, thetechnical education community at the two-year college level started to embrace similar elementsof the Scans report [10] (usually, problem solving skills and life-long learning) with efforts toinfuse these so-called “soft skills” within the technology curriculum. In any case, during theperiod preceding the Internet age, both two-year engineering technology programs and four-yearengineering programs tended to be islands unto themselves with little interaction with otherfields of engineering or technology or the sciences.Today, many have recognized that this paradigm needs to change. Since the start of the Internetera, two-year engineering technology education has been getting most of its direction andsupport from the NSF’s Advanced Technological
not only being able to speak in front of others but also communicating effectively. ...I learned there are times when leaders have to be honest with their team members when they are not doing a good job.” • “It was a course where I can take away soft skills that are hard to teach unless through experiences such as the ones this class provided” • “I learned that sometimes those who are the best leaders are the ones who know when to also take a step back and let the rest of the group take a leadership role.”In addition to executing the project, the students were evaluated by faculty and/or TA’s as theyexecuted their activities in each “room”. There was an evaluator that graded the students onExecution
steps:1. Recruitment of Student Observers: During Fall 2022 semester, the chair of the EEdepartment sent an invitation to undergraduate students participating in the ProfessionalFormation of Engineers (PFE) courses to become student observers. PFE Courses, a three-coursesequence for undergraduate students at the EE department that includes sections on soft skills,were also part of the NSF grant. Interested students’ names were collected via a Qualtrics survey.The initiative was marketed to students as a research opportunity. Starting Fall 2023 semester,the invitation was extended to all graduate students at the EE department as well. There was nocompensation for students who participated in this process.2. Pre-Program Survey: Before training
engineering solutions in a global and social context.2Study abroad experiences have also been linked with helping students develop soft skills, such asflexibility, appreciation for diversity, open-mindedness, and being comfortable with internationaland global perspectives of engineering.3 Student feedback indicates that an internationalexperience becomes a pivotal point in their education, and indeed in their lives.4Although other construction related study abroad programs to China have been reported5,6, thisstudy abroad program was unique in that it directly integrated students from a constructionmanagement program with those from a civil engineering program. As such, the Chinamegaconstruction study abroad program became a single course in a multi
follow, and regurgitate, in the report. Reports wereexpected to be, more or less, formal laboratory write-ups with a summary, introduction,procedures & set-up, results, and conclusions sections.This arrangement was continued for many years until shortly after the conversion to outcomesbased ABET assessment and the establishment of the student outcomes. As many others likelydid, the department struggled with defining performance criteria and assessment methods formany of the “soft skills” outcomes, but, among the more technically based outcomes, outcome b)always caused the most consternation. Initially, the department chose to put more emphasis onthe second part of the outcome “to analyze and interpret data” and only superficially
team learning: evaluation, dissemination, andinstitutionalization of a college level initiative, Springer Science & Business Media.Haidet, P., K. Kubitz and W. T. McCormack. (2014). "Analysis of the team-based learningliterature: TBL comes of age." J Excell Coll Teach. 25(3-4), 303-333.Hake, R. R. (1998). "Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-studentsurvey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses." Am J Phys., 10.1119/1.18809,64-74.Kumar, S. and J. K. Hsiao. (2007). "Engineers learn “soft skills the hard way”: Planting a seed ofleadership in engineering classes." Leadership and Management in Engineering.10.1061/(ASCE)1532-6748(2007)7:1(18),18-23.McCavit, K. and N. Zellner. (2016). "Persistence of
Summative Heat Transfer Project: Designing a House Charles E. Baukal, Jr. Oral Roberts UniversityAbstractProject- and problem-based learning have been shown to enhance learning and to provide otherbenefits such as improving soft skills including teamwork and communication. They can beespecially effective for engineering students to demonstrate how theory is applied to real worldproblems. While comprehensive projects are an essential element in capstone courses, they arenot used as often in traditional more theory-based courses such as heat transfer. This paperdescribes an example of a summative and ill-structured project to design a house
in the throes of developing the 777. Today we have many new companies, new‘toys,’ high technology cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that arebecoming ‘smart’ enough to communicate emotions, marvelous digital cameras, ‘cloud’computing and politically significant social movements catalyzed by many of theseinnovations. As a nation we also possess many problems, not forgetting a frequent plea forgreater skills, and more especially ‘soft skills’ in the workforce.One of the first steps in assessing any problem is to discover analogs and establishbenchmarks.How are other nations performing and dealing with similar problems although possiblywith different cultural, economic and social constraints and customs? Following very
the prospect for exciting engineering work such as thespace program provided. The nation’s new problems will require undergraduateengineers to acquire complementary skills and perspectives of multiple disciplinesthat more explicitly recognize the practical importance of the human element andtechnical innovation. Engineers in the 21st century will face unprecedented globalchange and rate of change in technology, economics and social institutions. To meetthese challenges, recently referred to by the NAE as a gathering storm, engineeringeducation will need to embed more technology and soft skills into traditionalscience-based engineering courses without reducing practical STEM content andrigor. Engineering faculty will need also to create and
