Changing Engineering Education: Views of U.S. Faculty, Chairs, and Deans. Issue 2 (April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Besterfield‐Sacre, Mary; Cox, Monica F.; Borrego, Maura; Beddoes, Kacey; Zhu, Jiabin
• Is Part Of: Journal of engineering education. Volume 103:Issue 2(2014:Apr.)
• Page Start: 193
• Page End: 219
• Publication Date: 2014-04
• Subjects: Engineering -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; 620.00711
• DOI: 10.1002/jee.20043
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1069-4730

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="jee20043-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>Many reports present a vision of <italic>what</italic> engineering education should look like, but few describe <italic>how</italic> this should happen. An American Society for Engineering Education initiative in 2006 attempted to bridge this gap by engaging faculty, chairs, and deans in discussion of change in engineering education; results were reported in a Phase I report (2009). In a second phase, survey data were integrated into a Phase II report (2012).</p> </sec> <sec id="jee20043-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Purpose</title> <p>This article uses the ASEE survey results to identify promising pathways for transforming engineering undergraduate education.</p> </sec> <sec id="jee20043-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Design/Method</title> <p>The survey asked faculty, chairs, and deans at engineering departments at 156 U.S. institutions to reflect on the recommendations of the Phase I report. Quantitative and qualitative responses were separately analyzed and then mixed by mapping findings to the Four Categories of Change Strategies model developed by Henderson et al. (2011), which frames the results and illustrates gaps and opportunities.</p> </sec> <sec id="jee20043-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Responses mapped to three of the four categories of the model that were most commonly used in other STEM education efforts: developing and disseminating new instructional approaches, supporting faculty members in their own scholarly teaching, and implementing policies that enable and reward teaching innovation. No responses mapped to developing a shared vision through activities such as strategic planning.</p> </sec> <sec id="jee20043-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>The greatest promise for transformative change in engineering education lies in developing a shared vision for educational innovation. The findings of this article provide a foundation for ongoing discussion and evaluating progress.</p> </sec> </abstract>