scholarly journals Utilizing the CDIO syllabus to reveal CEAB Graduate Attribute Pathways in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

Author(s):  
Alexandra Meikleham ◽  
Robert Brennan ◽  
Ron J. Hugo

Many Canadian engineering programs offercourses through a pre-requisite approach: coursework,and therefore knowledge, is assumed to build throughout aprogram. The pre-requisite approach allows postsecondaryinstitutions to monitor the pathway a studenttakes throughout a program, and is assumed to be informedby knowledge journeys. In our experience, however, prerequisitesmay only be loosely based on scaffoldeddevelopment of student learning. Course pathwayssometimes place a greater emphasis on administrativeconvenience and historical relationships, rather thanreflect an up-to-date or meaningful developmental journey.These “pathways” appear to be particularly tenuous whenit comes to professional skills development, despite anincreasing emphasis on their importance (see Canada’sGraduate Attributes 6-12 (Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board, 2017)). The pre-requisite model mayreinforce a bureaucratic approach to professional skillsdevelopment, inhibiting flexibility and innovation in coursedelivery by allowing administration, rather than learningoutcomes to guide student learning

Author(s):  
Anthony G. Straatman

Practical Elements of Mechanical Engineering (PEME) is an enrichment program developed by the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Western University in collaboration with Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology. The PEME program was developed mainly in response to the changing backgrounds of students entering university engineering programs, and to provide an opportunity for students to get exposure to practical courses in machining, welding, metrology, and other practical areas, which complement the traditional Mechanical engineering curriculum. The PEME program is thus a formal avenue whereby students have an opportunity to gain some additional practical knowledge of their profession.


Author(s):  
Richard Bannerot ◽  
Chad Wilson ◽  
Ross Kastor

ABET 2000 imposes the requirement that engineering programs demonstrate that graduates “have the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context”. (Criterion 3h) The implication is that providing the “exposure” to the impact of engineering should be sufficient. However, demonstrating learning takes the process another step. Over the past few years, we have added material to several existing, traditional mechanical engineering courses and added one entirely new course in response to the requirements of ABET 2000 in general and Criterion 3h in particular. We have also introduced additional surveys, assignments and testing into these courses to assess specific aspects of student learning. This paper describes the changes in the sophomore design class, the second course in thermodynamics, the heat transfer course, and the capstone course as well as the new College course in technical communications related to the impact of engineering solutions. The assessment processes are also described.


Author(s):  
George Platanitis ◽  
Remon Pop-Iliev

Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, collaboration began between universities, industry, and government to improve the quality and state of engineering education. Their paramount goal was to provide better ways to help students become successful engineers, possessing the necessary technical skills and expertise, exhibiting creativity, and having awareness of social, lawful, ethical, and environmental impacts as related to their profession. Traditionally, engineering programs emphasized the theoretical aspects required, while placing little emphasis on practical applications. An approach that has been introduced to provide a better learning experience for engineering students and to educate them as well-rounded engineers to be able to develop complex, value-added engineering products and processes is the CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) approach. This approach has been adopted by several universities within their engineering departments. At UOIT, the Mechanical Engineering curriculum has been developed around and continually evolves to line up with the goals of CDIO in terms of course and curriculum offerings for core and complementary engineering design courses, science, math, communications, engineering ethics, and humanities courses. Herein, we present an evaluation of the Mechanical Engineering program at UOIT against the twelve CDIO standards.


Author(s):  
Susan Caines ◽  
Leonard M. Lye

 Abstract –Graduate engineering programs at Memorial University’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science are not accredited and as such there is no information available on non-technical professional skills development. These skills are essential for successful entry into the Canadian engineering community. To assess the current graduate program, an assessment methodology was developed based on the CEAB graduate attribute assessment process used for undergraduate program accreditation. An initial application of this methodology to Process Engineering indicates that all professional skills are not covered for all students. This lead to modifications for current programing that will ensure all students are exposed to the skills needed for a successful career in engineering.


