A Project and Design Oriented Electrical Engineering Curriculum

这项计划拨款用于系级改革，将在北得克萨斯大学创建一个新的电气和计算机工程系。拟议课程的建立与北得克萨斯大学新工程学院的创建相一致，将导致开发代表着我们教育电气工程专业学生方式的重大变化的示范课程。这一创新的课程将向学生介绍以项目为导向的综合工业体验，每学期增加一门以项目为导向的课程。从附近行业招聘的讲师将帮助教授以项目为导向的课程。这种大学与行业的合作将有助于学生将理论与实践相结合，确保工程课程继续具有相关性、竞争性，并面向未来的技术发展。虽然传统的电气工程课程强调模块化结构和专业学科，但这种方法结合了认知科学的见解，并认识到通过将学生的注意力集中在课堂上的项目所带来的实际挑战。因此，我们建议在整个课程中整合基于项目的学习。我们的方法预期的好处包括增加学生在学习过程中的参与(主动学习和自学)，增强沟通技能，使教学适应更广泛的学习风格，以及促进批判性和主动性思维。该方法的主要特点是产业界和大学之间的合作，对主动学习的关注，对团队合作的重视，以及将实验室活动应用于现实世界问题的重要性。

This planning grant for department level reform will create a new department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of North Texas. The establishment of the proposed program, coincident with the creation of a new College of Engineering at the University of North Texas, will result in the development of a model curriculum that represents a significant change in the way we educate Electrical Engineering students. This innovative curriculum will introduce students to integrated project-oriented industrial experiences at the freshman level, with additional project-oriented courses added each semester. Instructors recruited from nearby industries will help teach the project-oriented courses. Such university-industry collaboration will help students integrate theory and practice, ensuring that the engineering curriculum continues to be relevant, competitive, and directed towards future technological developments. While traditional programs in electrical engineering emphasize modular structures and specialty disciplines this approach combines insights from cognitive science with an appreciation of the practical challenges raised by focusing students' attention on projects in a class. Thus, we propose to integrate project-based learning throughout the curriculum. The expected benefits of our approach include increased student participation in the learning process (active learning and self-learning), enhanced communication skills, adaptation of pedagogies to a wider set of learning styles, and promotion of critical and proactive thinking. Major features of the approach are the partnership between industry and the university, the focus on active learning, the emphasis on teaming, and the importance of laboratory activities applied to real-world problems.