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2004-824

Changing the paradigm of power in the classroom to teach, promote, and evaluate leadership training within an existing Civil Engineering curriculum

Authors: P. Palazolo, C. Camp, A. Lambert, E. Lambert, N. Dennis University of Memphis/University of Memphis/University of Memphis/ University of Memphis/ University of Arkansas

Abstract:

This project evolved out of three years’ worth of data from junior/senior-level engineering majors who completed both pre and post-semester surveys asking them to rate their perceptions of preparation and training in a variety of areas. Not surprisingly, the majority of students reported that they believed they were well prepared in the technical realm, and many also reported that they were becoming more prepared in the area of technical communications. Surprisingly, though, many of the students also indicated that they hoped to acquire leadership/management training experience before graduating.

In response to this student feedback, we took the following actions: first, we extended the survey questions to include students from a second population in order to determine if the perceived deficiency was a local issue or more of a regional issue; next, five engineering educators from two universities collaborated to design opportunities to promote leadership/management activities within the existing curriculum.

Our research reports the details of our findings, presents a series of exercises easily incorporated into existing courses, and also includes a metric for evaluation and assessment of these new strategies.

Introduction:

ABET’s “a-k” guidelines present the professional expectations of the accreditation for all undergraduate engineering programs nationwide, and most engineering programs are in the process of incorporating practices to follow these guidelines, but what do students themselves expect from their undergraduate experiences? What can engineering educators do when students report “gaps” in specific areas?

As engineering education continues to shift to a student-centered learning paradigm, student feedback and perceptions provide essential information that engineering educators can use to meet specific needs and to fill specific gaps on a course-by-course basis.

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Phillips-Lambert, A., & Camp, C., & Palazolo, P. (2004, June), Changing The Paradigm Of Power In The Classroom To Teach, Promote, And Evaluate Leadership Training Within An Existing Civil Engineering Curriculum Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--14014