ııııı
Iıııı
ıııı}
ABSTRACT
There is an increasing reduction in the number of university candidates applying for engineering education in some institutions. This fact shows the dissatisfaction for the content of the program and the prospects perceived for the profession. We propose a radical change in the curriculum that will attract candidates to this career that requires more and more creative as its basic ingredient.
KEYWORDS
curriculum design, engineering practice
1. INTRODUCTION
Our aim is to share our experiences while in engineering education with the hope that in the coming years, reform on the curriculum will take place. We start with the premise that engineering education -as per today- does not satisfy the expectations of neither the students nor the instructors. Consequently we claim that to enhance the quality of engineering education the order of the curriculum must be reversed so that what we now teach at the end must be covered in the early stages. During the last decade we have gathered during our teaching experience enough evidence to support our claim as it will be argued in the following sections. We share in this paper lessons learned while implementing new ideas evolving from the literature available.
One of the most important realizations while teaching engineering courses was to understand the need for a system approach to education. From our previous experience we can say that engineers are required to bridge the gap between needs and means considering the environment as a limited resource. Engineering practice require close cooperation with other studies: economy, law and sociology are as important as technology. Respect for the environment –flora and fauna- is clear in the need to recycle what we produce and then dispose. There is no end to the needs –shelter, nutrition etc- but we are constrained by the available means. We must develop curricula that keep “appropriate technologies” courses at the top of the agenda together with extra-curriculum activities.
2. REFLECTION
We present here the chronological summary of our previous published work that will help to support our claim: the order of the engineering curriculum must be changed so that early on in the program students will have hand-on experience on the profession they have selected and be willing to engage in training programs outside the classroom. We do not what to suggest that this is the only literature available, we want only to share our own experiences which were reflected in these publications. We started with defending our practice of project based learning, but as we when along the years the idea of active or engaged learning seemed more attractive. At the current juncture we are for what is known as “situated learning” as will be obvious for latter publications.
3. DESCRIPTION
Currently engineering programs are very much tailored according to the classical idea that “basic comes first”. If we just take any engineering program -and in our case mechanical for the author convenience- we see that physics, chemistry and mathematics are the only courses offered to the new candidate (See Appendix for METU program simplified) during the first two years. This is the “black hole” of the curriculum: the candidate is expecting to be involved in creative work but must be contended to solve problems that have been solved years and years along and do experiments that have definite solutions. It is only in the third year that the candidate starts to feel the goodies of engineering but still in a very abstract fashion
Based on the experience of the author and reflected in the publications referred in the previous section we are about to propose a mechanical engineering program that is reversed: “last in, first out”. Basic courses are postponed until the candidate has a pretty good idea about what engineering is about. In order to suggest a general pattern for all engineering programs we submit at the end of this section a framework applicable to all programs which reflects the idea behind the proposed program to be expanded in the next section. As you can see from the Appendix the candidate is first introduced to general design using parameters concurrently with numeracy (computers tools). Further on, the candidate is required –as needed- to grasp the “nuts and bolts” of basic science.
4. PROPOSITION
We are working on the design of a “fluid engineering” curriculum as a top down approach to the education. We start with a system in a holistic approach followed by the design of the mechanical equipment. Once the equipment is decided upon based on the catalogue characteristics the detailed design of the fluid conduits can be addressed. It is then that basic physics enters in the picture with all the details of the science backed up by mathematics. The design of a complete system can only be possible when the electrical- electronic devices are put on place. Basic mechanical components can be matched with the electrical- electronic counterpart to assure a smooth operation of the whole system.
5. RECOMMENDATION
Basic sciences departments have always imposed their preferences in the design of engineering curriculum assuming this profession to be only a science. Engineering is also a skill that has to mature with experience. We have not denied the importance of basic sciences: we simply want to seem them –and even to a more depth- presented when it is relevant. To give and example the chemical characteristics of a fuels should be given exactly when the students are dealing with the design of an “internal combustion engine”. With this approach the deep knowledge about organic chemistry will be relevant in understanding the combustion process. Furthermore nanotechnology now requires that the student of materials goes deeper into the molecular structure of matter.
