Conference Session

Promoting Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College-Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

contribute, in this case, to engineering and technological literacy. While theteacher should determine what should be learnt the traditional methods of the stage of“precision” will not achieve “romance”. Methods more akin to those used in primary(elementary) schools are better tuned for its accomplishment e.g., projects and case studies.Whitehead attributed the success of the Montessori system to the dominance of romance in theprogramme [8, p 62) but as has been shown project work and case studies and methods likedebating also require the completion of the other stages of the cycle. It is to quote EdmundHolmes “the path to realisation” [cited in 8, p 66]. It provides the initial basis for insight into thefield of human inquiry and human opinion that

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William R. Loendorf, Eastern Washington University; Jason K Durfee P.E. P.E., Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

misfortunes with frequentfailures and limited success. Regrettably, most of these ancient tools and technologies were lostover time simply decomposing back into dust. Technological change has accelerated rapidly to apoint where what is new today is obsolete tomorrow. No longer are products repaired for futureuse as they were for centuries, they are simply thrown away and replaced with new models withmore features. This is especially true for technological artifacts from the past hundred or soyears. The artifacts remaining were often left in attics, basements, sheds, closets, and otheroverlooked spaces. They were hidden from sight, simply forgotten gathering dust, eventuallydiscarded, and ended up in a dump or landfill. Twelve years ago a project was

Conference Session

Promoting Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sean P. Brophy, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Thalia Anagnos, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

“specialists” working together to obtain significantimpact towards defined education and outreach goals.Large-scale research centers face the challenge of integrating the EOT operation into the generalframework of the research enterprise rather than running an ancillary EOT project to fulfill acontractual agreement specified by the funding agency. One model is to concentrate education Page 24.843.2programs on the research potential of the graduate students and post-doctoral scholars working atthe facility. This model emphasizes the production of new knowledge related to the ongoingresearch conducted at the sites. As illustrated in Figure 1, the

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

)?       2. Having  a  philosophical  basis  for  our  actions  as  engineering  educators,  we  need  to   address  the  following  issues     a. To  train  the  flexible  future  engineers,  they  need  to  have  ample   opportunities  to  reflect     b. Reflections  need  to  be  included  in  curricula  as  constructive  elements  in  the   lectures,  team  work,  and  projects     i. Considerable  attention  and  monitoring  by  the  educators  is   essential  for  enriching  the  reflective  practices

Conference Session

Promoting Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Raviv, Florida Atlantic University; George Roskovich, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

of a larger program at Florida Atlantic University that targetsmultiple topics and concepts in engineering, computer science, physics, and mathematics. The method was employed over the course of a semester for a class titled “Control Systems1”. A small scale assessment was applied to gauge the students’ receptiveness to the techniques.Although the project is in the preliminary stages, the feedback has been positive. Currently,further efforts are being made to assess students throughout the course of the semester,comparing their overall success with their opinion of the techniques highlighted in the project. Page 24.172.2 1. Introduction

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

envisages adifferent curriculum structure that can bring together the two literacies [14]. At this time itlies outside the plausibility structure.An alternative curriculum structure.In the middle nineteen seventies the Minister for Education in Ireland approved a project thatwould allow a few schools to develop a transition year between the junior cycle of post-primary education when students take a public examination called the Junior Certificate (15+years) and the first year of the two year programme for the Leaving Certificate (17+ years).The idea was that students should be freed from their studies for examinations and that theyshould undertake studies that would help their personal and career development. They wouldcontinue with some

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Cheville, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

when thestudent has passed a satisfactory examination on these fundamental principles and their variousnon-technical applications is he permitted to work on engineering projects.” (p. 58). Howeverthe report questions this approach, defining the value of practical work early in the curriculum:“Practical engineering work is essential for the freshman not only because it appeals to hisprofessional ambition, arouses his enthusiasm, and gives him training in practice, but alsobecause it helps him to master the theoretical work more fully and more quickly.” (p. 88).Despite the emphasis on practice, engineering programs are distinguished from the moreapprentice-based model of medicine and law by their academic character: “In engineering, onthe other