Conference Session

Hands-on/Experiential Learning

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daria A Kotys-Schwartz, University of Colorado Boulder; Chiang Shih, Florida A&M University/Florida State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

designing engineering solutions under cultural constraints waspositively impacted in ways that would not change over time.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the U.S.-Brazil Partnership Program and the U.S.Department of Education, as well as the Brazil Ministry of Education for the funds that Page 23.643.15have supported this educational experience.Bibliography1. Del Vitto, C. (2008) Cross-cultural ‘soft skills’ and the global engineer: Corporate best practices and trainer methodologies, Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 3(1) 1-9.2. Downey, G., Lucena, J., Moskal, B., Parkhurst, R., Bigley, T., Hays, C., Jesiek, B. Kelly, L

Conference Session

Hands-on/Experiential Learning

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniela Faas, Harvard University; Daniel D. Frey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

), there seem to beenough data to support the thesis that a design course or something that contains many of itselements—including projects, teams, written and oral communication—can produce positivechanges in engineering student retention rates.In terms of other measures of potential benefits of first-year design courses, little data areavailable. Purdue’s EPICS program reports that students regarded teamwork, communication andtime management and/or organization as “the three most valuable things . . . learned” fromhaving taken the EPICS course30. The skills acquired here are the “soft” skills that ABET’s EC2000 is trying to promote. These results are quite consistent with—and supportive of—theanecdotal data heard from most teachers of such