After half a century (1958-2008) of experiences in the field of engineering –as trainee, student, practitioner, instructor and researcher- we feel entitled to make suggestion on the organization of the curriculum. We do not attempt to reduce or add and course to the program, our concern is that the student should feel that what she is learning is relevant to what she is doing: learning will then take place. The use of portfolios will assure that the student has a feeling of her accomplishments and is ready to present herself in the work market as a full fletched engineer. The graduate should feel she is ready to take on board any real assignment and will contribute with innovative ideas. We are not including here other questions about engineering that require answers to be investigated in future work.
Table 1. List of engineering subjects covered
1 / Active learning2 / Case based reasoning
3 / Collaborative work
4 / Computer aided design
5 / Distance learning
6 / Engineering curriculum
7 / Extra-curriculum activities
8 / Global education
9 / Life long learning
10 / Problem based learning
11 / Quality of education
12 / Social responsibility
13 / Use of internet
14 / Visual thinking
15 / Work based learning
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We remain grateful to our first engineering Prof. Turgut Noyan (former Provost) who tried in vane to convince us of the importance of engineering history he delivered. In later years he became instrumental in guiding us in taking the first steps in the profession with courage. Our university had funded in several occasions conferences expenses that had widened our understanding.
APPENDIX
Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Program (METU simplified)
FIRST YEAR
PHYS105 / GENERAL PHYSICS I / physicsMATH119 / CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY / mathematics
ME113 / COMPUTERUTER AIDED ENGINEERING DRAWING I / computer
CENG230 / INTRODUCTION TO C PROGRAMMING / computer
IS100 / INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS / computer
PHYS106 / GENERAL PHYSICS II / physics
CHEM107 / GENERAL CHEMISTRY / materials
MATH120 / CALCULUS FOR FUNCTIONS OF SEVERAL VARIABLES / mathematics
ME114 / COMPUTERUTER AIDED ENGINEERING DRAWING II / computer
SECOND YEAR
MATH219 / INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS / mathematicsEE209 / FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL&ELECTRO. EN / electricity
ME200 / MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION / design
ME203 / THERMODYNAMICS I / heat
ME205 / STATICS / mechanics
METE227 / BASIC CONCEPTS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE / materials
ME202 / MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES / materials
ME204 / THERMODYNAMICS II / heat
ME206 / STRENGTH OF MATERIALS / materials
ME208 / DYNAMICS / mechanics
ME210 / APPLIED MATH. FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS / mathematics
METE228 / ENGINEERING MATERIALS / materials
THIRD YEAR
ECON210 / PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS / economyME301 / THEORY OF MACHINES I / mechanics
ME303 / MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING / mathematics
ME305 / FLUID MECHANICS I / mechanics
ME307 / MACHINE ELEMENTS I / mechanics
ME311 / HEAT TRANSFER / heat
ME302 / THEORY OF MACHINES II / mechanics
ME304 / CONTROL SYSTEMS / electricity
ME306 / FLUID MECHANICS II / mechanics
ME308 / MACHINE ELEMENTS II / mechanics
ME310 / NUMERICAL METHODS / mathematics
ME312 / THERMAL ENGINEERING / heat
FORTH YEAR
ME407 / MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN / designME410 / MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS LAB. / design
Proposal for a “reversed program” in engineering (for mechanical engineering)
year / basic / design / area / core1 / materials / general / devices / numeracy
2 / process / machine / drivers / electricity
3 / control / heat / coolers / economy
4 / mathematics / system / plants / physical-chemistry
: Selected publications by the author (1996-2007)
1 / XXXXXXXX, E., “The Role of the Third Sector in Enhancing University, Industry and Government Collaboration: A Case Study”, UnIG’96, International Conference on Technology Management: University/Industry/Government Collaboration, UNESCO Chair on Mechatronics, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, pp. 554-558, 1996. / Collaboration between stake- holders2 / XXXXXXXX, E., “Reconciling Engineering Research and Educational Activities: A Case Study”, V. Yerlici - Engineering and Education (Ed. G. A. Altay), pp. 325-334, Istanbul, 1997.(indexed) / Education and research hand in hand
3 / XXXXXXXX, E. "Introducing Freshmen Students to Hands-on Experience in Engineering Design", UNESCO Global Congress on Engineering Education, 6-11 September 1998, Cracow, (Poland), pp. 273-276. / Engineering design start-up
