Conference Session

The Interdisciplinary Nature of Engineering

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiaofeng Tang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

research seeks tounderstand the forces that motivate educators to blend engineering learning with liberal studies,the institutional and pedagogical strategies used in different integrative programs, and theimpacts of liberal learning on students’ understandings of engineering and its social context. Inthis paper, I focus on a subset of the research questions posed for the dissertation: ● What motivates students to study engineering in a liberal education environment? ● In what ways does the experience of “a liberal education for engineers” assist students’ personal growth and career development? ● To what extent does students’ understanding of engineering take into account the social dimensions?MethodsMy dissertation

Conference Session

Integration of Engineering and Other Disciplines (Including Liberal Arts)

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Hennessey Wikoff, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Cynthia Wise Barnicki, Milwaukee School of Engineering; James R. Kieselburg II, Grohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

—amechanical engineering professor, a liberal arts professor, and an art museum director—bringtruly multidisciplinary perspectives to the STEAM challenge of coherently integrating art andengineering education. The paper describes a unique relationship that has developed betweenone university’s engineering curricula and the collection of an art museum on its campus. Thepaper presents a longitudinal study of engineering students at this institution who engaged withart as part of their curriculum at both the freshman and junior levels.Among our findings: • Students liked the flexibility and freedom, the self-guided discovery that using art as a starting point afforded. No students were put off by the art. • The decision to integrate art

Conference Session

Engineering as a Professional Calling

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph M LeDoux, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jacquelyn E. Borinski, Georgia Institute of Technology; Kimberly Danielle Haight, Georgia Institute of Technology ; Elaine Catherine McCormick, Georgia Institute of Technology; Alisha A.W. Waller, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

ways of thinking?The purpose of this strand of the course was to challenge the students to answer the question“Are there engineering ways of thinking? If so, what are they?” The concept of what it means tothink like an engineer was explored through readings and open-ended seminars that focused onthe writings of philosophers of engineering. The selections included a wide range of authors,lengths, and contexts that challenged students to be open-minded. Table 1 lists each readingassignment, the instructor’s motivation for including it, and the average rating of the students(where 1 = poor and 5= excellent).Students analyzed and reacted to these readings by pulling from their personal experiences,which in many cases were heavily influenced by

Conference Session

The Interdisciplinary Nature of Engineering

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mehmet Vurkaç, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

-education requirement at a sister institution (Portland StateUniversity) where the present author co-taught for several years with three faculty members fromthe Philosophy Department. The title of the original course was “Knowledge, Rationality andUnderstanding.” It was initially designed by a faculty member from the Psychology Department,and had a strong emphasis on decision-making.The present author was hired in 2005 as a “quantitative person” at the graduate-assistant level tohandle the Statistics content as well as the three hour-long weekly discussion sessions. Duringthe next three years, the primary instructors either retired or passed away, with the present author(graduate assistant) as the main constant and an increasingly central role in

Conference Session

Integration of Engineering and Other Disciplines (Including Liberal Arts)

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arthur Felse, Northwestern University; Igor Kourkine

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

to be at the forefront of technologycommercialization. The situation is further complicated by the fact that about 45% of students inengineering MS programs are non-resident aliens, who are even less familiar than domesticstudents with the technology commercialization processes in the United States. Given thesubstantial number of graduate degrees awarded in the USA annually (Table 1), we think thatmore rigorous education in technology commercialization is not just beneficial, but it is Page 24.103.4necessary for graduate students’ career growth and the future success of technologycommercialization. This education should be designed to bridge

Conference Session

Engineering as a Professional Calling

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qin Zhu, Purdue University; Brent K Jesiek, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jian Yuan, Beihang University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

curricula.Another issue in borrowing the ABET criteria is that many of the associated concepts wereoriginally derived from the Western professionalism and liberal democracy. In both Confucianand Marxist tradition, it is difficult to find exact counterparts of these concepts. For instance, thecurrent ABET guidelines include eleven learning outcomes that must be met for students in anyengineering degree program. One of these, criterion 3.f, more specifically states that graduates Page 24.497.10must have “an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.”24 Interestingly, theCEEAA’s general criteria include a list of required “graduate outcomes

Conference Session

Teaching Communication II

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jodi F. Prosise, St. Ambrose University; Hank Yochum, Sweet Briar College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

institution offers an ABET accredited engineering degree (Engineering Scienceand Industrial Engineering) and each graduates ~7-12 engineers per year. Sharing expertise,capabilities, and faculty time are important considerations in developing the program because ofthe very small size of each school’s departments.The mission of the program is to allow students to practice engineering skills while they developstrong communication and teamwork skills, gain global perspective, and learn socialresponsibility through projects for persons with disabilities that otherwise could not affordassistance, both locally and globally. At each institution the program is incorporated intorequired sophomore and junior-level design-intensive courses. The course is offered

Conference Session

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Canek Moises Luna Phillips, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

Paper ID #8602Engineering Education Outside the Classroom: Informal Learning Environ-ments as Settings for Engineering Education for both the Public and Engi-neersCanek Moises Luna Phillips, Purdue University, West Lafayette Canek Phillips is a graduate student in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University-West Lafayette and works as a graduate assistant in Dr. Alice Pawley’s Research in Feminist Engineering Lab. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. His research is focused on how people relate knowledge in engineering