Conference Session

Innovative Pedagogies for Facilitating Student-driven Learning Experiences

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Kurtis Younkin, Iowa State University; Peter T. Savolainen, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

. Suchintegration would also help to meet the 24 outcomes outlined by the American Society of CivilEngineers in Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century (ASCE 2008),particularly those outcomes focused on professional issues. These outcomes, which focus onpractice-oriented skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork, professional and ethicalresponsibilities are generally satisfied during the pre-licensure professional experience ratherthan as a part of the undergraduate experience.Continuing on this point, engineering employers generally prefer students to have a combinationof both strong technical and soft skills. For example, an industry survey by Hawkins and Chang(2016) found that companies often emphasize traits such as

Conference Session

Educational & Professional Issues of Strategic Importance to the Civil Engineering Profession – and ASCE

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth J. Fridley, University of Alabama; Decker B. Hains, Western Michigan University; Leslie Nolen, American Society of Civil Engineers; Brock E. Barry PE, U.S. Military Academy; Beth Lin Hartmann P.E., Iowa State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

determining if a revision is warranted at this time. The summaryfindings for each question are as follows: (1) Do the reviewed sources affirm aspects of the ASCE BOK2? The majority of the sources either directly or indirectly affirm various aspects of the BOK2. Sources specific to engineering appear to support many of the premises and outcomes identified in the BOK2. Some sources are silent on some of the “soft skill outcomes” of the BOK2, with one example being humanities. Overall, the committee felt the sources reviewed affirmed most aspects of the BOK2. (2) Do the reviewed sources suggest things that may need to be revised or clarified in the BOK? Several of the reviewed sources did support the need for

Conference Session

Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: The Role of Engineering Education towards Attaining UN Sustainable Development Goals

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven J. Burian, University of Utah; Mercedes Ward, University of Utah; Tariq Banuri, University of Utah; Sajjad Ahmad, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Rasool Bux Mahar P.E., Mehran University, Pakistan; David Lawrence Stevenson, University of Utah; James A. VanDerslice, University of Utah; Kamran Ansari; Abdul Latif Qureshi

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering, Community Engagement Division, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Minorities in Engineering

 capacity building not only in terms of technical skills but also soft skills such as effective communication and management. Indeed, in order to achieve the SDGs, higher education must do more than train a high quality workforce; it must both prepare and inspire highly skilled individuals to be innovators—and most importantly, agents of change—in their  institutions  and  industries.  But  to  nourish  the  momentum  of  change  begun  through  its degree and research programs, higher education must be a catalyst for establishing a Community of  Practice by  stimulating  cooperation  among  academia,  business,  and  government,  including providing  opportunities  for  training  and  continuing  education  of  the  water  sector  and

Conference Session

Educational & Professional Issues of Strategic Importance to the Civil Engineering Profession – and ASCE

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen J. Ressler, U.S. Military Academy; Thomas A. Lenox , Dist.M.ASCE, F.ASEE, American Society of Civil Engineers

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

vision statement notes that “the growing availability of professional Master’s degrees provides increased opportunity for graduates and practitioners to meet such a need.”26  NCEES Position Statement 35 observes that “future demands for increasing technical and professional skills have resulted in the need for additional education beyond the bachelor’s degree for those entering the engineering profession” and advocates four alternative educational pathways to attain this expanding engineering body of knowledge.27  In its “Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering and Structural Engineers,” SEI observes that future structural engineers will need enhanced technical expertise, soft

Conference Session

Horizontal and Vertical Integration

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Caroline R. Bennett P.E., University of Kansas; William N. Collins, University of Kansas; Molly A. McVey, University of Kansas

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

important to note that mentors had to have earned a C orbetter in the remedial chemistry course- so the mentors were not only the highest achievingstudents, and that these students went on to outperform the students who were higher-achieving atadmission. In addition, 75% of the mentors were minorities or female, showing strong support forthe implementation of these types of programs for the retention of minority and female students inSTEM.In addition to learning gains, the experience of mentoring has many benefits in the developmentof professional soft skills and interpersonal growth (Miller, 2004; Terrion and Leonard, 2007;Seymour and Hewitt 1997). In a study of long-term effects of mentoring in a PLTL setting inChemistry (Gafney and Varma-Nelson

Conference Session

Balancing Act: Ideas in Pre- & Post- Surveys and Assessment of Professional Skills

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

)determined that there were gaps in meeting these professional skill outcomes, and as such aprofessional issues course was added as a requirement in the senior year. Many other universitiesoffer similar courses, and the content of these courses has been reviewed. At CU, theprofessional issues course has learning objectives that map to six different BOK2 outcomes:professional and ethical issues, sustainability, contemporary issues, leadership, public policy, andbusiness & public administration. The majority of the topics in the course are often perceived bystudents to be “soft skills”, which they believe are less important than technical outcomes. Thisand other issues presented obstacles to creating a course that would be well received by