness to use such activities, as well asthe development of peer networks for developing and sharing resources and the workshop’s rolein the larger collaborative curriculum design effort.Figure 2. Geographic distribution of workshop participants.This paper describes a model for collaborative curriculum design that could be applied to anycivil engineering discipline. The paper begins with a review of the literature on collaborativecurriculum design. This is followed by a description of the goals of the National TransportationCurriculum Project and motivating factors specific to transportation education. Next, the paperexplains how the project has developed collaboratively and presents examples of the products todate. The subsequent section connects the NTCP experiences to the literature and presents amodel for collaborative curriculum design in any discipline. Finally, the paper assesses theresults of the NTCP to date, provides suggestions for others wanting to undertake such an effort,and describes the next steps for the NTCP.AcknowledgementsThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.DUE-1235896. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.
AU - Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt
AU - David S. Hurwitz
AU - Rhonda K Young
AU - Rod E. Turochy
AU - Shane A. Brown P.E.
AU - Joshua Swake
AU - Andrea R. Bill
AU - Kevin Heaslip
AU - Michael Kyte
CY - Atlanta, Georgia
DA - 2013/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A Model for Collaborative Curriculum Design in Transportation Engineering Education
UR - https://peer.asee.org/19082
DO - 10.18260/1-2--19082
ER -