Author(s):  
John R. Reisel

While it is easy to recognize that mechanical engineers can lend their expertise to public policy makers as they create public policy related to science and technology, it is not as clear as to how to introduce mechanical engineering students to public policy activities. The undergraduate curricula in most mechanical engineering programs are considered full, and there are always additional topics that people wish to add. Educators are likely to hesitate before removing material from their programs in order to add material on public policy. Yet, there are techniques that can be used to incorporate aspects of public policy into a standard mechanical engineering curriculum without the removal of much, if any, current content. In this paper, several techniques for introducing mechanical engineering students to the process of public policy creation will be discussed. While these methods will not make the students experts in policy, they can introduce students to the tools that they need to influence the public policy creation process. These techniques include a comprehensive semester-long project in a technical elective course, a short policy analysis paper for development in a required or elective course, incorporation of public policy considerations in a capstone design project, policy discussions or debates in relevant courses, and a focus on public policy development in extracurricular activities. In their education, students should not only become technically proficient, but also learn how to track current events and trends, communicate their knowledge effectively, gain knowledge on applying proper engineering ethics, and be aware of the environmental and social context of their work. Through these knowledge areas and skills, students will gain the fundamental working knowledge that they need to influence public policy creation. It may be noted that these are also desirable outcomes for a student’s educational program as defined by ABET. Therefore, finding opportunities in a mechanical engineering program’s curriculum to address public policy creation activities also benefits the program by helping it more completely fulfill ABET accreditation requirements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Ana Cecilia De Paz Lazaro ◽  
Jessica Luz Palomino Collantes

The objective of the research is to determine the relationship between academic motivation and the professional skills development in the specialty of Social Sciences and Tourism. The study is quantitative and the design is non-experimental correlational translational. The results indicate that there is a high level relationship (0.914) between the independent academic motivation variable and the professional competences development in the Specialty of Social Sciences and Tourism. In conclusion, motivation is directly related to the professional skills development in the specialty of Social Sciences and Tourism. The research results conclude that there is a high relationship between the variables.


Author(s):  
Наталья Ленмировна Бацева

В статье представлен опыт реализации внеаудиторной самостоятельной работы студентов по дисциплине «Оперативное управление в энергетике» образовательной программы «Цифровая энергетика». На примере показано, какие компетенции могут быть развиты при выполнении профессионально-ориентированных задач. The author presents the experience of out-of-class student’s work implementation for dispatching control course. This course belongs to the educational program “Digital Energy”. Using the example, the list of developed skills is demonstrated when a student takes on the professionally oriented out-of-class tasks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
Kevin Yi-Lwern Yap ◽  
Shawn Ignatius Boon Heng Tan ◽  
Kai Zhen Yap ◽  
John Yin Gwee Yap

BackgroundAn in-house three-dimensional (3D) multiplayer online role-playing game was developed for professional skills training of pharmacy students. Students play the game in a post-apocalyptic world to save humankind from zombies. They solve virtual patient encounters through visual and motion-capture technologies. Their gaming perceptions and experiences were investigated.MethodA self-administered questionnaire obtained participants’ demographics, gaming interests, perceptions of game effectiveness, preferences on gaming elements and gameplay experience through the Game Engagement Questionnaire (GEQ). Pre-gameplay and post-gameplay assessments were tracked to assess student learning. Descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests were used for analysis.ResultsFifty-five students were recruited. Two-thirds of the gameplay group (67.9%) liked the post-apocalyptic fantasy settings and heroic storyline (66.0%). Three quarters liked the modern setting (73.1%), authentic plots (73.5%) and plot animations (72.3%). Participants felt the game was effective in training health communication and patient history-taking skills (81.8%). Participants’ test scores for counselling increased from 66.1%±7.6% (pre-gameplay) to 70.3%±8.0% (post-gameplay, p=0.004). The highest scoring GEQ dimension was sensory and imaginative immersion (2.92±0.74).ConclusionStudents found the game useful for pharmacy professional skills training. With proper implementation, this game can become a useful tool to enhance student learning and gear them towards clinical practices.


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