Asee peer logo

Work in Progress: Leveraging Technology Trends to Develop a Skills-based Approach to Engineering Design

Download Paper |

Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

Curricular Advancements in ECE

Tagged Division

Electrical and Computer

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--35669

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/35669

Download Count

869

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Shiny Abraham Seattle University

visit author page

Shiny Abraham is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seattle University. She received the B.E. degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Visveswaraiah Technological University (VTU), India in 2007 and Ph.D. from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA in 2012. Her research interests span the areas of Wireless Communication, Internet of Things (IoT), Optimization using Game Theory, and Engineering Education Research. She is a member of the IEEE and ASEE, a technical program committee member for IEEE Globecom, ICC, ICCCN and VTC conferences, and a reviewer for several international journals and conferences.

visit author page

biography

Kenneth A. Connor Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

visit author page

Kenneth Connor is an emeritus professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he taught courses on electromagnetics, electronics and instrumentation, plasma physics, electric power, and general engineering. His research involves plasma physics, electromagnetics, photonics, biomedical sensors, engineering education, diversity in the engineering workforce, and technology enhanced learning. He learned problem solving from his father (who ran a gray iron foundry), his mother (a nurse) and grandparents (dairy farmers). He has had the great good fortune to always work with amazing people, most recently the members and leadership of the Inclusive Engineering Consortium (IEC) from HBCU and HSI ECE programs and the faculty, staff and students of the Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications (LESA) ERC, where he was Education Director until his retirement in 2018. He was RPI ECSE Department Head from 2001 to 2008 and served on the board of the ECE Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) from 2003 to 2008. He is a Life Fellow of the IEEE.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

The past decade has seen pedagogical transformations that are changing the landscape of engineering education. The emphasis on active learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving has permeated engineering programs world-wide. However, with the rapid adoption of new technologies and applications, there is an alarming skills gap in the engineering workforce. Traditional engineering education tends to be more knowledge-based, and often task-oriented. In order to bridge the gap between theory and practice, it is crucial that students are provided the opportunity to develop, practice, and test technical skills and competencies that are transferable to the workforce.

In this work, the authors will explore the feasibility of integrating design-oriented modular experiences related to trending technologies, within the undergraduate ECE curriculum. In particular, a framework based on Simpson’s Psychomotor Domain will be used to design learning experiences for skills related to Connectivity, Data Analytics, and Visualization (CAV). While the choice of CAV is geared towards preparing students for a data-driven world, the framework could be adapted to include other technology trends that are pervasive and ubiquitous. Assessment strategies will be identified to gauge the impact of these interventions on students’ perception of competence. The underlying goal of this work is to combine the traditional knowledge-based curriculum with skills-based experiences to broaden students’ horizons, while helping them develop transferable knowledge and skills. Skills-based learning also opens up opportunities for hands-on learning in which experimentation plays a key role – also known as Experiment Centric Pedagogy. This is based on the idea that engineering education should have plenty of activities that enable students to act like engineers.

Abraham, S., & Connor, K. A. (2020, June), Work in Progress: Leveraging Technology Trends to Develop a Skills-based Approach to Engineering Design Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35669

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2020 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015