Eric Pappas

An Innovative Engineering Curriculum at James Madison University: Transcending Disciplinary Boundaries Through Innovative Problem Based Learning Practices

Global competitiveness, outsourcing, and increased production of overseas engineers are issues that are becoming increasingly relevant in undergraduate engineering education and have prompted a number of calls to protect U.S. global competitiveness. Recent examples of such works include: Educating the Engineer of 2020 [1], Rising Above the Gathering Storm [2], and The World is Flat [3]. All these reports have challenged engineering institutions to increase the production and improve the education of engineering graduates. This is an increasingly important concern because, with the rapid pace of technological change, the future engineer is not only expected to offer technical ingenuity but also adapt to a continuously evolving environment while simultaneously being able to operate outside the narrow limits of one discipline in solving the complex problems of the future.Copyright

Integrating developmental instruction in four sustainability contexts into an undergraduate engineering design curriculum: Level three

Developmental instruction in four sustainability contexts (environmental, social, economic, technical) in an engineering design curriculum offers a strong foundation and framework upon which to build an engineering program that teaches students the necessary methodologies for designing for sustainability. Instruction in sustainability contexts described in the current paper employs a developmental approach using Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, which is a way to classify instructional activities or questions as they progress in cognitive difficulty. Our objective in this paper and presentation is to detail an instructional methodology (and results of a case study and focus group assessment) that integrates sustainability instruction in four contexts into the third and fourth classes in our six-course design curriculum using a developmental approach.

Sustainable engineering design at James Madison University

In August 2008, James Madison University will enroll its first engineering students into a unique engineering program focused on sustainable societies. A significant component of this integrated program is the six- semester 10-credit design laboratory sequence that stretches from the sophomore year to graduation. We present a divergence from the generally accepted approach to sustainability (normally referred to as ldquosustainable engineeringrdquo or ldquoenvironmental sustainabilityrdquo) and include instruction in creating sustainable societies. This paper addresses the following topics in the design curriculum in the engineering degree program: 1) Environmental Sustainability; 2) Creative and Critical Thinking, Decision Making, and Assessment; 3) Aesthetics of Design; 4) Economic and Social Sustainability; and 5) Design Ethics. The Design Program is interdisciplinary and will utilize faculty from business, art, and social science disciplines; and employ a variety of innovative instructional methodologies from the social sciences and humanities.

The Integration of Sustainability, Systems, and Engineering Design in the Engineering Curriculum at James Madison University

In order for our future engineers to be able to work toward a sustainable future, they must be versed not only in sustainable engineering but also in engineering design. An engineering education must train our future engineers to think flexibly and to be adaptive as it is unlikely that their future will have them working in one domain. They must, instead, be versatilists. The School of Engineering at James Madison University has been developed from the ground up to provide this general engineering training with an emphasis on engineering design, systems thinking, and sustainability. Students take courses in math and science, business and liberal arts, engineering science, sustainability, and design. In this paper, we discuss how sustainability is taught in a multi-context perspective through the School’s curriculum and pedagogy. We do not mean to present the School’s approach as an all or nothing model, but instead as a collection of approaches of which hopefully one or more may be appropriate at another university.Copyright

Special Session - engineering for a sustainable world: How do we incorporate sustainability in undergraduate engineering education?

Sustainability principles in engineering are currently taught and promoted through graduate programs and professional engineering societies. It is appropriate that sustainability principles are also addressed in undergraduate engineering education. Retooling an existing undergraduate engineering curriculum to include comprehensive coverage of sustainability may be outside of the expertise or purview of an individual educator. However, sustainability principles can still be introduced to different degrees and at different class levels within an existing curriculum. This Special Session seeks to facilitate discussion of how to best incorporate sustainability in undergraduate engineering education and also seeks to build a cohort of engineering educators that join James Madison University in a desire to bring sustainability education into the engineering classroom.

Integration of a Client-Based Design Project Into the Sophomore Year

Often engineering design instruction based on real-world, client-based projects is relegated to a final year capstone course. The engineering program at James Madison University (JMU), however, emphasizes these real-world, client-based design experiences, and places them throughout our six-course engineering design sequence. Our six-course design sequence is anchored by the sophomore design course sequence, which serves as the cornerstone to the JMU engineering design sequence. The cornerstone experience in the sophomore year is meant to enable mastery through both directed and non-directed learning and exploration of the design process and design tools. To that end, students work in both small (4–5) and large (9–11) teams to complete a year-long design project. The course project is woven with instruction in engineering design theory and methodology; individual cognitive processes, thinking, and communication skills; decision making; sustainable design; problem solving; software; and project management.Students’ overarching task during the first semester is to follow the first two phases of the engineering design process—Planning and Concept Generation—while in the second semester, students work to reiterate on the first two phases of the engineering design process before prototyping, testing, and refining a design for the client. The project culminates with the students demonstrating their final product to the client, University, and local community.Our goal in this paper is to present our model for integrating real-world, client-based design projects into the sophomore year to facilitate meaningful design experiences across the curriculum. We believe that providing these experiences early and often not only challenges students on multiple dimensions, but also exposes them, and consequently better prepares them, for their eventual role as a practicing engineer. In this paper, we shall describe the sophomore design course sequence, the history and details of the course project, and also key learning outcome gains.© 2012 ASME

True grit: Toward a culture of psychological preparedness in engineering education

The rigors of engineering education present each student with a unique set of academic and psychological challenges. Established interventional strategies are typically focused on enhancing academic - rather than psychological - preparedness, potentially leaving many students vulnerable to various demotivating factors. Participants in this special session will collaborate to develop a nucleus of ideas to inform the future development of psychological preparedness strategies - interventions specifically designed to facilitate productive processes such as self-efficacy, self-discipline, resilience, and motivation.

Work in progress - a freshman engineering course designed to convey the essence of the engineering program at James Madison University

James Madison University has established a School of Engineering commencing in fall 2008. Students will earn Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering. The curriculum features a broad base of humanities coursework to accompany the traditional math, science, and engineering courses. The curriculum also features integrated business courses, a six semester sequence of engineering design courses, and a sustainability focus. The engineering program is designed to meet ABET criteria and prepare students for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. The introductory course is designed to be representative of the program content, teaching techniques, assessment techniques, and culture. As such the introductory course will contain material related to social context as well as engineering practice. This paper discusses the content and culture aspects of the introductory course.