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Session 3586

TEAMING AND COMMMUNICATIONS IN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM

Philip J. Regalbuto, Mary Morton-Gibson, Page Ransom and Lise V. P. Esch Trident Technical College, Charleston, SC

In 1993, due to declining enrollment in engineering technology at Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC, a course was developed to help increase the retention of students. EGR 103, Preparation for Engineering Technology, was designed as a bridge course between pre- Engineering Technology and the Engineering Technology courses. The rationale was to supply basic skills that would enable underprepared students to succeed in their Engineering Technology courses. The course was first taught in the Fall of 1993. The faculty of the Engineering Technology department identified Engineering Technology skills and topics in which these students were deficient. These topics were not being covered in the Developmental Studies courses in which the students were registered. The topics and skills included in the course were concepts and terminology used in Engineering Technology, use of a scientific graphing calculator, problem solving techniques, and the SI system of measurement. Also included was a discussion of what Engineering Technology is and how it differs from Engineering; the requirements of the various Engineering Technology majors and the careers available to graduates of Associate and Bachelor degree programs. In 1996 an opportunity presented itself for a re-evaluation of the skills and topics being taught in EGR 103. The National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant was awarded to the South Carolina Technical College system in the Fall of 1995. Faculty members of the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Initiative (SCATE) grant were organized into teams representing each of the sixteen technical colleges in the state of South Carolina. SCATE was created to address the need for well-trained technicians. The SCATE grant provided release time for faculty to develop new and innovative courses. A primary focus of SCATE was to create an innovative new Engineering Technology core curriculum to meet future needs. One of the ways to improve the Engineering Technology curriculum is to integrate key skills. In the Summer of 1996, five members of the SCATE team from Trident Technical College were granted release time to revise EGR 103 course content to reflect the new emphasis on team building, co-operative learning and communication skills that are in demand from industry and education.1 The remaining two team members were granted release time to study and develop assessment methods.

Course revision In the revised version of this course some of the topics were retained: Units and measurements; graphing; calculator skills and treatment of significant digits are topics that elude the underprepared student. Four additional topics were either added or revised extensively: 1) career exploration and planning; 2) team communication skills; 3) oral communication skills and 4) written communication skills.

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Regalbuto, P. J., & Ransom, P., & Morton-Gibson, M., & Esch, L. V. P. (1997, June), Teaming & Commmunications In Engineering Technology Curriculum Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6828