Conference Session

Learning to Communicate with Engineers and Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Ross, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

under thegeneral heading of liberal education, humanities, or (generally) optional courses outsideengineering – has contributed to the improved quality of portfolios and to their perceived valueas documentation of past accomplishments, benchmarks of current expertise, and planning forfuture professional development in a changing world. 3, 6, 7, 9Table 1 summarizes the “evolution” of portfolio thinking in the program for which the author isthe internship coordinator. This is not a unique paradigm, but it may serve as a useful overviewfor future “portfolio thinking.”Table 1. “Portfolio” ThinkingStage of Primary Perceived Purpose Base of Knowledge orPortfolio Emphasis For Portfolio

Conference Session

Learning to Communicate with Engineers and Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura Wilson, University of CIncinnati; Teresa Cook, University of Cincinnati; Jo Ann Thompson, University of Cincinnati; James Everly, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

investigated the needs of a community, assembledinformation, developed and implemented technological projects, prepared business plans,presented their products to a professional audience, and wrote a final report. Sixty-percent ofthe grading rubric, depicted later in this paper, depended on interdisciplinary communication,oral presentations and report development, emphasizing the importance of writing and oral andvisual communication as a vital study and tool for effective application of technology. Each ofthese findings, presented as sections throughout the paper, had a part in creating a mid-level,writing-in-the-disciplines program at the University of Cincinnati’s College of AppliedScience.The sections include: • Building Relationships: Making

Conference Session

Venturing Out: Service Learning, Study Abroad, and Criterion H

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Duffy, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Carol Barry, University Massachusetts Lowell; Linda Barrington, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; David Kazmer, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; William Moeller, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Cheryl West, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

participation had significant positiveeffects on 11 outcome measures: academic performance (GPA, writing skills, critical thinkingskills), values (commitment to activism and to promoting racial understanding), self-efficacy,leadership (leadership activities, self-rated leadership ability, interpersonal skills), choice of aservice career, and plans to participate in service after college. “These findings directly replicatea number of recent studies using different samples and methodologies.”(p.ii) 5 They found thatS-L to be significantly better in 8 out of 11 measures than just service without the courseintegration and discovered “strong support for the notion that service learning should be includedin the student’s major field.”(p.iii)6.Eyler and

Conference Session

Learning to Communicate with Engineers and Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Judith Norback, Georgia Institute of Technology; Nicoleta Serban, Georgia Institute of Technology; Nagi Gebraeel, Georgia Institute of Technology; Garlie Forehand, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

Recent Engineering Graduates in the Marketplace: Results of a Survey on Technical Communication Skills.” Journal of Engineering Education, 2001. 90(4): p. 685-697. 3. ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2005. Baltimore, MD: ABET, Inc. 4. Davis, D.C., and Beyerlein, S.W., Development and Use of an Engineer Profile. in American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, 2005. Portland, OR. (ASEE 2005) 5. Rogers, Jr., D., Stratton, M.J., and King, R.E., “Manufacturing education plan: 1999 critical competency gaps—Industry updates competency gaps among newly hired engineering graduates.” Society of Manufacturing Engineers

Conference Session

Learning to Communicate with Engineers and Non-Engineers

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leslie Potter, Iowa State University; John Jackman, Iowa State University; K. Jo Min, Iowa State University; Matthew Search, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

, (2) Formulation, (3) Creation, (4) Delivery, and (5) Assessment. Studentsparticipate in multimodal communication exercises that require ongoing practice and applicationof this process. This paper describes why the course was developed, the premise of the course,course content and logistics, examples and assessment of student work and perceptions, andfuture plans for long term impact and course/curriculum assessment.IntroductionSince 2000 when ABET identified outcome item (g) [students will have an ability tocommunicate effectively], academia has increasingly formalized its concurrence with industrythat effective professional communication skills are necessary for the successful engineer. 1 AsShuman et al. have described, the set of ABET

Conference Session

Beyond Individual Ethics: Engineering in Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