to expose high-school students to basicfluid flow concepts using a small-scale system that is easy and safe to operate. Primarily, wewant to introduce basic concepts of frictional phenomena by illustrating the flow of fluids inpipes of different diameters and orientations by measuring the pressure drop across various flowpathways. In addition to fundamental topics of chemical engineering, students can gathertechnical and soft skills such as teamwork, effective communication, and data collection usingArduino-based sensors. For example, students were organized into teams (not more than 5members), and they rotated different tasks such as assembling the setup, programming theArduino, pump operation, flow rate measurements, and data recording and
individual perspective, more soft skills are needed for STEM professionals. Inreality, STEM professionals usually work in a team to solve complex problems together. Withoutmore human-centered skills, like communication, teamwork mindsets, and empathy, it would bedemanding to accomplish tasks efficiently and effectively as a team. Unfortunately, the emphasison technical knowledge in STEM education has often overshadowed the importance of personaland interpersonal skills (Crawley et al., 2014). Regrettably, STEM professionals are sometimesstereotyped as having poor social skills (Cheryan et al., 2013; Ehrlinger et al., 2018; Starr, 2018).We argue that the neglect of humanities in current STEM education contributes to thisstereotype. One
includes the science from its scientific theories underpinsthe engineering design process, the technology as a product of science and engineering, andin turn, technological tools are used in science and engineering, the engineering usingscientific and mathematical foundations as well as technological tools, and the mathematicsusing in science, engineering, and technology [23]. For the participants, integrating STEMinto the school curriculum is important because it allows the disciplines of science,technology, engineering, and mathematics to be addressed in an interdisciplinary and holisticmanner. This promotes the development of soft skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and research, among
in an introduction to engineering course. Journal of STEM Education 12(7, 8), 36-44.31. Beard, D., Schwieger, D., & Surendran, K. (2008) Integrating soft skills assessment through university, college, and programmatic efforts at an AACSB accredited institution. Journal of Information Systems Education 19(2), 229-240.32. Vance, K., Kulturel-Konak, S., & Konak, A. (2014, March) Assessing teamwork skills and knowledge. Paper presented at the Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC)33. Stevens, M. J., & Campion, M. A. (1999). Staffing work teams: Development and validation of a selection test for teamwork settings. Journal of Management, 25(2), 207-228.34. Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (1991) Relation
orcareer is based on the discipline within the program.The role of authentic learning has been promoted in educational circles, but in amultidisciplinary program, it gains importance. By reviewing and discussing andusing materials and processes from the working professional world, students learnthe material and, more importantly, are ready to begin their careers.Finally, writing, public speaking and critical argument, often called soft skills areimportant and presenting in them in a realistic fashion heightens their usefulness.In a multidisciplinary program this is even more important as the members of sub-disciplines oft have their own particular vocabulary. Learning to speak, write andpersuade across these lines is an important skill.SUMMARYIt
.-C. Wang, G. Werner, and S. Sutherland, “Fostering soft skills through cross-disciplinary robotics mentorship,” International Journal of Engineering Education, 40(4), pp. 979–992, 2024.
assessing teamwork and other soft skills involved in multi-disciplinary PBLteams. Plumb and Sobeck[10] put together a framework for developing assessment tools. Theyurge instructors to develop a rubric or protocols to track performance over time. Proceedings of the 2009 American Society for Engineering Education Pacific Southwest Regional Conference Proceedings of the 2009 American Society for Engineering Education Pacific Southwest Regional Conference 163 Teamwork in PBL is a unique case in that the teams are usually working on moredifficult, time consuming problems. When PBL is used students achieve desirable
“Buy a Volt.” The tablebelow shows the titles of the 56 studies.The 56 Group Research Project topics utilized in fall, 2011: Coal Energy Solar-Photovoltaic Congestion Charges "Soft Skills" Training Liquefied Natural Gas Solar-Thermal Traffic Management Sustainability Methane Hydrates Ultra capacitors Rail Transportation Conservation at Lehigh Oil New Batteries Buses Going "Paperless" Shale and "Fracking" Ocean Energy Feeding the World Automation vs. Human Tar Sands Hydro Resources Hunger-National, Global
amount deal You received support from industry professionals during your Capstone. You believe the capstone format you had was sufficient. 4. What additional skills or experiences do you think should be included in the capstone course to better prepare future students for their careers? o More emphasis on soft skills (communication, leadership) o Greater focus on sustainability and ethical decision-making o More exposure to cutting-edge technologies (e.g., BIM, AI, etc.) o Other (please specify) 5. In your opinion, how could the VMI Civil Engineering Capstone course be improved overall? -Open ended.Questions for former/current VMI Civil Engineering
globalengineers, to assist in technology transfers, international design collaborations, and globalmanufacturing issues14. Even though there is no consensus on the definition of “global engineers”12,some educators believe that a global engineer should have two sets of skills, soft and technicalskills8,15,16,17, 18.The soft skills: Innovation that addresses the attributes needed for success in a changing global environment; Entrepreneurial experience to understand consumer needs, domestic and foreign markets, and market needs; Multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary team experiences; Global awareness in another culture and foreign language skills; Awareness
X X X 1 2R = Recommended X = Required choose one combined course3 4 5 Careers/soft skills Design specialized Intro to Civil only6
