Engineering Design Curricula Review

Engineering curricula are being called upon to respond to changing global economics and increasingly complex societal problems. The design component of engineering curricula is a natural place to address these new realities. As a prelude to examining and revising the design component of the mechanical engineering curriculum at Michigan Tech (and before considering what is needed in the future), we investigated current state-of-the-art in design curricula. Senior design projects are nearly universal on campuses across the country and abroad. To varying extents engineering design is incorporated in the freshman through junior years as well. Current design curricula are expected to achieve many objectives, from teaching a process for solving open-ended problems, to improving communication skills, to serving as a platform for assessing the entire curriculum. Design curricula around the country have many commonalities. This paper summarizes both the commonalities and unique features of engineering design curricula. Many of the objectives for design curricula will remain unchanged as design curricula reform; yet some will shift in priority, and methods for achieving particular objectives will likely change. The paper ends with discussion of what the future may hold.

[1]  L. Thigpen,et al.  The capstone design experience in mechanical engineering at Howard University , 1999, FIE'99 Frontiers in Education. 29th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Designing the Future of Science and Engineering Education. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.99CH37011.

[2]  R. Felder,et al.  A Longitudinal Study of Engineering Student Performance and Retention. III. Gender Differences in Student Performance and Attitudes , 1995 .

[3]  Matthew W. Ohland,et al.  The Effect of an Entrepreneurship Program on GPA and Retention * , 2004 .

[4]  Diane T. Rover,et al.  Cross-functional teaming in a capstone engineering design course , 1997, Proceedings Frontiers in Education 1997 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change.

[5]  Herbert S. Lin,et al.  They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different: Stalking the Second Tier , 1991 .

[6]  G.F. McLean.  Integrating ethics and design , 1993, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.

[7]  Spencer P. Magleby,et al.  A Survey of Capstone Engineering Courses in North America , 1995 .

[8]  Spencer P. Magleby,et al.  A Review of Literature on Teaching Engineering Design Through Project‐Oriented Capstone Courses , 1997 .

[9]  Cynthia J. Atman,et al.  A design attribute framework for course planning and learning assessment , 2000, IEEE Trans. Educ..

[10]  M. Lumsdaine,et al.  Thinking Preferences of Engineering Students: Implications for Curriculum Restructuring , 1995 .

[11]  N. Al-Holou,et al.  First-year integrated curricula across engineering education coalitions , 1998, FIE '98. 28th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Moving from 'Teacher-Centered' to 'Learner-Centered' Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36214).

[12]  L.J. Leifer,et al.  Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning , 2005, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[13]  L.A. Martin-Vega,et al.  Integrating design into freshman engineering: a Lehigh experience , 1997, Proceedings Frontiers in Education 1997 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change.

[14]  Paul Duesing,et al.  Re-engineering the senior design experience with industry-sponsored multidisciplinary team projects , 1996, Technology-Based Re-Engineering Engineering Education Proceedings of Frontiers in Education FIE'96 26th Annual Conference.

[15]  Carol B. Muller,et al.  Retaining undergraduate women in science, math, and engineering: a model program , 1997, Proceedings Frontiers in Education 1997 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change.

[16]  J. Nelson,et al.  Ramping up an integrated engineering curriculum to full implementation , 1999, FIE'99 Frontiers in Education. 29th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Designing the Future of Science and Engineering Education. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.99CH37011.

[17]  Graham Greene,et al.  The Human Factor , 1978 .

[18]  Beena Sukumaran,et al.  Multidisciplinary Design and Communication: A Pedagogical Vision , 1999 .

[19]  Carl Alphonce,et al.  Benefits of using socially-relevant projects in computer science and engineering education , 2004 .

[20]  Barbara M. Moskal,et al.  The Globally Competent Engineer: Working Effectively with People Who Define Problems Differently , 2006 .

[21]  Robert T. Doty,et al.  A Practice-Based Senior Design Experience , 2002 .

[22]  Diane L. Beaudoin,et al.  A Product and Process Engineering Laboratory for Freshmen , 1995 .

[23]  Jon C. Liebman.  Designing the design engineer , 1989 .

[24]  William A. Wulf,et al.  The Urgency of Engineering Education Reform , 1998 .

[25]  E. Fromm,et al.  The Changing Engineering Educational Paradigm , 2003 .

[26]  Billy V. Koen,et al.  Toward a Strategy for Teaching Engineering Design , 1994 .

[27]  J. E. Seat,et al.  Making design teams work , 1996, Technology-Based Re-Engineering Engineering Education Proceedings of Frontiers in Education FIE'96 26th Annual Conference.

[28]  Eric Wang,et al.  Teaching Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Engineering * , 2001 .