AC 2008-1891: INTEGRATING TECHNICAL, SOCIAL, AND AESTHETICANALYSIS IN THE PRODUCT DESIGN STUDIO: A CASE STUDY AND MODELFOR A NEW LIBERAL EDUCATION FOR ENGINEERSDean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Dean Nieusma’s research and teaching focus on interdisciplinary design collaboration and the expertise that enables it. With a BS in mechanical engineering and another in general studies and a PhD in interdisciplinary social sciences, Dean has worked as a member of design teams in contexts as diverse as the U.S. and European automotive industries; Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector; and STS, engineering, and design curriculum planning. He teaches across Rensselaer’s Product Design and

Conference Session

Beyond Individual Ethics: Engineering in Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Byron Newberry, Baylor University; William Lawson, Texas Tech University; Kathy Austin, Texas Tech University; Greta Gorsuch, Texas Tech University; Thomas Darwin, University of Texas at Austin

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

have encountered some form of professional ethics instruction at the undergraduate levelbecause of current ABET requirements. But for graduate students coming from undergraduateinstitutions in other countries, we can neither be sure that they have received any professionalethics instruction at the undergraduate level, nor that they are familiar with the particularconceptions of the engineering profession and of professional ethics in this country.This is not of great concern for those graduate students who return to their countries of origin topursue their careers. But 45% of the approximately 140,000 engineering graduate students in theU.S. are international students, and up to two thirds of those have plans to stay in the UnitedStates to

Conference Session

Beyond Individual Ethics: Engineering in Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arthur Sacks, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

diversion is a scheme to drive farmers off the land so it can be boughtat a fraction of its value. In the process, great damage is done both to the land and to thelivelihoods of those who inhabit and own it, water is intentionally wasted—pushed out to seathrough multiple channels presumably over a sufficient number of days to impact L.A. andfarmers alike—irrigation ditches and water tanks are blown up and wells are poisoned.Along the way to these revelations of Cross’ plan designed to greatly expand L.A.’s boundaries,Jake learns that his first conclusion, that Cross was simply trying to bring water to the Valley togrossly inflate the value of land he bought on the cheap, was only partially correct. He ultimatelylearns directly from Cross that his

Conference Session

Philosophy of Engineering Education: Epistemology and Ethics

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College-Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

people alike or should it cultivateidiosyncrasy?” (Should an engineering department encourage creative and innovativebehaviour among students? Should an engineering department allow students to plan part oftheir curriculum?)Should the school emphasize general education or should it aim at specific general education?(What is the role of general/liberal education in the engineering curriculum? Related to thisissue is the academic versus vocational issue and the extent to which engineering educationshould be influenced by the views of industrialists?)There is much in the engineering literature that deals with these issues. Furst’s point was thatthe education that will be provided derives from the stance taken on such issues. The curricularthat

Conference Session

Beyond Individual Ethics: Engineering in Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Riley, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

get involved in addressing Worked with campus climate action group, gotclimate change? involved in planning strategies and eventsHow can the college Bicycle Kitchen help to increase the use Worked with bicycle kitchen on campaign to offerof bicycles on campus? free bikes on campus (disallowed by public safety)How should a Design Clinic team approach ethical concerns Consulted with student team and participated inrelated to their project restoring a local stream and brainstorming about ethics concerns.ecosystem damaged in part by previous actions of engineers?Should the U.S. invest dollars in space when poverty, Letter to congressperson

Conference Session

Philosophy of Engineering Education: Epistemology and Ethics

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gayle Ermer, Calvin College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

these can be avoided in the future.4.1 Helios Airlines Flight 522On August 14, 2005 Helios Airlines Flight 522 departed from the Larnaca airport in Cyprus on itsway to Athens. Ground control cleared the plan for a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. A fewminutes later, the pilots contacted the company Operations Center to report an air conditioningproblem and a take-off configuration warning alarm. After communicating with a Ground Page 13.1312.7Engineer for approximately 6 minutes, contact with the aircraft was lost. The plane continued tofly on its programmed path to the Athens airport and entered into a holding pattern. Two Greek