Discovery-Oriented Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory

9451210 Shieh本项目拟开设一门以发现为导向的多学科工程实验课程：discovery-oriented multidisciplinary engineering laboratory。这门课程主要有两个目的。首先，它将在新生阶段提供，作为留住目前在工程专业学习的学生的一种手段，并鼓励寻求科学和技术素养的非工程专业学生转到工程专业学习。第二，将以少数民族高中学生和小学、初中、高中科学教师为对象，作为增加少数民族在工程专业的存在和招收工科高中优秀学生的主要手段。与传统的大一阶段的实验课程不同，这门课程的设计目的不是让学生为了证明与他们的工程专业可能无关的理论而进行实验。相反，课程鼓励学生通过组装实验设备和设计实验来获得实践经验，利用实验数据“发现”基本原理/理论，并最终在实践和理论之间建立现实的联系。建议的实验重点领域是多学科性质，具有实际相关性，并跨越传统的部门界限。这些设备/仪器足以容纳20名学生。从这门课程的发展和实施中获得的结果和经验将通过美国国家科学基金会赞助的网关联盟、会议/研讨会/讲习班演讲和期刊/通讯出版物进行传播。

9451210 Shieh A discovery-oriented multidisciplinary engineering laboratory course entitled: Discovery-Oriented Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory is being developed in this project. The course serves two main purposes. First, it will be offered at the freshman level as a means to retain the students currently in the engineering program and encourage the transfer of non-engineering students who are seeking scientific and technical literacy into the engineering program. Second, it will be offered to minority high school students and primary, middle and high school science teachers as a major vehicle to increase the presence of minority in engineering professions and recruit top high school students to engineering schools. Unlike traditional laboratory courses offered at the freshman level, this course is not designed to have students performing experiments for the sole purpose of proving theories which may be irrelevant to their engineering studies. Instead, the course encourages students to gain hand-on experience by having them assemble laboratory apparatus and design the experiments, utilize the experimental data to "discover" the underlying principles/ theories, and eventually establish realistic links between practice and theory. The proposed experimental focus areas are of a multidisciplinary nature, having practical relevancy, and crossing traditional departmental boundaries. The equipment/instrumentation is adequate for accommodating up to 20 students in the class. Results and experience obtained from the development and implementation of this course will be disseminated through the NSF- sponsored Gateway Coalition, conference/seminar/workshop presentations, and journal/newsletter publications.