Conference Session

Engineering for Social Justice

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Schreier, University of Dayton; Carl Eger, University of Dayton; Margaret Pinnell, University of Dayton

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

and effectiveness of ETHOS programming onstudents post graduation, efforts were made to survey all alumni having participated ininternational technical immersions. This survey was designed to capture results of programmaticgoals and understand the role of service-learning programs on engineers’ career and life paths. This paper will describe qualitative results of international technical immersionexperiences through alumni surveys and interviews. Review of these data will provideassessment of the ETHOS program’s international technical immersions, classroom instruction,course resources, course facilitation and requirements. Recommendations for futuredevelopment and assessment will be considered.Background:Academic institutions are

Conference Session

Integrating H&SS in Engineering II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; James Heisler, Hope College; Thomas Ludwig, Hope College; Roger Nemeth, Hope College; James Piers, Hope College; Neal Sobania, Pacific Lutheran University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

prior to entry into the demanding world of work2. Page 11.1142.3While some hold that Japanese undergraduates work less hard than their UScounterparts6,7, others conclude that workloads and effort expended are comparable8.Japanese education has also been characterized as a more dispersed life-long processcompared to the US, especially in technical fields6. It consists of rigorous broad-basedtraining before college, focused study as an undergraduate, and acquisition of applied orpractical knowledge on the job. In contrast, most aspects of career training in the UnitedStates are concentrated almost entirely into the undergraduate program. While

Conference Session

Integrating H&SS in Engineering I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arthur Snider, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

subject of fine artfrom a perspective where technology-oriented students would have an advantage, rather than ahandicap; to exploit the experience so as to reinforce some aspect of engineering science byreviewing it in a new context; and to place the engineering students in an environment composedmostly of others in the same discipline.BackgroundAlthough many engineering students would argue otherwise, an exposure to the arts is anessential part of every undergraduate's curriculum. This is underscored by its de facto inclusion,in some form, in the required "distributional elective" hours imposed by virtually every degreeprogram in the United States. Educators recognize that many young people who selecttechnology as a career objective at an early

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Luke Niiler; David Beams, University of Texas-Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

or shape” of their argument, as well as a “concernfor their readership” (p. 50) and, most significantly, an understanding of writing as “an act ofdiscovery” (p. 53) which proceeds in a nonlinear fashion. How experienced, how sophisticated,were UT-Tyler’s sophomores? The authors also wanted to begin to understand the extent towhich Engineering students considered writing to be an act of learning, and not simply a meansof transmitting data. Sommers and Saltz 16 have shown that student writers who learn the mostthroughout their college careers tend to “see in writing a larger purpose than fulfilling anassignment” (p.124): again, how would the sophomore cohort measure up? Finally, the authors

Conference Session

Questions of Identity

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mike Graham, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Amy Wendt, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Paul Peercy, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Patrick Farrell, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jay Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sarah Pfatteicher, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jeffrey Russell, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

started by communicating, listening and studying with thecommunity to learn about our identity, and what it is that we value.While the UW COE remains in many ways homogenous, there is a tremendous diversity ofreasons for believing that change is worthwhile. For some, it’s a desire to continue to competesuccessfully (for students, for funding, for prestige). For others, it’s a desire to find newchallenges in a career. For still others, it’s a nagging sense that we can do better, and that weneed to stretch if we are going to reach our full potential.The Task Force has faced numerous challenges in the apparent dichotomy that exists betweenefforts to fully engage the community in study and conversation about the challenges facing thecollege and how

Conference Session

Integrating H&SS in Engineering II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

M. Pinar Menguc, University of Kentucky; Ellie Hawes, University of Kentucky; Jane Jensen, University of Kentucky; Ingrid St. Omer, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

UPoN, beginning with the honorssequence, to measure student development in the areas of a) epistemological beliefsregarding the nature of knowledge construction and learning, b) critical reasoning asexpressed in oral and written communication, and c) sense of purpose and self-efficacyregarding academic choices and career aspirations. These three areas of studentdevelopment are interrelated in complex ways and measurable change occurs slowly, thus Page 11.717.10we are implementing an extended case study model of evaluation that will follow thestudents through their college careers.Acknowledgements: This foundational course and the Honors sequence

Conference Session

Questions of Identity

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

broad reflection, personally satisfying but not professionally promoted bythe various external structures (departments, colleges, professional societies, colleagues).Second, the age of the instructor fascinates. Young faculty are not typically present inthis activity, for evident reasons: they are starting their research careers and both theirresearch and teaching must be easily judged and rewarded by their engineeringcolleagues, almost none of whom teach technology literacy. Second, the outlook of theyounger instructor is in an earlier, outbound phase of exploration and conquest ofresearch (the stated reason, according to Foster), whereas the senior faculty are morelikely to have completed sufficient “stated reason” voyages to reflect more