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Engineering Education after ChatGPT

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Conference

14th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference

Location

University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee

Publication Date

July 30, 2023

Start Date

July 30, 2023

End Date

August 1, 2023

Page Count

7

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44819

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44819

Download Count

99

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Paper Authors

biography

Howard L Richards School of Engineering, University of Central Oklahoma Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0009-0004-0172-4470

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Academic Background
• 1990: B.S. in Physics and Applied Math, Minor in Computer-Based Honors, University of Alabama.
• 1994: M.S. in Physics, Florida State University
• 1996: Ph.D. in Physics, Florida State University
• 2012: M.S. in Software Engineering, West Virginia University
Work History
• 2000-2007: Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX
• 2007-2021: Assistant Professor, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
• 2022-present: Instructor and First-Year Engineering Coordinator, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK

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Abstract

The remarkable successes of ChatGPT have caused surprise, excitement, and alarm. This Work In Progress is a review of the current situation with some general suggestions for how to move forward. Some students report being told by their instructors that soon coding will no longer be performed by humans, resulting in fewer job opportunities; it takes little imagination to conclude that many engineering jobs might also be at risk. Such fears are premature, but it is certain that coding and engineering in general will change. To prepare students for this new engineering landscape, engineering programs will need to place more emphasis on teaching students to monitor the human context, the big picture, and the ground truth -- aspects of engineering that require understanding, not mere rote.

Richards, H. L. (2023, July), Engineering Education after ChatGPT Paper presented at 14th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--44819

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