projects, or team laboratory assignments to help studentsdevelop skills necessary for their professional careers. Teamwork skills have traditionally beendeveloped by exposing students to team activities without discussion of teamwork techniques. To someextent, this lack of formal instruction does produce results, but a better approach was undertaken at theUniversity of Dayton2 where student teams were instructed on teambuilding and leadership. Manyresearchers have struggled with the difficult task of assessing teamwork and other soft skills involved inmulti-disciplinary PBL teams. Plumb and Sobeck3 put together a framework for developing assessmenttools. They urge instructors to develop a rubric to track performance over time.Teamwork in PBL is
265The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laser Targeting System founded by Edwards Air Force Baseenticed a team of interdisciplinary mechanical, computer and electrical engineering faculty andstudents at CSU, Fresno. The main objective in this project was to enhance electrical, computerand mechanical engineering students’ technical as well as soft skills through a comprehensiveteamwork experience. Under the supervision of four professors from electrical, computer andmechanical engineering, an interdisciplinary team of over 15 students engaged in the design andtesting of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).In a team environment, the students had a team leader with task specific members whoperformed the specified tasks and reported to the team leader and the
collaboration, negotiation, mediation, communication, and other “soft” skills requiredof any successful design team. In this way, the instructors can model healthy and productiveteam behavior to their students who can then adopt these same behaviors in their own designteams. Rather than merely telling students how to engage in good team skills, teaching teams canactually model these very skills. As such, teaching teams help students to achieve ABETOutcome 3d.Aside from these benefits, forming and managing a teaching team can also pose challenges; twokey challenges experienced by the authors were managing student requests for assistance andfinding replacement team members.Managing Student Requests: Once students realize they have access to sources of
on using AI for drafting reports B. Faculty Training and Supportor translating technical jargon for various audiences, since Successful integration of Gen AI depends on instructors.these are real skills engineers are beginning to use on the job Therefore, a major strategic focus is on faculty development.with AI assistance. Another aspect is the change in required Institutions are beginning to offer workshops, resource guides,soft skills. As routine technical tasks become aided by AI, and communities of practice around teaching with AI. Kurtz etskills like creativity, ethical judgment, and interdisciplinary al. [14] propose formal training programs for faculty as acollaboration gain even more
such as MIT and Stanford integrate these modelsinto STEM curricula, fostering real-world application and skill development [19].A study by the National Academies of Sciences found that PBL students score 10–20% higher onproblem-solving assessments than those in traditional courses. Additionally, PBL promotesessential soft skills such as teamwork and leadership. As a result, IBL and PBL have becomecornerstones of modern education, equipping students with the skills needed for success in anincreasingly complex and interconnected world. By structuring curricula around inquiry andproblem-solving, educators can equip students with technical expertise and collaborative abilitiesnecessary for careers in science, engineering, and business. The graph
technical interviews. If you put all those into one class, I think that could be super [inaudible 00:21:06] and students are required to take it. Because if you have these meetings and people don’t have time or people have jobs, it’s hard to do on top of classes, so if you had your own three, four credit class, that would be super beneficial definitely.Other students mentioned how they felt uncomfortable speaking, or how they noticed others in thedepartment struggled with communication. As such, they felt gaining practice could help to betterprepare, as emphasized by Michael (an Asian, Black, and Hispanic male): I think providing students with some sort of soft skills interviewing course or something
importantly, performance in the marketplace is driven by the quality, skills, and flexibilityof labor and management. In addition to traditional “hard” skills and ICT competencies, theknowledge based economies require a new set of “soft” skills, such as spirit of enquiry,adaptability, problem solving, communications skills, self learning, and knowledge discovery,cultural sensitivity, social empathy, and motivation for work. Countries need to developteaching and learning environments that nurture inquiry, adaptability, problem-solving, andcommunication skills. But mastery of these skills is quite low in many countries.The talent shortage is expected to get far more severe in the coming decade. About 80 percent ofthe fastest-growing jobs of the future
interviews is the Nelson Distinguished SpeakerSeries, which brings to campus a wide range of nationally and internationally prominentindividuals to speak on dimensions of a common topic. The 2010-2011 Series theme was“Powering the Planet – Sustainability.” Speakers explored potential solutions to the globalclimate and energy crisis – including a comprehensive look at the future of solar power.Speakers‟ visits include meetings and in-depth discussions with students and faculty members.Students also participate in the student chapters of eight professional engineering andengineering education societies, although one faculty member noted that engineering at HMCrelied less than other schools on the co-curriculum to develop students‟ “soft” skills
the globalclimate and energy crisis – including a comprehensive look at the future of solar power.Speakers‟ visits include meetings and in-depth discussions with students and faculty members.Students also participate in the student chapters of eight professional engineering andengineering education societies, although one faculty member noted that engineering at HMCrelied less than other schools on the co-curriculum to develop students‟ “soft” skills because thecurriculum, as delivered, promotes those skills.Efforts to stitch a seamless engineering education experience at HMC is visible in a growingnumber of joint curricular and co-curricular venues for developing engineering and scientificcontextual competence and to internationalize the