, the first-named author proposed a syllabus thatopened with the following line: “What does it mean to be an engineer?” Students would beexplicitly encouraged, both in the new syllabus and during class, to find their own answers to thisquestion in light of an eclectic mix of readings, videos, case studies, lectures by guest speakers,self-reflection exercises, and other activities intended to bring engineering’s past, present, andfuture to life. Kicking off the course was an overview of US engineering history from the 19thcentury on through the present day. After learning about the roots of the “pure” science vs.“applied” technology dichotomy, students then learned how engineers redefined themselves asprofessionals while negotiating a balance
, promoting legitimacy andintellectual authority, and centering critical reflection.Creating a community of learningOne of the main ideas that hooks puts forward in Teaching to Transgress is the importance ofcreating a community of learning in the classroom. A community of learning for transformativepedagogy involves “making the classroom a democratic setting where everyone feels aresponsibility to contribute” [1, p. 39]. My efforts to build a community of learning in ENG 3020began on the first day of class. After going through the course syllabus, I devoted time toclassroom conduct and norms. First, I highlighted main ideas from Arao and Clemens’s chapter“From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces” [5], as they have noted that “safe spaces” may hinderstudent
Technology). Thesecourses are unique because they are co-taught by an engineering professor and a historyprofessor who regularly collaborate to develop the syllabus and lessons within the classroom.Both iterations of the course are titled “War, Machine, Culture, and Society: History andEngineering in the Second World War,” and focus on teaching students the social and politicalfoundations of World War II while discussing technical issues, design thinking, and problem-solving skills associated with the war. As we describe in the review below, there are variousreasons to develop an interdisciplinary model in STEM courses, integrating the humanities intoengineering coursework. However, it is often difficult for STEM faculty to integrate their
) is the lead author and primary data collector and teaching coordinator. SeanFerguson (California State University Channel Islands, CSUCI) has worked with all threemembers of the team in various capacities. As the syllabus suggests, this course aims to“promote engineering humanities education across borders” for the engineering studentsacross the two universities. During the course period, for the purpose of fostering adialogue-based classroom, each NYCU student will be paired with a UST partner to conductinterviews, homework assignments and a collaborative research project. Four teachingformats were used to facilitate the course progress:1. Synchronous Lectures: Synchronous GC was hosted by two instructors from NYCU and UST