5 / XXXXXXXX, E. "Enhancing the Engineering Orientation Course to Meet the Requirements of the Next Century, 100th Anniversary Jubilee Conference on Engineering Education, 17-19 September 1998, Fachhochshule Mannheim, (Germany), pp. 300-303. / Engineering orientation freshmen
6 / XXXXXXXX, E. "Encouraging Freshmen Engineering Students to Prepare Oral and Written Reports: A Case Study", IGIP International Symposium on Engineering Education, 14-18 September 1998, MADI Technical University, Moscow, (Russia), pp. 270-273. / Writting oral and written reports
7 / Egi, S.M. and XXXXXXXX, E., “The Role of Extra-Curriculum Activities in the Life Long Education of Engineers”, Global Journal of Engineering Education, UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education, Vol 3, No 3, (1999), pp.199-202. / Extra-curriculum activities
8 / XXXXXXXX, E., "Stimulating Social Responsibility as a Prerequisite for “Project Based Learning”, 2nd UICEE Annual Conference on Engineerig Education, 12-14 February 1999, Auckland, (New Zealand), session chair, pp. 151-154. / Social responsibility awareness
9 / XXXXXXXX. E., “Proposal for Full Integration of Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Programs”, Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, 20-23 June 1999, (poster, on CD) / Integration of engineering curriculum
10 / XXXXXXXX, E., “Project Centered Learning as a Model for the Life-long Education of Engineers”, 4th European Form for Continuing Engineering Education, Trondheim (Norway), 9-11 June 1999, pp 117-120. / Project centered learning
11 / XXXXXXXX, E., “Experience Gained While Implementing ‘Project Based Learning’ in Engineering Graphics”, SEFI Annual Conference, Zurich, (Switzerland), 1-3 July 1999, pp.135-140. / Project centered learning
12 / XXXXXXXX, E. “A Holistic Approach to Work Based Learning in Engineering Education”, 3rd Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education, Göteburg, (Sweden), 3-5 September 1999, pp. 72-74. / Work based learning
13 / XXXXXXXX, E.,”Integrating Engineering Disciplines to Meet the Requirements of the Next Century: The Case Study of Biomechatronics”, 28th International Engineering Education Symposium, Istanbul (Turkey), 20-24 September 1999, session chair, pp. 394-399. / Integrating disciplines
14 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Experience Gained in Teaching Computer Aided Design Using a Problem Centered Learning Approach”, 5th International Conference on Computer Aided Design in Engineering Education, Sofia (Bulgaria), 22-24 September 1999, pp.181-187. / Computer aided design
15 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Professional Development of Engineer Educators: From the Lecture to the Program”, 3rd UICEE Annual Conference on Engineering Education, Hobart, (Australia), 9-12 February 2000, pp.388-391. / Professional development of educators
16 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Engineering educators as models for the new generations: a case study”, 2nd Global Congress on Engineering Education Wismar, (Germany), 2-7 July, 2000, pp.210-213. / Education of engineering educators
17 / XXXXXXXX, E. “A new model for teaching computer machine language to freshmen students”, 4th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education, Lyngby, Copenhagen, (Denmark), 1-3 September, 2000, pp. 98-100. / Teaching computer machine language
18 / XXXXXXXX, E., “In Search for Excellence in Engineering Education: Years 1998-2001” Global Journal of Engineering Education, UNESCO International Center for Engineering Education, Vol 5, No 1, (2001), pp.199-202. / Engineering education excellence
19 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Implementing ‘Visual thinking’ in the Engineering Orientation Course”, European Journal of Engineering Education, SEFI, Vol.26, No.3, (2001), pp.291-299 / Visual thinking
20 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Implementing ‘Case Based Reasoning’ in Engineering Management Education”, 4th UICEE Annual Conference on Engineering Education, Bangkok, (Thailand), 7-10 February 2001, pp.110-112. / Case based reasoning
21 / XXXXXXXX, E. and Ibrahim, A.M. “A Proposal for a novel Control Systems Undergraduate Program”, Proceedings of the International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) Modelling, Identification and Control, Innsbruck, (Austria), 19-22 February, 2001 (Ed. M.H.Hamza), pp. 494-499. / Control systems curriculum
22 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Reflections on Enhancing the Quality of Engineering Education” International Conference on Engineering Education, Oslo/Bergen, (Norway), 6 – 10 August 2001, CD ISBN: 1--588740919 / Quality of education
23 / XXXXXXXX, E. “Encouraging freshmen students to do creative collaborative project work” 5th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education, Gdynia, (Poland), 17-19 September 2001, pp.155-158. / Collaborative work