Abstract
As curricula receive increasing pressure to reduce credit hours while including non-traditional elements, the engineering science component has sometimes been the target of cutbacks. However, knowledge of the fundamental concepts remains critical to engineering education. The existing paradigm for teaching engineering science is three credit hour blocks of material. This three-unit course depth may not be necessary, but a basic comprehension of the material is vital. To better prepare graduates, a series of one-unit modules are being developed at the University of Arizona. Students will have the opportunity to take several of these modules in place of the currently required three unit engineering courses. Module topics include statics, engineering economics, electric circuits, mechanics of materials, hydraulics, material science, dynamics, and thermodynamics. These courses will be taught in a web-based format with opportunity to interact with faculty and teaching assistants during live and electronic office hours. The web-based materials will provide the basis for asynchronous learning and will be similar to electronic texts but allow students to question a faculty when reviewing the material. There is also interest in the materials at the community college level. In this paper we report on the development effort and the difficulties involved, both in faculty buy-in and in course development. We have run a small experiment using the materials for engineering economics and our results are included.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 11431-11439 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings |
State | Published - 2001 |
Event | 2001 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition: Peppers, Papers, Pueblos and Professors - Albuquerque, NM, United States Duration: Jun 24 2001 → Jun 27 2001 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Engineering