Rethinking Engineering Education : The CDIO Approach

by Crawley, Edward F.; Malmqvist, Johan; Ostlund, Soren; Brodeur, Doris R.

• ISBN13: 9780387382876
• ISBN10: 0387382879
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-06-08
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

In the past ten years, leaders in engineering industries have identified specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of their workforce if they want to be innovative and competitive in a global marketplace. Engineering education programs have kept pace with emerging disciplinary knowledge, research and technologies, but have been less successful in ensuring that their graduates acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes desired by industry. Evaluation by accreditation agencies and professional associations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, and other countries are moving toward an outcomes-based approach. These groups have specified outcomes for graduating engineers among their evaluative criteria. Their lists of skills overlap with those generated by engineering industries. Our book describes an approach to engineering education that integrates a comprehensive set of personal and interpersonal skills, and process, product, and system building skills with disciplinary knowledge. The education of engineers is set in the context of engineering practice, that is, Conceiving, Designing, Implementing, and Operating (CDIO) through the entire lifecycle of engineering processes, products, and processes. The CDIO model and the topics in the book will be of increasing interest in the next five to ten years. At the start of the CDIO Initiative, four leading engineering programs in the United States and Sweden adopted the CDIO model and collaborated in its development and implementation. In less than six years, the collaboration has grown to include more than twenty programs in nine different countries. This book will be both a description of the development and implementation of the CDIO model, and a guide to engineering programs worldwide who seek to improve their programs.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Rationale	p. 1
Background	p. 1
The CDIO Initiative	p. 2
The Syllabus and the Standards	p. 3
Implementation and Evolution	p. 4
The Book	p. 4
Overview	p. 6
Introduction	p. 6
Chapter Objectives	p. 7
Motivation for Change	p. 7
What modern engineers do	p. 7
Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate	p. 8
The need for reform of engineering education	p. 9
Requirements for the reform of engineering education	p. 13
Conceiving-Designing-Implementing-Operating as the context of engineering education	p. 13
Maintaining the fundamentals while strengthening the skills	p. 15
Engagement of key stakeholders	p. 16
Attracting and retaining qualified students	p. 16
Program-level scope of the reform effort	p. 17
Collaboration for engineering education reform	p. 17
Founded on best-practice educational approaches	p. 19
Not demanding of significant new resources	p. 19
The CDIO Initiative	p. 20
The goals	p. 20
	p. 20
	p. 21
	p. 21
The vision	p. 22
Learning outcomes	p. 23
Curriculum reform	p. 25
Design-implement experiences and CDIO workspaces	p. 28
Teaching and learning reform	p. 28
Assessment and evaluation	p. 29
Pedagogical foundation	p. 30
Meeting the requirements	p. 32
Realizing the Vision	p. 32
The CDIO Syllabus	p. 34
The CDIO Standards	p. 34
Organizational and cultural change	p. 36
Enhancement of faculty competence	p. 37
Open-source ideas and resources	p. 38
Value of collaboration for parallel development	p. 39
Alignment with national standards and other change initiatives	p. 39
Attracting and motivating students who are "ready to engineer"	p. 40
Meeting the requirements	p. 42
Summary	p. 42
Discussion Questions	p. 43
References	p. 43
The CDIO Syllabus: Learning Outcomes for Engineering Education	p. 45
Introduction	p. 45
Chapter Objectives	p. 46
The Knowledge and Skills of Engineering	p. 46
Required engineering knowledge and skills	p. 47
Importance of rationale and levels of detail	p. 48
The CDIO Syllabus	p. 49
Development and integration of the CDIO Syllabus	p. 50
Content and structure of the CDIO Syllabus	p. 50
Validation of the CDIO Syllabus	p. 54