[29]  R. Felder,et al.  Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education. , 1988 .

[30]  John S. Lamancusa,et al.  The Learning Factory—A New Approach to Integrating Design and Manufacturing into the Engineering Curriculum , 1997 .

[31]  Nikos J Mourtos,et al.  Assessing the effectiveness of an introductory engineering course for freshmen , 2002, 32nd Annual Frontiers in Education.

[32]  Robert J. Bernhard,et al.  An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design for Sophomores at Purdue University , 1994 .

[33]  C. Midkiff,et al.  Capstone senior design at the University of Alabama , 1996, Technology-Based Re-Engineering Engineering Education Proceedings of Frontiers in Education FIE'96 26th Annual Conference.

[34]  Spencer P. Magleby,et al.  Designing a Senior Capstone Course to Satisfy Industrial Customers , 1993 .

[35]  E. Wheeler,et al.  Using writing to enhance collaborative learning in engineering courses , 1998, FIE '98. 28th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Moving from 'Teacher-Centered' to 'Learner-Centered' Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36214).

[36]  Barbara M. Moskal,et al.  Engineering Design: Examining the Impact of Gender and the Team's Gender Composition , 2003 .

[37]  Jacquelyn F. Sullivan,et al.  Hands-on Engineering: Learning by Doing in the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program* , 1999 .

[38]  Alice M. Agogino,et al.  Malking Connections to Engineering During the First Two Years , 1992, Proceedings. Twenty-Second Annual conference Frontiers in Education.

[39]  Michael E. Gorman,et al.  Teaching Invention and Design: Multi‐Disciplinary Learning Modules , 1995 .

[40]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Everyday Problem Solving in Engineering: Lessons for Engineering Educators , 2006 .

[41]  S.D. Kellogg,et al.  A problem based learning approach for freshman engineering , 2000, 30th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Building on A Century of Progress in Engineering Education. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.00CH37135).

[42]  R. Felder,et al.  A Longitudinal Study of Engineering Student Performance and Retention , 1992, Proceedings. Twenty-Second Annual conference Frontiers in Education.

[43]  Barbara M. Olds,et al.  A Model Curriculum for a Capstone Course in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design , 1994 .

[44]  Frank P. Incropera,et al.  Revising a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum: The Implementation Process , 1996 .

[45]  N. Augustine.  Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future , 2006 .

[46]  Anthony Bright,et al.  The Harvey Mudd Engineering Clinic Past, Present, Future , 1999 .

[47]  Edward A. Lee,et al.  Engineering and Education for the Future , 1998, Computer.

[48]  Frank G. Splitt,et al.  The Challenge to Change: On Realizing the New Paradigm for Engineering Education , 2003 .

[49]  Leonard Springer,et al.  Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology: A Meta-Analysis , 1997 .

[50]  Mark J. Paulik,et al.  A competition-motivated capstone design course: the result of a fifteen-year evolution , 2001, IEEE Trans. Educ..

[51]  R. R. DeLyser,et al.  Undergraduate engineering curricula revision at the University of Denver , 1996, Technology-Based Re-Engineering Engineering Education Proceedings of Frontiers in Education FIE'96 26th Annual Conference.

[52]  Kristin L. Wood,et al.  Reverse Engineering and Redesign: Courses to Incrementally and Systematically Teach Design , 2001 .

[53]  David E. Goldberg,et al.  Change in Engineering Education: One Myth, Two Scenarios, and Three Foci , 1996 .

[54]  T. A. Harris,et al.  On Effective Methods to Teach Mechanical Design , 1995 .

[55]  Susan M. Lord,et al.  Enabling effective engineering teams: a program for teaching interaction skills , 1998 .

[56]  James M. Matthews,et al.  A Pedagogical Strategy for Gradual Enhancement of Creative Performance of the Students , 1999 .

[57]  Robert Stone,et al.  Striking A Balance: Bringing Engineering Disciplines Together For A Senior Design Sequence , 2002 .

[58]  James A. Golen,et al.  Improving first-year engineering education , 1999 .

[59]  C. O. Ruud,et al.  Developing and conducting an industry based capstone design course , 1997, Proceedings Frontiers in Education 1997 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change.

[60]  Delores M. Etter,et al.  Engineering education for the 21st century , 1994, Proceedings of ICASSP '94. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing.

[61]  J.R. Morgan,et al.  An integrated first-year engineering curricula , 1998, FIE '98. 28th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Moving from 'Teacher-Centered' to 'Learner-Centered' Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36214).

[62]  S. Sheppard,et al.  Freshman engineering design experiences and organizational framework , 1997 .

[63]  Charles A. Zukowski,et al.  An assessment of on-line engineering design problem presentation strategies , 2000, IEEE Trans. Educ..