TLC Design: Integrating Team Learning, Computing, and Design in Undergraduate Engineering Education

对现有本科生工程专业的评估总是提到三个弱点：毕业生缺乏技术素养；毕业生缺乏口头和书面沟通能力；以及毕业生缺乏设计经验。为了解决这些弱点，俄克拉荷马大学土木工程与环境科学学院(CEES)提出了一项系统性的改革倡议，将把单一的设计项目整合到整个课程中。共同的设计项目名为“更快的城市”，将在大学一年级引入，并持续到整个课程。设计任务范围从人口估计到供水系统。一个共同的设计项目可以统一课程，让早期课程中学到的材料发扬光大。另一个好处是，学生将拥有一个专业的设计组合，可以展示给有远见的雇主。设计项目将使用即时学习模式进行教学。通过将重点放在现实世界的应用程序上，学生将会有兴趣和学习的动力。所涉及的课程将进行重组，纳入团队学习和小组演示，从而提高学生的人际交往和沟通能力。此外，从1997年秋季开始，所有即将入学的工科新生都将拥有一台带有无线通信技术的笔记本电脑，使每个教室都成为一个联网的机房。该项目的一个主要目标是培养自律、负责、懂计算机、能与工程师同事、管理层和公众进行有效沟通的毕业生。预计改革后的课程可以作为全国工程课程的典范。互动设计单元和超文本教程将通过光盘、万维网以及会议和期刊文章等传统渠道分发给其他机构。

Evaluations of existing undergraduate engineering programs continually cite three weaknesses: graduates lack technical literacy; graduates lack oral and written communication skills; and graduates lack design experience. To address these weaknesses, the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science (CEES) at the University of Oklahoma, is proposing a systemic reform initiative that will incorporate a single design project integrated throughout the curriculum. The common design project, entitled "Sooner City," will be introduced during the freshman year and continue for the entire curriculum. Design tasks range from population estimates to the water supply system. A common design project can unify the curriculum and allow material learned in early courses to carry forward. Another advantage is that the students will have a professional design portfolio that can be presented to perspective employers. The design project will be taught using the just- in-time learning paradigm. By focusing on real-world applications up front, students will be interested and motivated to learn. The involved courses will be restructured to incorporate team learning and group presentations, which enhances the students' interpersonal and communication skills. In addition, starting in fall of 1997, all incoming engineering freshman will have a laptop computer with wireless communication technology so that each classroom becomes a networked computer lab. A primary goal of the project is to produce graduates who are self-disciplined, responsible, computer literate, and who can communicate effectively with fellow engineers, management, and the public. It is anticipated that the reformed curriculum can serve as a paradigm for engineering programs throughout the country. Interactive design modules and hypertext tutorials will be disseminated to other institutions through a CD ROM, the world wide web and through traditional outlets such as conferences and journal articles.