Contemporary themes in engineering - innovation and sustainability	p. 60
Generalizing the CDIO Syllabus	p. 62
Learning Outcomes and Student Proficiency Levels	p. 63
Learning outcome studies by the four founding universities	p. 64
Survey process for determining expected proficiency levels	p. 65
Survey results at MIT	p. 66
Survey results at three Swedish universities	p. 67
Comparisons across all four universities	p. 68
Learning outcome studies at Queen's University Belfast	p. 70
Interpreting expected levels of proficiency as learning outcomes	p. 73
Summary	p. 74
Discussion Questions	p. 75
References	p. 75
Integrated Curriculum Design	p. 77
Introduction	p. 77
Chapter Objectives	p. 79
The Rationale for an Integrated Curriculum	p. 79
Practical reasons	p. 79
Pedagogical reasons	p. 80
Attributes of the curriculum design	p. 80
Faculty perceptions of generic skills	p. 81
Foundations for Curriculum Design	p. 82
The curriculum design process model	p. 82
Curriculum content and learning outcomes	p. 84
Pre-existing conditions	p. 84
Benchmarking the existing curriculum	p. 85
Integrated Curriculum Design	p. 87
Curriculum structure	p. 88
Organizing principle	p. 88
Master plan	p. 89
Block course structure	p. 90
Concept for curricular structure	p. 92
Sequence of content and learning outcomes	p. 93
Mapping learning outcomes	p. 95
Introduction to Engineering	p. 97
Summary	p. 100
Discussion Questions	p. 101
References	p. 101
Design-Implement Experiences and Engineering Workspaces	p. 102
Introduction	p. 102
Chapter Objectives	p. 103
Design-Implement Experiences	p. 103
The meaning of design-implement experience	p. 103
Role and benefit of design-implement experiences	p. 104
Basic design-implement experiences	p. 106
Advanced design-implement experiences	p. 106
Attributes of design-implement experiences	p. 107
Design-implement experiences throughout the curriculum	p. 107
First-year projects	p. 109
Second-year projects	p. 109
Third-year and fourth-year projects	p. 109
Challenges of design-implement experiences	p. 113
Stakeholder reactions and summary	p. 116
Engineering Workspaces	p. 117
Role and benefit of CDIO workspaces	p. 117
Designing workspaces	p. 118
Examples of CDIO workspaces	p. 120
Teaching and learning modes in CDIO workspaces	p. 122
Product, process, and system design and implementation	p. 122
Reinforcement of disciplinary knowledge	p. 124
Knowledge discovery	p. 124
Community building	p. 125
Auxiliary uses	p. 125
Challenges of engineering workspaces and stakeholder reactions	p. 125
Summary	p. 127
Discussion Questions	p. 128
References	p. 128
Teaching and Learning	p. 130
Introduction	p. 130
Chapter Objectives	p. 131
Student Perspectives on Teaching and Learning	p. 131
Integrated Learning	p. 134
Benefits of integrated learning	p. 134
Integrated learning across multiple experiences	p. 136
Methods and Resources That Promote Integrated Learning	p. 136
Specification of intended learning outcomes	p. 137
Classification of intended learning outcomes	p. 137
Examples of intended learning outcomes	p. 138
Constructive alignment of intended learning outcomes	p. 138
Faculty support for integrated learning	p. 139
Active and Experiential Learning	p. 140
Active learning methods	p. 141
Muddy cards	p. 141
Concept questions	p. 142
Electronic response systems	p. 143
Ticking	p. 143
Experiential learning methods	p. 144
Project-based learning	p. 145
Simulations	p. 145
Case studies	p. 146
Using multiple active and experiential methods	p. 146
Making engineering education attractive to all students	p. 146
Benefits and Challenges	p. 149
Summary	p. 150
Discussion Questions	p. 150
References	p. 151
Student Learning Assessment	p. 152
Introduction	p. 152
Chapter Objectives	p. 153
The Learning Assessment Process	p. 154
Aligning Assessment Methods With Learning Outcomes	p. 156
Methods for Assessing Student Learning	p. 157
Written and oral examinations	p. 158
Performance ratings	p. 158
Product reviews	p. 160
Journals and portfolios	p. 161
Other self-report measures	p. 161
Using Results to Improve Teaching and Learning	p. 162
Key Benefits and Challenges	p. 164
Summary	p. 164
Discussion Questions	p. 165
References	p. 165
Adapting and Implementing a CDIO Approach	p. 166
Introduction	p. 166
Chapter Objectives	p. 167
Development of a CDIO Program as an Example of Cultural and Organizational Change	p. 167
