Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Ross, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

informed choice. The common intellectualtheme is presented in the context of a mini-conference – bringing together a variety of technical Page 15.1075.4and professional competencies to meet a uniquely 21st century challenge. One of therequirements of this freshman composition course has been that students must “watch” andanalyze the news (using online tools such as Google news and its archives) to be aware of whatis going on space exploration and how new developments can affect specific technical orengineering opportunities and society. Appendix B is an informal summary of some of the mainevents that demonstrated that “space exploration” is a

Conference Session

Innovative Courses/Pedagogies in Liberal Education II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Wikoff, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

list comprises early thoughts on the topics.Design of the learning experience. 1. Make a playground. This can be a place on campus or a “space” in a course syllabus. Inviting play is different from requiring it. It is the difference between recess and gym class—students are free to create their own experiences in the former but not in the latter. 2. Become a maven in the middle. Neither sage on the stage nor guide by the side Page 15.1189.12 is a good match for a creative community. If students are doing their own work and truly teaching themselves (alone and in groups), the teacher’s role shifts to the “locus” who

Conference Session

Normative Commitments and Public Engagement in Engineering

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Juan Lucena, Colorado School of Mines; Jen Schneider, Colorado School of Mines; Jon Leydens, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

Sustainable Community Development. Our project is acritical pedagogy, one aimed at enhancing students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes to reflect onthe historical and political location of engineering, question the authority and relevance ofengineering problem-solving and design methods, and “examine their education, includinglearning objectives, the course syllabus, and the textbook itself” (Riley, 2008, p. 113).Specifically, our project is aimed at engineering education as it relates to a diversity of theseefforts, which we call “Engineering to Help” (ETH). ETH initiatives often exist under namessuch as community service, humanitarian engineering, service learning, Engineers WithoutBorders (EWB), Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) and

Conference Session

Writing Is Fundamental

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beth Richards, University of Hartford; Mohammad Saleh Keshawarz; Hisham Alnajjar, Computer and Electrical

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

relevant subjects for civilengineering students. Using BSE as a base, development of a class reader began.Given the wide range of English language background found in the first-semester English course,the workbook attempted to meet the needs of as many levels of readers as possible. Each chapterbegan with the original text from BSE, appropriate for the 20% of students with the highestEnglish language skills (equivalent to above grade 8). The second passage adapted the originaltext for the lowest level readers (equivalent to primary grades 2-4). A third passage (if needed)adapted the original text for intermediate-level readers (equivalent to grades 5-8).Keying readings to grammar textsAs of summer 2008, there was no common syllabus or course plan