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Defining Key Terms in New ABET Student Outcomes

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

NEE Technical Session - Assessment/Evaluation

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41674

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/41674

Download Count

680

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Paper Authors

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Nathan Washuta The Citadel

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Alyson Eggleston The Citadel

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Dr. Alyson Eggleston is a cognitive linguist specializing in the impact our speech has on the way we think and solve problems. She is the founding Director of Technical Communication at The Citadel, and has developed a project-based technical communication course that serves over 14 STEM majors and several degree programs in the social sciences. She is also acting Residential Fellow for the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education, and in this role regularly mentors faculty and facilitates workshops on instructional design, Quality Matters assessments, and novel edtech applications. She is also the acting liaison for the Office of Institutional Assessment and Accreditation, and creates online assessment resources and facilitates webinars and workshops to all levels of administration and faculty to demonstrate how to leverage assessment data in service to continuous programmatic improvement and resource acquisition. Her research interests include STEM communications pedagogy, cognitive empathy, industry-academia interaction, teaching and learning.

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James Righter The Citadel

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Robert Rabb The Citadel

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Professor, Mechanical Engineering, The Citadel

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Abstract

In engineering design, it is necessary that proposed solutions to a problem fulfill not just technical requirements of the design problem, but also account for the real world context of the solutions. These broader contexts can be wide ranging and complex, simultaneously impacting the world in a variety of ways. When teaching an engineering capstone course, it is vital to provide students with the education necessary to address these issues. Indeed, the ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs addresses this need in Criterion 2. Student Outcome 2 lists specific factors that students must consider when applying engineering design, including public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. Furthermore, Student Outcome 4 addresses the ethical and professional responsibilities that students must consider in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts. While these considerations collectively represent a wide range of potential real-world issues, differentiating between these categories can provide a difficult task, as many of these terms overlap in meaning. Student teams often struggle to understand the difference between each of these contexts and it can be difficult to assess whether each context has been fully considered. No specific guidance is provided, for example, when determining if a student has addressed cultural factors separately from social factors. The present paper seeks to more clearly define each of these terms in order to better assess student performance on the factors listed in this criterion. Examples of student work from a senior capstone course in mechanical engineering are presented, with student interpretation of each listed factor in the context of their own projects included.

Washuta, N., & Eggleston, A., & Righter, J., & Rabb, R. (2022, August), Defining Key Terms in New ABET Student Outcomes Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41674

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