Key success factors that promote cultural change	p. 168
The first phase of change-getting off to the right start	p. 169
Understanding the need for change	p. 169
Leadership from the top	p. 171
Creating a vision	p. 171
Support of early adopters	p. 172
Early successes	p. 172
The second phase of change-building momentum in the core activities of change	p. 173
Moving off assumptions	p. 173
Including students as agents of change	p. 175
Involvement and ownership	p. 175
Adequate resources	p. 176
The third phase of change-institutionalizing change	p. 176
Faculty recognition and incentives	p. 176
Faculty learning culture	p. 177
Student expectations and academic requirements	p. 177
Change at a university as an instance of organizational change	p. 178
Faculty Development and Support	p. 178
Enhancement of faculty competence in skills	p. 182
Enhancement of faculty competence in teaching and assessment	p. 184
Resources to Support Program Change	p. 187
Engineering design paradigm for the development of a CDIO approach	p. 187
Open-source ideas and resources	p. 189
Value of collaboration for parallel development	p. 192
Summary	p. 193
Discussion Questions	p. 194
References	p. 194
Program Evaluation	p. 195
Introduction	p. 195
Chapter Objectives	p. 196
Standards-Based Program Evaluation	p. 197
The CDIO Standards and Associated Key Questions	p. 198
Rationale and organization of the CDIO Standards	p. 199
Key questions aligned with the Standards	p. 200
Methods to Evaluate Programs	p. 203
Document reviews	p. 203
Personal and focus group interviews	p. 203
Questionnaires and surveys	p. 204
Instructor reflective memos	p. 204
Program reviews by external experts	p. 204
Longitudinal studies	p. 205
Evaluating a Program Against the CDIO Standards	p. 205
Continuous Program Improvement Process	p. 209
Overall Impact of CDIO Programs	p. 210
Preliminary results of inputs, processes, and short-term outcomes	p. 212
Studies of long-term outcomes and overall impact	p. 212
Summary	p. 214
Discussion Questions	p. 215
References	p. 215
Historical Accounts of Engineering Education	p. 216
Introduction	p. 216
Chapter Objectives	p. 218
The Genesis of Engineering Education	p. 219
Engineering education in France	p. 219
Engineering education in northern Europe	p. 220
Engineering education in the United Kingdom	p. 221
Engineering education in the United States	p. 221
Engineering and Industrial Development	p. 222
Science as the Basis for Engineering	p. 224
Developments in the United States	p. 225
Developments in Europe	p. 225
Post-war developments	p. 226
The Decrease in Practical Skills and Experience	p. 227
The transformation of technical schools	p. 227
The response from industry	p. 228
The return to practice	p. 229
Disciplinary Congestion and Blurring Boundaries	p. 230
Alternatives for addressing disciplinary congestion	p. 230
Blurring boundaries between technology and nature	p. 230
The influence of new technologies	p. 231
Contemporary Challenges	p. 233
A new identity for engineering	p. 233
A new education for engineers	p. 234
Addressing contemporary challenges with a CDIO approach	p. 236
Summary	p. 236
Discussion Questions	p. 237
References	p. 238
Outlook	p. 241
Introduction	p. 241
Chapter Objectives	p. 242
Drivers for Change in Engineering Education	p. 242
Scientific breakthroughs and technological developments	p. 242
Internationalization, student mobility and flexibility	p. 243
Skills and attitudes of beginning engineering students	p. 246
Issues of gender and broadening participation	p. 247
Governmental and multilateral initiatives	p. 247
Future Development of the CDIO Approach	p. 248
Application to additional engineering disciplines	p. 248
Generalizing the product, process, and system lifecycle context	p. 249
Pedagogical and curricular differences	p. 249
Adapting and adopting parts of the CDIO approach	p. 250
Application to graduate programs	p. 251
The professional role of engineers as context	p. 252
Educational goals set by stakeholders and met by proper sequence of learning activities	p. 252
Application beyond engineering education	p. 253
Summary	p. 254
Discussion Questions	p. 255
References	p. 255
Appendices
The CDIO Syllabus	p. 257
The CDIO Standards	p. 269
Index	p. 279
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